The Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, stretching out his hands in blessing (Luke 24:50). Thus, as his disciples saw him ascending, thus he will return. That promise has meaning not only for the future. In fact, the heavenly messengers in Acts 1:11 emphasize that Jesus continues to spread his blessing hands in heaven today. The church may live under these blessing hands. What does that actually mean: “bless” and “be blessed”?

God ordains the blessing⤒🔗

Whenever the blessing of God is mentioned in the Bible, it is always clear that it is pure love and grace that God wants to grant us his blessing. Nowhere is blessing a kind of impersonal magical power that can be received apart from a personal bond with God. People can never have the blessing at their disposal.

Genesis 32 is a chapter in which it becomes poignantly clear that receiving God’s blessing is not self-evident. We read there of a struggle between the founding father of Israel and God himself. At the end of that struggle, Jacob clings to God with the words “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26). Apparently, it is of vital importance to Jacob that he receives God’s blessing. Only in this way can the relationship with God be maintained. This blessing thus determines Jacob’s entire future. Its main content can be summarized in one sentence, spoken by God: “I will be with you” (for example, Genesis 17:7; 26:3, and so on). Jacob actually receives that promise from God when God ultimately blesses him.

What Jacob receives from God in this way becomes visible in a special way in the later worship of Israel. God commands the priests in Israel to bless the people of God.

That must be done with the words that God himself gives:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace!”
(Numbers  6:24-26).

This blessing underlines the richness of the relationship with God. The first sentence indicates God’s protection for his people, like a shepherd guarding his flock. The second sentence shows what the purpose of that guarding is: that God makes his face shine over his sheep. This shows God’s loving favour. The last sentence indicates the purpose of the blessing: that there will be peace, wholeness between God and people, and also between people themselves. The Hebrew form of the blessing is very elaborate. The covenant name of God comes first three times, and twelve words are included—as it were, a word for each tribe. There are two more words in each sentence; the blessing is meant to fan out and be spread.

The priests in the temple were allowed to pronounce this blessing from the edge of the altar, after burnt offerings and peace offerings had first been offered (for example, Leviticus 9: 22). This had to be accompanied by the lifting of hands over the people, to show where this blessing came from. Initially, only Aaron and his sons are allowed to say these words, but later also the other Levites (Deuteronomy 10:8; 21:5). Yet we also read of kings who bless the people (for example, David in 2 Samuel 6:18). Then too, the blessing is pronounced in the context of the service of reconciliation. In this way, the blessing is closely linked to the way in which God and people can remain in relationship: in the Old Testament through the sacrificial service that took place in the temple.

People can bless each other←⤒🔗

People could bless each other in different ways in the Bible. The realization remains essential that the source of the blessing lies with God. A well-known greeting is “the Lord will bless you [or “bless you”] from Zion” (Psalm 128:5). What people wish for each other is in fact based on God’s promise, connected to the place where he wants to bless his people. The Lord blesses from Zion, because that is where the service of reconciliation with him takes shape.

The power and content of words of blessing depend on the way they are connected to the source. For example, people can also wish each other blessings in a much more casual way. For example, the reapers in the book of Ruth greet each other with the words “The Lord bless you!” (Ruth 2:4). Apparently this was a general greeting. Then such a blessing word has also acquired a more general meaning.

A very unique meaning is given to the blessing of people in the history of the patriarchs, who bless their sons on their deathbed. Those words of blessing have prophetic meaning (Genesis 27; 48; 49).

Bless God←⤒🔗

It is not just that people may receive a blessing from God. People can also “bless” God. In fact it means recognizing the blessing hand of God and magnifying him for it. Through this blessing, a piece of the glory of God’s works is, as it were, returned to him.

Both meanings of blessing are side by side in 1 Kings 8:14-15. Solomon blesses the people there. The content of the blessing is in the next sentence, which literally says, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father.” In some translations, instead of blessed it says “extolled” or “praised”; but the Hebrew uses exactly the same word for it. The blessing that Solomon pronounces over the people is precisely the praise that follows.

In the New Testament, the word bless is most often used in this latter sense of “extol” or “praise,” as it is also most commonly used in Judaism. Often this can no longer be recognized as “blessing” in some translations, because other words are used for this praise, such as “blessed is he” (for example, Luke 1:68; Romans 1:25, 9:5; 2 Corinthians 1:3, 11:31).

The blessing associated with the work of Christ←⤒🔗

Just as in the Old Testament the blessing came to God’s people mainly through the altar, so in the New Testament the blessing comes to us mainly through the work of Christ. Jesus’ entire work can therefore be summarized with the word blessing. Peter tells the Jews who flock to him that God has raised his Son and sent him “to bless you” by turning each of them from their sins (Acts 3:26). When Paul comes to Rome, the most important thing he takes with him is the “fullness of the blessing of (the gospel of) Christ” (Romans 15:29). This blessing that comes to human hearts through Christ is in fact the fulfillment of the blessing promised to Abraham. In Genesis 12, God already promises that one day all nations will be blessed in the same way as Abraham. This means that all peoples can share in that promise of God: “I will be your God” (see Genesis 18:18; 22:18). That expectation was fulfilled by the coming of Christ at Pentecost (Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8-9,14; Hebrews 6:14). This is a “spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). He works this blessing in the hearts through his Spirit.

Those who are blessed will bless←⤒🔗

Whoever receives God’s blessing in this way will also want to spread God’s blessing. That means that whoever is connected to God, also grants that to others and will do everything he can to achieve this, to show others what this “being with God” means.

Jesus says, “Bless those who curse you and pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:28). The parallel text from Matthew 5:44 shows that Jesus is particularly concerned with the attitude of the heart: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.: It is remarkable that the command to bless is particularly directed outward.

The same command is presented to the churches by the apostles: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Romans 12:14; see 1 Corinthians 4:12-13).

The one who has given us the clearest example of this is Christ himself: “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; and when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). Even on the cross he prayed for his enemies. For us he is the standard and the source from which we can draw strength in our own persecution. Therefore, Peter can expect the same attitude from the church: “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). Anyone who realizes what it means to share in the inheritance of God, in other words, in the blessing of “being with God,” will not pit evil against evil, but will follow the example of Christ, so that many will come who will also inherit that blessing.

An example of a blessing: the collection for Jerusalem←⤒🔗

Very concretely, the fruit of God’s blessing can be expressed in financial support for brothers and sisters in need. Such a gift, in short, can even be called a blessing. So it appears in 2 Corinthians 9:5; the “blessing” can simply be translated there as “gift.” The church of Corinth blesses the church of Jerusalem. They do this by setting something aside every week as a collection and then transferring it over time. Paul notes, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Blessing thus does not refer to only one type of action in the Bible. The concept takes on a different color and meaning depending on the context in which it is used.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

The biblical word blessing shows us where true happiness originates. This is fundamentally about the promise that the Lord wants to be our God. God himself is the source of that. The primary context in which this blessing is received is the ministry of reconciliation. Thus, the blessing refers to the way in which the relationship with God is established and maintained, by paying for people’s debts. This means for us that one cannot speak of the blessing of God without closely connecting it to the work of Jesus Christ.

The blessing still derives its meaning from that same promise today, even if it may be imposed on behalf of God at the end of a church service. This in fact powerfully underlines God’s promise, which came to us in the service of reconciliation, and brings it visibly closer. In the blessing, God is prayed to for the fulfillment of that promise and at the same time the congregation is assured that God will do this. That is why it is always asked to receive the blessing with a faithful heart (for example “lift up your hearts now to God”) and the gesture of laying on of hands is also part of the assurance.

The blessing of course also has meaning outside the church services. Believers may point out God’s promise to each other and assure each other of it. In fact, this already happens when someone receives a card with the encouragement “God bless!” That refers to God’s blessed promise, whatever you pray for. We refer each other to the blessing God himself. That is what it is about. He alone ordains his blessing. According to the Bible and in Judaism, the formula that accompanies this is always a form of prayer. So not “I bless you,” but “May the Lord bless you,” or “He bless you.”

In this way we express our dependence on the great High Priest, who still holds out his blessing hands from heaven. The best we can do in response to that is to bless God for his blessing.

(For this Biblical reflection, I edited an article I wrote in the Dictionary for Bible Readers, edited by Dr. A. Noordegraaf and others, published by Boekencentrum in 2005.)