Blessings (Bible Tag 14)

#52slowstitchbibletags blessing

The Bible Project video above traces the theme of blessing and curse throughout the Bible to see how Jesus defeats the curse and restores the blessing of life to creation.

We frequently use the religious-sounding word "blessing." When things are going well, we say "Bless you!" or "I'm so blessed!" When posting a vacation photo, we may even use the hashtag #blessed. But what does the word "blessing" mean in the Bible?

To Israelite believers, "God bless you" meant far more than "Hope everything goes well." They defined blessing as "a solemn, deliberate act through which specific and concrete benefits are conveyed." Today's people desire success, the people of the Old Testament desired blessing. For them it was something explicit, precise, and almost tangible.

The ESV contains 544 occurrences of various forms of the word "bless" and 282 occurrences of various forms of the word "curse," indicating key biblical emphases.

Barak

The Hebrew verb most commonly associated with the concept of blessing is barak. It is most commonly used to refer to God blessing a person or thing, such as the seventh day (Exod 20:11). In a different context, it can refer to someone blessing God. The related noun (brkâ, "blessing") denotes both a pronouncement intended to benefit the recipient and such positive circumstances.

The Aaronic Blessing

I used to attend Seed of Abraham Fellowship in Florida, I can watch the videos at TorahClass.com but one thing I really miss, is Tom Bradford praying Numbers 6:22-27 blessing over us each week.

The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
‘ “ ‘The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face towards you
and give you peace.’ ”

So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’

The Aaronic blessing, a model of brilliant compression, were repeatedly pronounced throughout the biblical period, became prominent in later Jewish worship, and passed into Christian church liturgy. This famous passage have been on the lips of praying people for centuries as they sought the best of God's gifts.

God is the generous Giver. 'May the LORD bless you...' Even though the priests pronounced the blessing, they were unable to bestow it. They were simply the chosen messengers of these spiritual realities. The Lord alone is the donor and benefactor, as declared not only by the threefold utterance of the divine name, but also by the concluding assertion, 'I will bless them.'

Bible Tag Prompt

We are creating a Bible tag each week (on fabric or paper). This is Week 14 tag prompt. Join us at the Slow Stich Bible Journal Facebook Group.

This week try appliqué. An appliqué is simply stitching one fabric onto another. Or if you are using paper glue layers together.

Helpful Links

Recommended Book

Dr John Garr is a long time friend of mine. His book Bless You! Restoring the Power of Biblical Blessing presents these vivid images of a rich biblically Hebraic tradition:

Covenant and Blessing
God's Personal Blessing
The Irrevocable Blessing
Applying God's Name
Releasing God to Bless
Family Blessings
Contending for Blessing
God's Final Blessing

My Tag for Week 13

Video Credit

The Bible Project videos are added to enhance the lessons and used with permission. Bible project offers these videos free on Youtube and at BibleProject.com