The Blessing Of The Lord, It Makes Rich, And He Adds No Sorrow With It - Part 2506

"... but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel:) [even] by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: the blessings of Thy Father have prevailed above the blessings of My progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills!" (Genesis 49:24-26)

"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:2)

In offering a comparison between the man-made, religious instruction of giving back to the Lord our God and Saviour for the many blessings He bestows upon us, we concluded (in the last blog) with the idea of standing in the offering plate.

Perhaps, before we continue with the theme established in the last blog, we can begin by imagining the traditional church offering plate on the floor and rather than reaching for our wallets, stepping into the plate. Physically! What thoughts come to mind? Does it change how we think about being that flow-through for the Lord?

Does it change our perspective about the first commandment? That is, "Hear O Israel the Lord thy God is One Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:29-31; Deuteronomy 6:4)

In the last post, we cited the prophet Malachi which spoke of tithes, and bringing one's first-fruits to the storehouse. For believers, this has been a continued mantra from pulpits but have we taken the time to consider the context of those scriptures. For example, Malachi 2:1-2 states -- "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto My Name," saith the Lord of hosts, "I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart." Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it." (Malachi 2:1-3)

As you can see, even from these limited scriptures, there is a very different understanding emerging. Remember that following Malachi's preaching of the Word, there was 430 years of silence from the Lord. In the days ahead, we will return to Malachi -- so that we can more fully understand this prophecy from the Lord.

For today, however, let's consider blessings. In the scriptures, the word blessing is cited 73 times  - 60 times in the old testament and 13 times in the new. If we add the letter s to blessing -- we see that blessings are referenced 9 times in the old and only once in the new testament.

"... that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice." (Genesis 22:17)

Does anyone remember Joseph, when the Lord blessed not only the house of the Egyptian where Joseph laboured as an overseer but also the field -- because of Joseph? "... that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field!" (Genesis 38:5) As you can see, Joseph was a goodly person and well favoured. 

You see, the Lord sets before us blessing and curse -- a blessing when we heed His voice. (Deuteronomy 11:26-27) Thankfully, this same Lord continues to give us this choice today -- inviting us to dwell in the heavenly with Him.

"Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love ..." (Ephesians 1:2-3)

As we further establish how the Lord God desires our heart, let's add Deuteronomy 16:17 to the mix -- so that we can begin to lay a foundation of understanding when it comes to giving. Note that this scripture fully aligns with the apostles' teaching and example in Acts 2 and 4 -- "every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee." (Deuteronomy 16:17)

Moreover, from the same chapter -- "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou set thine hand unto; and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Deuteronomy 28:8)

Throughout the old and the new, the Lord has invited us to choose life -- choose life in Him, wherein the voice we hear is the voice of the Good Shepherd that laid down His life for the sheep. He knows our very being, and notably, as we see in Deuteronomy 16, He never asks us to give more than we are able.

This is why standing in the offering plate is such an insightful revelation -- because the Lord knows our hearts, our innermost thoughts -- and yet, He still loves us beyond measure. Again, Jesus' parable of the man knocking on the neighbour's door at midnight for a loaf of bread. Obviously, much more to come. But for now, stand in the offering plate. Ask the Lord Jesus to lead and guide you in all things this day.

"He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." (Psalm 24:4-6)

Stand in the offering plate.

[Note: progenitors is defined as "to beget"]