Genesis 1:27-28a “So God created man in his image, the image of God created he him. Man and female create he them, and God blessed them.”

 

The first thing God did when He create man and woman was to bless them.  Ever wonder what that meant?   How did He do it?  Did make some gesture with his index and middle finger and utter a few Hebrew words?

 

The Jews are big on giving blessings, so are the Catholics.  Somehow Protestants have been missing the boat.  Needless to say in most cases blessings tend to be nothing more than ceremonial.  To many people, getting blessed by the pope is considered good luck.  Giving or receiving a true blessing tends to be a rare occurrence now a days.  Yet, this is a long lost, but truly legitimate power that has been bestowed upon the saints, not relegated to an elite clergy.  Check out Luke 10:5.

 

The word blessing is baruch.  Unfortunately, your lexicons, Strongs, and Bible Dictionaries give little insight into this very broad, deep and vital word.   We need to move into the authentic Hebrew to examine this word more closely.

 

The word baruch (bless) is spelled Beth, Resh and Hei.  The Beth  indicates the heart and more specifically here, the heart of God.  The Resh represents the power of God, and the Kap represents a filling of one’s heart.   In it’s primitive form a blessing is speaking the heart and power of God into another person’s heart.   A blessing is not  imparting your wishes or desires upon a person, it is literally playing match maker so to speak.  You are matching God’s heart with another’s person’s heart. You are speaking God’s heart to another person.

 

The numerical value of  the word baruch is Beth – 2, Resh -200, Kap – 20.  This totals 222 which is the numerical value for the voice of God. When you speak a true blessing your are speaking the voice of God.  Two twos together (22) represent a joining of the heart of God, with the heart of man.  Three twos (222) together is often a picture of a person whose heart is joined with God and leading another to the heart of God.  Evangelism is one of the purest forms of giving a blessing to someone because you are introducing someone to the heart of God.  Offering a blessing can be other things as well, it can be praying for someone’s healing, giving encouragement etc.  However, it must be a reflection of God’s heart, not just yours to be a true blessing for the power comes from God not us.

 

This does have a hint of prophetic authority, I will admit that, because it is coming from your spirit which is joined with the Spirit of God.  You can not give a blessing unless you truly know the heart of God. Perhaps that is why blessings have become more ceremonial than actually invoking the power of God.  Christians have become too lazy to really seek and search for God’s heart.  Yet if we do, we are Biblically authorized to invoke a blessing on someone and impart the power of God’s direction and strength upon them.

 

What was God doing with Adam and Eve when He blessed them?   He was giving them direction, “Be fruitful and multiply.”  And he was giving them the power to accomplish this.   A blessing is intended to impart God’s direction and power or strength upon someone.  Traditionally you use your hands to impart this blessing.  It will involve maybe a meaningful touch or just holding your hand over someone.  This is the purpose of the laying on of hands.  When imparting a blessing you invoke the name of God so the person knows you are speaking the heart of God.   Think of it this way, within your hands, God has commissioned you with the power to alter a person’s identity and destiny.  But you must first seek the heart of God with all your soul and all your might so you know it is God’s heart and not yours that is being shared.

 

With that I will leave you with an old ministerial blessing that I used many times while in the ministry, however, you do not have to be ordained to impart such a blessing, just know it is coming from the heart of God.

 

May the Son of God

Enfold you, with His Spirit and His love,

May He fill your heart with gladness,

May He satisfy your soul.

May you enter into His Love

In Jesus Name.

 

 

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