Study 11 "Have a Blessed Day? Part 3"

Psalm 5.12

Bless in Psalm 5.12 is the Hebrew word used most frequently in the OT for bless, blessed, and blessing. In English, this word would be spelled barak. Literally, the word means "to kneel, to bless." Seeing how kneeling and blessing came to be connected is not immediately clear.

Hebrews 7.7 states, "But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater." The Lord blessed Abraham and Isaac, Melchizedek blessed Abram and Jacob blessed his sons. Perhaps, one connection between to kneel and to bless rests in this recognition of the greater blessing the lesser. The lesser might kneel in the presence of the greater. Thus, one possibility for the connection might be kneeling before the one who blesses.

In Genesis 49, the account of Jacob’s blessing of his sons is found. The blessings of each were honest assessments of each son. The fact that the positive and negative declarations concerning Jacob’s children were both blessings is affirmed by the statement of 49.28: "this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him."

Three times in the Hebrew text of Gen. 49.28 the word for bless is used. Each son was blessed with a blessing appropriate to him. The blessings, which were to determine the futures of the twelve tribes, were rooted in the characters of each of Jacob’s sons.

Generally, one does not think of a blessing as having any negative content. When we look at the Greek equivalent to barak, eulogia, we can understand why blessing is thought of solely in a positive sense. As observed in an earlier posting, eulogia literally means "good words." Thus, we think of a blessing in a positive way, and rightfully so. The blessing of the sons of Jacob does not serve, necessarily, as a standard for our understanding of blessing.

In fact, the Septuagint version of Genesis 49.28 uses eulogia for blessing. Yet, some of the sons of Jacob were not blessed in a positive way. Maybe the "good" of Jacob’s blessing was the honesty upon which the blessing was based.

In Psalm 5.12, barak is used. David wrote, "For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD." The Lord is the one who blesses the upright and the innocent. But what did David mean when he declared that God blesses? The second part of the phrase in 5.12, the parallel statement is, "You surround him with favor as with a shield." So, to be blessed is to be favored, to experience something good from God that is protective in its nature. But, what is the good that God gives?

In Genesis 49, the basis of the blessing of Jacob upon his sons appears to have been their characters. In a sense, they got what they deserved. The basis of the blessing in Psa. 5.12 is God’s grace. God grants the blessing, the favor, according to his choice. Obviously, the person receiving the blessing is righteous, but the granter or bestower of the blessing is God. He blesses because of who he is, not because of who or what a person is within themselves.

Paul had a keen insight into blessing. He advanced his position in Galatians 3.7-9 in the following way. First, those who are "of faith . . . are the sons of Abraham." To Abraham, God had said, "All the nations will be blessed in You." He concluded with the assertion, "those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham."

Some seem to believe that blessing for the believer is an on again, off again thing. Only if we pray and ask for a blessing will we receive one. Nothing could be further from the truth. As believers, being "of faith," we are blessed. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "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." Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you are blessed because you are a believer, and everyday, for you, is a blessed day.