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OCTOBER 2
COMMANDMENT TO BLESS
“God is not a man, that He
should lie; neither the son
of man, that He should
repent: hath He said, and
shall He not do it? Hath He
spoken, shall He not make it
good. Behold, I have
received commandment to
bless; He hath blessed, and
I cannot reverse it.”
(Numbers 23:19-20)
Balak, king of the Moabites,
had sent for Balaam to come
and place a curse upon the
children of Israel, for he
was afraid of them, because
they were many, and he
feared lest Israel should
destroy them. But God had
given definite word to
Balaam, that only what He
told him could he speak -
and it was not to be a word
of cursing, but of blessing.
Furthermore, he acknowledged
that what God had blessed,
no man could reverse it.
That is a very comforting
fact, in view of
Christendom’s condemnation
and negative doctrines of
eternal destruction. But God
has purposed that “all flesh
shall see the salvation of
God.” (Luke 3:6). HE HATH
BLESSED, and no man can
reverse it, the final
outcome of victory is
secure.
“Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not.”
(Rom. 12:14). One
translation gives, “Bless
those who are cruel in their
attitude toward you.” The
usual thought for
persecution, coming from the
Greek word “ekdioko” is that
of pursuit, to chase out, to
openly manifest hostility.
But there is this more
subtle form also, when it is
a cruel attitude that you
have to face - the cold
stare, the sneer, looking
the other way so that you
are excluded, all these
things can also wound like a
blow. Such is the time we
need to bless, and curse
them not.
1 Cor. 4:12 gives, “being
reviled, we bless.” When
others direct their barbs,
to sting, to wound,
belittling, demeaning, then
it is time to counter-act
with BLESSING. The Psalmist
also caught a glimpse of
this truth, and declared,
“let them curse, but bless
thou.” (Ps. 109:28).
“Boaz said unto the reapers,
The Lord be with you. They
answered him, The Lord bless
thee.” (Ruth 2:4). Each
blessing the other, what
harmony, making working
conditions positive and
uplifting. Let us be
blessers!
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