Sermon Devotions

COMMANDED BLESSINGS (I)

Scripture Reading: [Deut 28: 8]

The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

God’s blessing brings increase not decrease. The above verse summarizes a special type of uncommon blessing. God is good and benevolent to everyone having breath of life on the earth. That is why for example, the sun shines on both the righteous and the unrighteous. He also pours out his blessing because of his steadfast love and mercy, which he renews on the righteous everyday (Lam 3:22-23). Today we will look into commanded blessings and our anchor verse will be Deut 28:8.  Commanded blessings will be enjoyed by anyone who is aware of such a special type of blessing and diligently obeys the word of God. What does the word ‘command’ and ‘blessing’ mean?

 ‘Command’ means to have dominion, authority and power.  When we say the commander of a battalion for example, we know he has authority and power over his troops.  From the above scripture it is clear that the person issuing the command is God Himself who has total control over all things in heaven and on the earth. Everybody and everything. It is only what he says that stands. For example he established the earth by a changeless decree, as the hymn writer rightly captions.

‘Blessing’ in the scripture means gift from God due to his grace.

Commanded blessing comes from obedience (Deut 28). We can link the following to commanded blessings: 

1.                  Divine Health: Ex 15:26

 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

 2.         Longevity: Ex 20:12

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

3.                  Gift of children: Psalm 127:3

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4.         Divine Prosperity: Mal 3: 11, a blessing for tithes and offerings to God.

11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

Now that we know what commanded blessings mean, we will look into it in more details later.