Commanded Blessings

The Commanded Blessing

Today we are going to speak on the subject of the commanded blessing. We will explain what a commanded blessing is, the areas God commands blessings, and I will break down the commanded blessing in Numbers chapter 6.

As we look in the scriptures we see that God commands blessings in three main areas, in giving, in believers walking in unity, and upon His "peculiar," people. So...

What do we mean by commanded blessing?

A commanded blessing is a promise of God that carries within itself the irrevocable power for it’s fulfillment.

In Genesis 1, 8 times we read, "and God said...", which is usually followed by, "and it was so." Everything He said to happen, happened, simply by the power of His words.

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

God made a statement and incredible things resulted. But, when we talk about a command that God issues we take things to a whole new level of assurance. This is illustrated by what it means when God swears an oath:

Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath:

Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

The writer of Hebrews says they can have strong encouragment because: 1. It is impossible for God to lie, and 2. He added an oath as an additional layer of promise. The writer calls these two, "immutable things."

Immutable is an attribute that belongs to God alone, it means unchangeable. Everything we know changes, God cannot be added to or subtracted from. Mal 3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not...

When God says something, it happens, period. When He commands something it is like what is described in Heb. 6, now there are two complimentary forces, either of which cannot be changed, annuled, or stopped, that serve to give us extra assurance that something will happen.

So now that we understand that, where has God commanded blessings?

God has commanded blessings in three area’s, I will only speak briefly on the first two, but at length on the third. They are:

1. In the area of giving, God commands blessing.

2. In believers walking in unity God commands blessing.

3. Upon God’s peculiar people God commands blessing.

1. In the area of giving, God commands blessing.

Many of you are familiar and have heard sermons on tithing from the book of Malachi, where it says if we tithe God would open heaven and pour out blessings.

I want to show you a similar thought from another scripture:

Le 25:20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:

Le 25:21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.

Le 25:22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat [yet] of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat [of] the old [store].

In verse 21 is where we see a commanded blessing.

God instructed the Jews not to plant crops every seventh year, He answers their objections before they even have time to make them: If you obey me, I will give you so much in the 6th year it will last all the way through the 7th (what would happen normally) on through the eighth year when they had planted again and all the way to the ninth year when the harvest of the eighth year would be brought in.

So the 6th years crops would be commanded by God to be blessed (Lev 25:21) and last for 2 plus years (3 calender years). In other words, if they committed themselves to obeying God and giving up 1 years income (which is what their crops were) God would give them the same as if they never had given up anything. Giving to God doesn’t cost you money, withholding from God does. (Hab 1, sown much reaped little.) I also believe the text speaks of more than the provision of crops, because it actually says, "Then I will command my blessing upon YOU..." In addition to the crops they would have a year off from sowing, from all the labor that entailed, that would allow them to work on so many other things. How would you like a year off with pay? God gives back much more to us then we ever gave to him, and He gives in far more many ways they we could ever enumerate. A denominational leader I once knew, often quoted this phrase: