“Blessed Are You...”

The Beatitudes and other Scriptures contain this intriguing phrase, “Blessed are you....” Some translations modify that to say “Happy are you.” Thanks to R. C. Sproul, I have a new appreciation for bless, blessed, and blessing.. If you haven’t read the Beatitudes lately, here is a link. It will bless you. (Pun intended.) Matthew 5:3-11. For the technology challenged, or terminally lazy, I have printed them below. Don’t miss this opportunity to read them. Revelation promises a blessing when we read the book. It begins the narrative, Revelation 1:3, and concludes the book in 22:7. This is a shorter trip to the land of blessing.  Beatitudes
I have been privileged to hear several pastors who took one beatitude at a time and preached a sermon on each one. We will not repeat that here. You can study that for yourself.

Back to “blessing.” “Happy” is a poor interpretation of what this means, and if I ever read a passage that substitutes happy, I will say “blessed” instead. But why?

The term “blessed” first occurs in Genesis 1, but Moses is writing from a later perspective. God blessed the living animals (1:22) and He blessed man. (1:28; 5:2) In chapter 2 He blessed the Sabbath day. (2:3) Going forward He blessed Noah (9:1) and Noah “blessed” God in 9:26 but this was more of a prayer of thanks.

The first use of “bless” in relation to God communicating with  a man was chapter 12 , verses 2 and 3. God promised to bless Abram and to make him a blessing. From Abram all of the earth would receive a blessing.

So what, exactly does “bless” mean? In the Hebrew language it is “hesed” and from our earlier study we discovered that it meant God’s protection, His provision, and His presence. That, in and of itself, is an impressive list of components for blessing. So when we receive “blessing” we are literally participating in the blessing that God poured out on Abraham. What a blessing!

But there is more. Melchizedek blessed Abram in chapter 14. The concepts included in hesed were reiterated to him. We will not follow the blessing trail throughout the Old Testament, but it is interesting and exciting, with over 486 instances.

There is one aspect of blessing that we need to pursue. Numbers 6:24-26 is the benediction that the Lord commanded Aaron to pronounce over the people.
The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.
Notice the three aspects of blessing: Protection (keep, peace), provision (be gracious), and presence (face to shine on you, lift up countenance on you). This is the blessing that Aaron gave whenever the assembly was dismissed and they went back to their tents. Many pastors use that today to send out their assembly.

This blessing shows up again in Deuteronomy as Moses repeats the law to the people and gives them a charge before they enter the promised land. A significant point is in Deuteronomy 11:26, 27.
“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today;” 
The commandments are reprised in v. 1-25 for your reference. Notice what he pronounces in juxtaposition to blessing; a curse. And for the astute, or Bible searchers, this is reminiscent of Revelation 22:7 that was referenced above and was the closing benediction of the Book. (Revelation and the Bible.). We examined the concept of blessing in the Aaronic prayer. Let’s return to that for a minute.

“The Lord make His face to shine upon you.” This previews the note in Revelation 21:23
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it.
We turn to 1 John 1:5 for further clarification:
God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

So when God’s face shines on us, it is a foretaste of heaven and the New Jerusalem. Notice the verse again. “...there is no darkness” in God. We can extend that to the analysis that where there is no God, there is no light. Only darkness remains. The concept of hell being an absence of God is not one of freedom from concern about “pleasing” or displeasing Him. It is the concept of ultimate, complete, and eternal darkness.

Now look at the second half of Moses’ charge: (v. 28)
...and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today,
So if blessing includes the light of God’s face, His countenance, the cursing would imply the absence of light. Moses “set before them” a choice: light or darkness.

When we “bless” someone, we are giving them hesed, light; the Light of God’s countenance and presence. Now you can see why I hesitate to substitute “happy” for blessed, or bless-ed. It is like trading a steak dinner for a snack bar. Or maybe trading a magnificently crafted dessert of dark chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, and rich cake for a “Goodbar.” No thanks.

And may you have a Blessed Christmas and a Glorious New Year.


3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.