Blessed Beyond Measure

God has blessed all that He has created on this earth:
Genesis 1:22, 23 And God blessed them, saying,

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

God blessed Adam and Eve after He created them:

Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them,

“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 5:2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

God blessed Noah and his sons:

Genesis 9:1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them:

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

God blessed Abraham when He called him out of his country:

Genesis 12:1 – 3 Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We are blessed to be a blessing.

A blessing requires both a giver and a receiver.

Blessings bring God’s favor, fruitfulness and multiplication as mankind operates in their God given dominion on this earth. Blessings are imparted by the words that are spoken. We, like God, can bless by the words that we speak. To bless is the intentional act of speaking God’s favor and power into someone’s life, often accompanied by a gesture such as laying hands on the person or anointing them with oil. The words bless or blessing, are mentioned around 700 times in Scripture. It is obvious that like Abraham, many people mentioned in Scripture welcomed and needed the grace, power and encouragement that imparted into their lives through God’s blessing.

The OT Hebrew word for blessing is berakah. To Abraham, like those others mentioned in the Old Testament, a berakah was God’s spoken declaration of favor that would convey God’s power to make him into a great nation and able to transmit that divine favor and power to the whole world. The ancient Hebrews believed that the spoken word carried great power for good or evil. They were convinced that words once spoken take a life of their own. So when a word of blessing was given, the speaker could not retract it.

Isaac’s blessing was mistakenly given to his younger son, Jacob, rather than to his firstborn, Esau. Jacob had tricked his blind father into thinking he was Esau. There was nothing that Isaac could do to take back that blessing, even though it had been gained by deceit. The only thing that Isaac could do was to speak another blessing on Esau. Spoken blessings (benedictions) were commonly spoken by fathers to their children. (We should bless our children every day.) They were also given by people in authority to those under their authority. These blessings were always imparted by the authority of the name of God.

The most often used New Testament, Greek verb used for blessing was eulogeo meaning “to speak well of” or “to praise”.

There are 4 types of Scriptural blessings:

A blessing spoken by God to people.
(This was a blessing that promised His favor.)
Example: God’s blessing to Abraham.
A blessing spoken by people to God.
Psalm 103:2 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: “.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

A blessing spoken by God or people over things:
Deuteronomy 28:4, 5 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

Matthew 14:19 -21 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

A blessing spoken by one person to another:
In a general way: Isaac’s blessing of Jacob. Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram.
Hebrews 7:1, 2 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”

In a more specific way of blessing is the intentional act of speaking God’s favor and power into someone’s life, often accompanied by a gesture such as laying hands on the person.
The family blessing: Speaking blessings over our family in our daily conversations.
Blessing our Children:

Hebrews 11:20, 21 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

Mark 10:13 – 16 Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.

Proverbs 20:7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.

Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring;

Lay hands on your children and bless your children using the words of Numbers chapter 6:

Numbers 6:23 – 27 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. 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 lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

The blessing of obedience:

Deuteronomy 28:

1. “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.</li>
2. “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3. “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7. “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8. “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
9. “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
10. “Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.
11. “And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
12. “The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13. “And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

The blessing of Abraham:

Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 22:15 – 18 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, “in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Hebrews 6:13 – 15 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Genesis 24:1 Now Abraham was old, well-advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Abrahams servant reported to Rebekah’s brother, Laban: Genesis 24:34, 35 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. “The LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

Galatians 3:8, 9 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Galatians 3:13, 14 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The blessing of Isaac:

Genesis 25:11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac.

Genesis 26:1– 5 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Genesis 26:12 – 14 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.

Genesis 26:24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.”

The blessing of Jacob:

Genesis 28:1- 4 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. “Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. “May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.”

Genesis 28:11 – 14 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. “Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

God’s blessing on His children of obedience:

Deuteronomy 7:13 – 15 “And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. “And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

Deuteronomy 12:7 “And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

The blessing of Job:

JOB 1:8 – 10 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

JOB 42:12, 13 Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters.

Blessing our enemies:

Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Luke 6:28 “bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

1 Corinthians 4:1 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure it;

Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

God’s blessing on His people

Malachi 3:12 “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.

Psalm 5:12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 67:1 – 7 God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

The blessing of Jabez:

1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Blessing of Divine Health

Exodus 23:25 “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

Deuteronomy 7:13 – 15 “And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. “And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

Financial blessing:

Ezekiel 44:30 “The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

Malachi 3:10 – 12 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts; “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

Deuteronomy 15:6 “For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

Possessing our blessings

Deuteronomy – 11 ‘See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers – to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to give to them and their descendants after them.’ “And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I alone am not able to bear you. ‘The LORD your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. ‘May the LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!

Blessed beyond measure

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,