Tag: image

And God Blessed Them

​So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:27‭-‬28 ESV

#InHis Image #Blessed
And God blessed them.

“Blessed” 

In Hebrew,  the word is:

בָּרַךְ

If we were to sound it out ourselves,  it would be spelled like barak (bä·rak). What is interesting about this word is its meaning and usage in Hebrew. It means to kneel – and interestingly enough it is translated as blessing 302 times in the old testament,  but it is also translated as curse or blaspheme 6 times. How odd for blessing and cursing to come from the same word. I just find that so interesting! 

And the reason is because the Word is about relationship and position with respect to God. You see,  we were created to kneel,  to submit,  to yield to God. And if we understand who God really is, we would be honored to worship Almighty God, Heavenly Father. But if we’ve made some imperfect image of God in our heads that is more like ourselves, there’s no reason some might ask,  “Why do I have to worship God, that just isn’t right.”

For example,  let’s say the person we’ve lobbied for and campaigned for the whole year to get elected into office wins, and we are offered the opportunity to formally present them at their inauguration – wouldn’t we be excited?  But what if that other person won and we are faced with the same opportunity? Isn’t is clear that how we see God affects whether we see kneeling to Him, worshiping Him, obeying Him as either a blessing or a curse? 

And how this word for “kneeling” has gotten twisted into the worldliness of having an abundance of things – that’s not blessing! That’s responsibility to be a good steward lest the stones and beams in our own houses cry out and testify against us about the poor and the hungry and the afflicted at judgement! 

I’m talking about real blessing – a life surrendered to Christ,  not just in a confessed sinner’s prayer,  but in a believing heart that bears the burdens of his fellow men and that shares this Good News to the ends of the earth. Yes, a life anointed and flowing in the Spirit,  bearing fruit, renewing their mind, bringing Hope into the dark places, encouraging others in faithfulness, and leading one another in the holiness that is loving one another.

That is blessed. Blessing is kneeling surrendered humbly at the foot of the cross, not rich and proud at the edge of the cliff of worldliness and sinfulness. 

May we all be blessed by the reading of, and the meditating upon, the Word of God today. Thanks be to God! Amen!