Father, as you bless us, we are to bless others. What must we do to be blessed in all we do? Blessing and cursing is throughout scripture. There are many human blessings as:
- Blessing over sacred things as sacrifices, and the Lords Supper.
- Blessings over people as fathers over sons, families over children, leaders over people under them, and priests or prophets over the people.
- People blessing authority figures, children bless parents, we are to bless our enemy, and it is used as a greeting or good bye.
There are divine blessings from God toward:
- Nature, the Sabbath, the works of His people, all of humanity.
- His covenant people, those who fear Him, who live by His principles, and are righteous, and blesses righteous nations.
God’s blessings are: (Deut. 7:13-14) (Deut. 28:2-14)
- Peace and prosperity (Ezk. 34:26) .
- Health, happiness and a long life. (Pr. 21:3-5).
- Children and a peaceful home (Ps. 128:1-6).
- Abundance of crops and food (Ps. 67:6-7).
- Showers of blessing(Ezk. 34:26-30).
We are given spiritual blessings (Jn. 1:16-17) (1 Cor. 9:23) (Eph. 1:3).
- Gods favor and grace (Ps. 5:12).
- Forgiveness of sin(Ps. 32:1-2) (Ro. 4:7-8).
- Salvation (Ro. 10:12-13).
- Being part of God’s people (Ro. 15:27).
- Eternal joy (Ps. 21:6).
- Strength and peace (Ps. 29:11).
- God Sheppard’s us (Ps. 28:9).
- We can receive the blessings of Abraham. (Gal. 3:8-9; 14)
Who are blessed by the Lord?
- Those who avoid sin (Ps. 1:1).
- Those taking refuge in the Lord (Ps. 2:12)
- Whose sins are forgiven (Ps.32:1).
- Who trust in the Lord (Ps. 40:4).
- Care about the weak (Ps.41:1).
- God chosen (Ps.65:4).
- Those who dwell in Gods house (Ps. 84:4)
- Who fear the Lord (Ps. 112:1)
- Walk in accordance to Torah (Gods teaching and instruction) (Ps. 119:1-2)
- Who find wisdom in the Lord (Pr. 3:13).
- Wait on the Lord (Is. 30:18).
- Follow the ways of the Lord (Mat. 5:3-12) (Lk. 6:20-22)
- Who confess Jesus as God’s Son (Mat.16:16-17)
- Who hear and obey God’s word (Lk. 11:28)
- Who persevere in their faith (Jas. 1:12)
- Who die in the Lord ((Rev.14:13)
- Those invited to Christ’s marriage feast (Rev. 19:9)
BLESSING FOR OBEDIENCE:
(Deut. 28:1-14) “If you fully obey the Lord your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:”
(1) ‘You will be blessedin your towns and in the country.
(2) Blessed with many children and productive fields.
(3) Blessed with fertile herds and flocks.
(4) Blessed with baskets overflowing with fruit, and kneading bowls filled with bread.
(5) Blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going.
(6) The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you.
(7) The Lord will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain.
(8) God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
(9) The Lord will establish you as His holy people. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.
(10) The Lord will give you an abundance of good things in the land—many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops.
(11) The Lord will send rain at the proper time—to bless all the work you do.
(12) You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to barrow from them.
“If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God and carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today to fallow after other gods and worship them.”
CURSES FOR DISOBEDIENCE:
(Deut. 28:15-68) “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commanded and laws I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:”
(1) Cursed in towns and country.
(2) Cursed with baskets empty of fruit and bread.
(3) Cursed with few children and barren fields.
(4) Cursed with infertile herds and flocks.
(5) Cursed wherever you go, both in coming and in going.
(6) The Lord himself will send against you curses, confusion, and disillusionment in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and forsaking me.
(7) The Lord will send diseases among you until none of you are left in the land.
(8) The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These devastation’s will pursue you until you die.
(9) The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron. The Lord will turn your rain into sand and dust, and it will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed.
(10) The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies.
(11) You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
(12) The Lord will afflict you with boils, tumors, scurvy, the itch, madness, blindness and panic.
(13) You will not succeed at anything you do.
(14) You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.
(15) You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will ravish her.
(16) You will build a house, but someone else will live in it.
(17) You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit.
(18) Your ox butchered, donkey driven away, and sheep given to your enemies.
(19) You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves.
(20) A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment. You will go mad because of all the tragedy around you.
(21) The Lord will cover you from head to foot with incurable boils.
(22) The Lord will exile you and the king.
(23) You will become an object of horror, a proverb and a mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.
(24) You will plant much but harvest little.
(25) You will sons and daughters, but you will not keep them, for they will be led away into captivity.
(26) The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker.
(27) They will lend money to you, not you to them.
(28) They will be the head, and you will be the tail!
“If you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and to obey the commands and laws he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed. These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever. Because you have not served the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. They will oppress you harshly until you are destroyed.”