Numbers 6:24-26
“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.”
INSIGHT
-Moses through the command of the Lord instructed Aaron and his sons to pronounce a blessing upon the children of Israel. The act of blessing was deeply rooted in the Israel’s culture as it was given to Abraham and his descendants. The priestly blessing bears three key sections where the name of the LORD is spoken. It pronounces a blessings, prosperity, safety and sustenance upon the people. It also speaks of God’s favor and presence. Lastly, it spells out peace given the enemies that surrounded them. The priestly blessings were accompanied by a sacrifice that the priests offered to the Lord which mirrored the sacrifice of Jesus by shedding of His blood on the cross. The blessings were initially spelt out on the Israelites only, but through Christ; we became God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s special possession (1 Peter 2:9). Through God’s love, we are a blessed generation. Since we are Abraham’s seed according to the promise, we are blessed with his blessings which as we await our heaven inheritance through Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
We humbly come to Your feet Jesus asking for mercy and blessings. You are the great I AM, our great High Priest and our sure Foundation. Thank You for loving us Abba Father and blessing us with an eternal blessing. Forgive us for the many times we have not followed Your will faithfully and deliver us from all accusations of the evil one. Cleanse us with Your precious blood Jesus and make us whole. Thank You for loving us Jesus, we bless Your holy name. We lift Your name high and proclaim Your goodness in all the earth. Your faithfulness is everlasting and Your grace satisfies us. May Your salvation reach all Your beloved among our families, nation and all the nations of the earth. May the earth yield its increase Lord. May our land be field with plenty. Thank You Lord for the rains that You have caused upon our nation, may our land yield plenty of fruit. Bless the work of our hands and increase us LORD. Increase in us wisdom, knowledge and understanding that we may follow Your will wholeheartedly. Instil in us new and innovative ideas and grant us the wisdom to actualise them. Have mercy on us LORD and bless us. Cause Your face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. Lift up Your countenance upon us LORD and give us peace. We praise You and magnify Your holy name, now and forever. Amen
Deuteronomy 28:1-8
““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. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. “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. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. “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. “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.”
INSIGHT
-Numerous chapters witness that obedience to God’s word precede His blessings. This chapter is entirely an exposition of blessings that result from obedience causing joyful living, and curses that proceed from disobedience bringing forth misery. 1 Samuel 15:22 reveals that, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of ram”. God’s faithfulness endures forever and He calls us to be faithful to Him through obedience. To fear Him and diligently follow His voice. Psalms 5:12 declares that, “Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” God’s blessings span from family, one self and the entire nation, and He surrounds us with His shield. From the beginning, God has promised to make you the head and not the tail and position the nation high above all the nations of the earth, if you obey. Obedience to God’s word is a sign of humility, and humility comes before honor. You are called to humble yourself before the LORD will set you above and not below. God also promises that favor will be upon you in the city and the country. To bless the fruit of your womb and the work of your hands. To grant you victory before those who intend evil against you and cancel all the plans of the enemy. Finally, to bring forth peace to you, your household and nation, from everlasting to everlasting.
PRAYER
Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Thank You God for this far that You brought us and the far that You are taking us. Thank You for for Your eternal blessings upon our lives, families, churches and nation. Thank You for the plans that You have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. We lift You high and glorify Your holy name. Only You Lord are worthy of our praises and worship. Take charge of our lives, families and nation, and grant us the grace to fear You Jehovah. Grant us the wisdom to diligently harken to Your voice merciful Father. Only You LORD are merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgive us for the many times we have gone against Your holy will. Only You are Holy, only You are Righteous, cover us with Your precious blood that speaks better things than that of Abel. All glory, honor, praise and adoration belongs to You Jesus. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is You mercy toward those who fear You, as far as the east is from the west, so far have You removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so You LORD pity those who fear You. Thank You Jesus for Your mercy and love upon us. We humbly ask You to grant us the grace to fear You Abba Father and the wisdom to only do Your will. You crown us with Your lovingkindness and tender mercies, we shall be the heads and not the tail. Our nation shall be the top and not the bottom. We shall lend to many nations and borrow from none. Thank You for loving us Father. Grant us the grace to fear You and harken to Your voice. You satisfy our mouths with good things and renew our youth like the eagle’s, all glory and praise belongs to You Jesus. Bless the work of our hands and increase us LORD. May Your divine favor be upon us in the cities and in the country, when we go out and when we come in. Thank You Jesus for loving us. We humbly ask You to expand our territories and level the mountains for us, for all our trust is in You. Break the bars of Iron and grant us victory in all things according to Your merciful love. All glory, honor, power, blessings and salvation belongs to You LORD now and forever. Amen
Proverbs 10:22
“The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”
INSIGHT
-God is our Father and grants us fatherly blessings. These blessings are very important today as they were during Biblical times. They were so important that Jacob stole Esau’s birth right so that he may get a blessing from his father. God gives blessings as a gift which makes one rich and adds no sorrows to it. The wicked thrive through ill gotten wealth which multiplies sorrows and misery to them. Proverbs 28:20 reveals that, “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” The wealth of the wicked flies away like an eagle even when they seem to have plenty, but it fades away gradually (Proverbs 23:4-5). Through God’s blessings, wisdom and knowledge, one becomes rich and enjoys the fruit of their labor; but the wicked work and their wealth is given to the righteous (Ecclesiastes 2:26).
PRAYER
God You bless those who fear You both small and great, thank You for Your blessings upon our lives. Bless us and increase us more and more for we are Your children, we humbly implore You. Only You Father can bless for You made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and everything belongs to You. Your blessings make one rich and add no sorrows to it, bless us dear Master and grant us the grace to enjoy what You have given us peacefully. Like You blessed Abraham and all his sons, bless us and all our descendants dear Father and expand our territories. Like You blessed Solomon and gave him wisdom, wealth, honor and peace, bless us dear Father. All glory, honor, riches, wealth, wisdom, authority, power and strength belong to You Jesus, now and forever. Amen
2 Corinthians 9:8-9
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
INSIGHT
-Giving and receiving is a profound Biblical principal. Verse six of this chapter states that “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” A man shall reap what he sows. When one sows seeds filled with love, he/she will reap fruits of love but when one sows seeds of discord then he shall reap as he sows. It is necessary therefore to scatter seed freely to the poor, not reluctantly or through compulsion for the Lord loves a cheerful giver. This is considered a righteous act filled with faith and love and is accompanied with God’s blessings. As the One who is the Giver of all things freely gives, then we are called to freely scatter our gifts to the poor; for the glory of His name.
PRAYER
Lord You are our Rock and our Fortress, our Deliverer in You we put our trust. You are perfect in all Your ways Lord, we praise Your name forever. Your word is flawless and Your truth dwells deep in our hearts, fill us with Your wisdom. You shield all who take refuge in You, Your faithfulness endures to all generations. Your righteousness is everlasting, thank You for making us righteous Jesus Christ. Fill our hearts with compassion and love, that we may always serve You with our substance. Have mercy Lord on those who are sick and suffering, all the orphans and homeless. Lord You show Yourself faithful to the faithful and blameless to the blameless, fill our hearts with Your love. Crown us with abundance dear Father. Bless the work of our hands and careers, and make all our plans succeed. May those people who You send to us including destiny helpers and connectors find us so that we may always do Your will. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
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.”
INSIGHT
-God swore by Himself to bless Abraham and multiply him greatly. Abraham became the father of many nations and through him all his descendants are blessed. Since we are Abraham’s seed we are blessed with an eternal blessing through Jesus Christ. If we believe in Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit in our hearts to abide in us and with us forever (John 14:16-17).
SUMMARY
Blessings of God are very significant in our lives as revealed through the scriptures. After God created man in His own image and likeness, He blessed them saying, “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 1:27-28). After the flood, God gave the same command to Noah and his sons saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). We see here that God’s blessings are associated with fruitfulness in work and child birth, and having dominion. The Lord also blessed Abraham saying, “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” (Genesis 12:2-3). This promise to Abraham was also made to us since we are his offspring through faith in Christ Jesus. According to Deuteronomy chapter 28, blessings and curses are associated with obedience to God’s word. 2 Corinthians 9:8-9 speaks about blessings that come with giving to the poor. Ultimately, we know that God intends to bless us always for He is our Father and He loves us so much. He gave His only begotten Son for the sake of our salvation. He provides for all our needs, sustains us in His peace, gives us good health and wealth, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, talents, gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the grace to pray and worship in the Spirit, gift of salvation and eternal life through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and with us, and many other blessings.
PRAYER
What shall we render to You LORD for all Your benefits to us. You have done great things in our lives, families, nation and the entire world, all glory and honor belongs to You. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from You Father of lights, thank You Lord for loving us and for Your blessings upon us. Because of Your great love we are not consumed, for Your compassions never fail, thank You Jesus for loving us. You have promised us in Your word Lord that You shall supply our every need according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Thank You for Your gift of salvation and eternal life to us and to all our descendants. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit in our hearts to dwell in us and with us forever. We believe in You and hope in You Lord; now and forever. Amen