Introduction
This paper details that God bestows blessings upon His people who are called by His name. If believers would trust God unreservedly and take Him at His word, He would command His blessings upon their lives. The concept of blessing in this work is consistent with that described by Webster. According to Webster, a blessing is any means of happiness, a gift, benefit or an advantage which promotes temporal prosperity and welfare or secures immortal felicity. Webster adds that the divine favor is the greatest of all blessings. The author believes that when God promises his people blessings, He means all-encompassing blessings, in both the spiritual and physical realms (Eph 1:3, Php 4:19).
Blessings Preceding the Sabbath of Rest
In the Old Testament, the people, as well as the land, were supposed to observe Sabbath of rest. Humans were to remember the Sabbath which falls on the seventh day or Saturdays (Ex 20:8-11). The Sabbath of rest for the land lasted the whole of the seventh year. The land had to be left uncultivated in that year. It is recorded that:
“And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land” (Lev 25:1-5).
The above law is equally as important as the seventh-day Sabbath, so breaking it implies that the individual is guilty of breaking the entire law because James writes that if one observes the whole law and breaks one of them, s/he is guilty of the entire law (Jas 2:10). It is obedience to the law of God that brings down the blessings of God.
God Commands His Blessings
It is very challenging to abandon the land in the seventh year but God assures them, that, if they would be obedient to Him and keep His word, He would command His blessings upon them in the sixth year and the land shall bring forth fruit for three years. They would eat of the produce from the sixth year until the eighth year crops are ready to be harvested (Lev 25:20-22).
God requires only one thing from His people, and that is their obedience. They were expected to cultivate the land for six years and the Lord God Himself would give the increase. He would command the plantations to produce triple their ability to keep His people alive for three years. This would not be the result of their hard work but the unmerited blessings of the Lord God.
It could be argued that the blessings of God are not altogether earned but invoked upon the faithful. Of course, hard work forms part of the equation, it ought to be stated that hard work without God´s blessings is futile because unless God builds the house, they that build it labor in vain (Psa 127:1). If a person thinks that it is only hard work that makes people rich, s/he needs to be reminded of the word of God that says a person thinks that his or her power and might give him/her their wealth, then they have gotten it wrong because it is God that gives the power to get wealth, so that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto the fathers (Deut 8:17-18).
Conclusion
God expects His people to work with what they have been given but it is He who blesses the works of their hands (Deut 28:12). Believers have to be obedient to His word and act in faith if they were to receive the commanded blessings that only God gives.
Prayer: May the Lord God Almighty command His blessings-healings, wealth, protection and all your needs upon you so that you would cease from your own works. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN.