June 1 – Deuteronomy 27:1-28:6
And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.
Before we dive into the many blessings God has given us, let’s spend the morning looking at the kinds of blessings God gives. Words are amazing! I looked at Strong’s Dictionary for a deeper look into blessings. In your own time, check it out; there is so much to learn! So, different kinds of blessings….
We have two Hebrew words of note: barak and esher. Barak tends to mean a blessing of praise and congratulations. We will see how God uses this when we get to Genesis chapter 1 tomorrow. The less frequently used Hebrew word in the Bible, esher, means blessedness or happiness. Where can we find this used? Job 5 and Psalm 1, which we will also see this week!
We have two Greek words of note: makarios and eulogeo. Later in the month, we will dive into Matthew 5, where we will read about makarios (Strong’s #3107) kinds of blessings. These blessings correlate to esher (Strong’s #835) as they also bring with them happiness as it relates to our state of being; in other words, our Spiritual well-being. When we are living out the state of the beautitudes and know our purpose within God’s will, our Spirit will be well. The Beatitudes listed in Matthew 5 are wonderful directions on how to live a spiritually well life.
Moving onto eulogeo, which we will find in 1 Peter 3, this blessing brings focus in a seemingly different direction. They focus more on good works, and they also describe blessings we say over our meals before eating. In 1 Peter 3, the focus is a blessing being bestowed upon or being spoken well of.
These blessings are God’s way of showing His great desire for us to be restored back to Him. They are the hope that this promised restoration can and will occur. What a beautiful way to remind us, His children, that we are not forgotten or misplaced.
My Verse: “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle,
the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 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.” Deuteronomy 28:2-6
My Response: God, I praise You, for You are the One Who Blesses. You are the one who sent me Hope, that hope found in Jesus. You sent me the Spirit to remind me of that hope. In You, I have everything I need, and without You, I am nothing. God, I thank You for Your continued blessings over my life. Your mercies never cease, and I am blessed!
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My verse: Deuteronomy 27:18 “Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.”
My response: I’ve always been uncomfortable with the phrase, “Can’t you take a joke?” It usually means someone has teased or hurt another and found it funny – because they weren’t the one being teased. Leading a blind person astray – on purpose – is not funny and it’s no joke! Cruelty and meanness are never “funny” are they? Father God, this morning, I’m just so thankful that You want kindness from Your people. You value the worth of everyone, no matter their disabilities. You see the petty cruelties and they are not petty to You. So today I was blessed by this curse, because it showed me Who You Are. You are the God who sees the disenfranchised and the overlooked. Thank You. heart