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Chapter 1. Blessed (2)
Those passages from Deuteronomy introduces us to the second word for ‘to bless’ with which we must concern ourselves for a little while — barak (Note 21). It is the word used in the Old Testament to describe what God does whenever, by command or invocation, he decrees what will be, and adds to the decree the power necessary to bring about its successful performance (Note 22). When, for instance, he had made all the creatures of the sea and
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Notes 21-24
21. Pronounced bar-ack.
22. ‘To endue with power for success, prosperity, fecundity, longevity, etc’ Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, Vol 1, Harris-Archer-Waltke, p 285. ‘The word of blessing, whether pronounced by God or man, guarantees and effects the hoped-for success ... Once uttered, the word carries its own life-giving power ...’ Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis 1-15, Gordon J Wenham, 1991, Word UK Ltd, p 24.
23. Vespers, A A Milne.
24. A Christmas Carol, Stave 3, Charles Dickens. |
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all the creatures of the air as described in Genesis 1.20-21, we are told that he barak-ed them, saying ‘Be fruitful and multiply ...’ And when God had created male and female, he barak-ed them too, saying ‘Be fruitful and multiply ... and rule ...’
 This concept of blessing — empowering people or things for success either generally or in a specific area — may surprise us. It can hardly have been what Christopher Robin had in mind when he knelt at the foot of the bed and prayed, ‘God bless Mummy. I know that’s right. Wasn’t it fun in the bath tonight? The cold’s so cold, and the hot’s so hot. Oh! God bless Daddy — I quite forgot’ (Note 23). Or what Tiny Tim meant when he cried: ‘God bless us every one!’ (Note 24).
It is surely not what we mean when we take our leave of someone with the words ‘God bless’. Do we ever seriously expect that, as a direct consequence of saying those words, some kind of positive, dynamic, divine intervention will take place in life of the one to whom we say them? Almost certainly not. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, all we are doing when we say ‘God bless’ is asking God to keep a benevolent eye on someone for us. A blessing has now become little more than an expression of goodwill. But then, both to the God who imparted it and to the one who received it, a blessing was an actual endowment with power for success in some particular area of life or activity. Indeed, in the context of the blessings laid down in Deuteronomy and quoted earlier, Moses warns the Israelites to be careful to give credit where credit is due when success comes: ‘You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth’ (Deuteronomy 8.17-18).That ‘ability’ was part and parcel of the blessing, and woe on the Israelites if they forget it.
We have noted God’s ‘be fruitful and multiply’ blessings at creation — blessings which have, throughout all ages, endowed all creatures with a remarkable power to succeed in the business of reproduction. We have noted, too, his ‘rule’ blessing which he imparted only to humankind — another blessing which has spectacularly enabled human beings to succeed (often disastrously) in their domination of the rest of creation. But God’s first great specific blessing was of Abraham and, through Abraham, of all peoples of the earth. ‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’ (Genesis 12.2-3).
Here is an object lesson in how the blessing of God works. At the time this blessing was pronounced, Abraham had not a square millimetre of land anywhere on earth that he could call his own, he was seventy-five years old, his wife Sarah was sixty-five, and they were childless (Genesis 12.4). Hardly a sound basis for building a great nation! But the blessing of God carries within it the power that will bring the promise to fulfilment; so, at the age of ninety, Sarah gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 17.17; 21.1-3). ‘By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore’ (Hebrews 11.11-12).
Whatever form a blessing of God takes, it carries within itself an indefeasible power from God that guarantees its performance. That is why David could pray concerning his family: ‘Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue for ever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing, the house of your servant will be blessed for ever’ (2 Samuel 7.29).
Of course, many blessings are spoken by human beings, not by God, but it is important to understand that whenever a blessing is pronounced and whoever pronounces it, God is its only source and the only one who can endow its recipient with the power of success. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace’. So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them”’ (Numbers 6.22-27). The story of Balaam is even more illuminating. As the Israelites moved into the territory of Balak, the king of Moab, Balak became terrified by the weight of their numbers. He summoned Balaam, a pagan prophet, and commanded him to curse Israel, but Balaam said: ‘I have received a command to bless; [God] has blessed, and I cannot change it’ (Numbers 23.20).
A blessing is, in fact, nothing less than a power-packed imperative, originating with God. That is why Jacob went to such extremes to obtain the one which was about to be pronounced by his aged father, Isaac. The blessing — ‘May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness — an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed’ (Genesis 27.28-29) — was intended for Esau, the firstborn, but by cunning and trickery Jacob took it for himself. It is worth observing that, when the theft was discovered, neither Isaac nor Esau entertained even the possibility that the blessing could be either revoked or negated; it had been pronounced so it would come to pass. ‘Isaac answered Esau, “I have made [Jacob] lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”’ (Genesis 27.37).
Not content with the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob, many years later, wrestles with an unknown stranger and says: ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’ (Genesis 32.26).
Blessings may be obtained and, if they are, the recipient is empowered for success within the terms of the blessing. But blessings may be declined also, and it is important to understand (particularly in the context of the Beatitudes) that then the opposite is true. To decline a blessing is to disqualify oneself for success within the terms of the blessing. When David returned to his house after bringing the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, it was ‘to bless his household’ (2 Samuel 6.20). But his wife, Michal, appalled at his display of religious fervour, forestalled him in his attempt to bless her and, in consequence, ‘had no children to the day of her death’ (2 Samuel 6.23).
So much for ’ashrê and so much for barak; but what was the relationship in the Old Testament between the two? Simply this: whenever a person was barak-ed by God, he or she might rightly be described by others as ’ashrê; for ’ashrê means: ‘How greatly to be congratulated — envied, even! — is this particular person, for, because of his or her obedience to the law, God has placed within him or her the indefeasible power to succeed and prosper’.
Even when there is disobedience to the law, there are grounds for
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Note 25
Again, from this text, we see how ‘O how happy ...’ is an inadequate phrase by which to translate ’ashrê. No normal person is happy to receive punishment. |
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congratulation if and when God steps in to chastise! (Note 25). Eliphaz tells Job: ‘Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty’ (Job 5.17). Congratulations are in order because God’s correction is a blessing in the sense that it will empower for success the one who is being corrected.
Reference has already been made to Psalm 1 but if we look at it again we shall see how the use of ’ashrê there accords with all that is being said here. ‘Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night’ (Psalms 1.1-2). And why is he to be congratulated and envied? Because: ‘He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers’ (Psalms 1.3).
There is the same pattern in Jeremiah: ‘But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit’ (Jeremiah 17.7-8).
It may be that the formula, ‘Blessed is/are ...’ began as a mere circumlocution. If an Israelite were to declare: ‘God blesses any man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked ...’, he would be uttering the sacred name of God and thus running the risk of transgressing the third commandment. So instead he would simple say, ‘Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked ...’
In line with what has been said so far, a blessing may now be defined as a power-packed imperative, originating with God and addressed to a particular individual or group or class, which brings success to that individual or group or class, either generally or in some specified area.
Now it cannot be denied that, in the Old Testament, the success that flowed from the blessing of God was, for the most part, perceived in economic terms. It was worldly prosperity measurable in terms of flocks, herds, shekels, territories and children. And it is for that reason, perhaps, that Christians become uneasy at any attempt to move this definition of blessing across the Testamentary divide. But let us be clear at once that the blessings that underlie the Beatitudes are not blessings that necessarily produce economic or worldly success. If they bring material benefits it is only because such benefits are incidental to the ‘abundant life’ that flows from those blessings. This — effective, satisfying, fruitful life — is the area in which success lies for those who come under the blessings of the Beatitudes.
Even within the Old Testament there was a growing realisation that benefits measurable in economic terms did not necessarily follow upon the blessing of God, even though one might be careful to keep oneself within the terms of the blessing by being faithful to God and observing his law. The Psalms resound with cries for justice in this area. ‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?’ (Psalms 13.1). ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Psalms 22.1). ‘Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering’ (Psalms 26.1). Indeed, the incongruity between blessings and their outcome in solely material and economic terms was one of the principal means whereby God opened the eyes of his people to the concept of spiritual benefits in this life and material and spiritual benefits in an age to come. This was not to deny the potency and dynamic of a blessing; it was simply to recognise that its outcome might not be manifest in the material present but would surely be found somewhere in the spiritual and material present and future. Why?
Because the blessings of God are power-packed imperatives. That is the essential truth that we must grasp before we go any further. Blessings are not merely benevolent expressions or spiritual platitudes devoid of any real content. Once a blessing is pronounced and we bring ourselves beneath it, something actually begins to happen. The consequences specified in the terms of the blessing begin to be realised in our lives and circumstances. Success is assured and guaranteed because the empowerment that accompanies the blessing is imparted to us. How do we empower a torch? By putting batteries in it. How does God empower his people? By blessing them. And when God blesses — barak-s — his people, they are (in the Psalmist’s terms) blessed — ’ashrê. They are fortunate and to be envied because success in conformity with the blessing is assured.
But whereas God’s richest blessings of old were reserved for those who observed his precepts (tôrâ), his commandments (mitswâ) and his testimonies (’edâ), God’s richest blessings of the kingdom age are, says Jesus, reserved for kingdom people — people who display a certain character as opposed to people who deliver a certain performance. And in the Beatitudes he spells out who such people are.
Just as Moses laid down for old Israel the conditions under which they would obtain God’s blessings and what those blessings would be, so Jesus —
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Note 26
Some have suggested that Jesus deliberately ‘went up on a mountainside’ to excite a comparison of himself with Moses — cf Exodus 24.12 — but that seems extremely unlikely. As has already been stated, the Greek text probably indicates no more than that Jesus ‘took to the hills’, and it would seem that he did so simply because the hills provided him with a setting in which he could teach without all the interruptions he encountered in the valleys and on the lakeside. |
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the ‘prophet like Moses’ (Deuteronomy 18.15) — now does the same for new Israel (Note 26).
He does it not by inviting each of his followers to bring himself or herself under just one of eight alternative blessings but by inviting all his followers to bring themselves under every blessing. All the blessings of Deuteronomy 28.1-14 were there to be enjoyed by every Israelite, from the greatest to the least. They had simply to observe the tôrâ to bring themselves within them. Likewise, all the blessings encapsulated in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 are there to be enjoyed by every disciple of Christ. There is no hint that some members of Jesus’ audience, either then or now, might not be advanced enough or mature enough or spiritual enough to become involved in matters so lofty; nor is there any hint that one might quite properly opt only to be a peacemaker while another might choose only to mourn. Each is to aspire to every blessing, and to that end, therefore, each is called to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be a peacemaker, and to be persecuted because of righteousness.
Could those who first listened to Jesus fulfil such a calling? Can we? Only in part. Not even those who strive with all their might will ever be full of mercy. No one, by human effort alone, will ever attain a perfect purity in heart. But, among those to whom Jesus spoke, there would be many who recognised within themselves something of these qualities of spirit that, according to Jesus, God was willing and eager to bless. And there are those now, who, when they come to understand the nature of these qualities as Jesus spoke about them, find that they too are not so lacking in keys to the kingdom of heaven as they may have supposed.
There are some who would quarrel with such statements on the grounds that the qualities of spirit described by Jesus are ‘Christian’ qualities which are possessed, to some extent, by all Christians, but not by others. And as the people listening to Jesus were not yet ‘Christians’ in any proper sense of the word, those people (the argument goes) could not possibly possess such qualities.
This is to overlook the fact that, unless a person possesses the first quality at least — poverty in spirit — he or she will for ever remain incapable of entering into a relationship with Jesus of the kind that will enable him or her to be described as Christian.
No one has put the paradox better than John Wesley: ‘It is undoubtedly true, that both poverty of spirit, and every other temper which is here mentioned, are at all times found, in a greater or lesser
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Notes 27 and 28
27. Forty-Four Sermons, Epworth Press, 1946, Sermon XVI, p 190.
28. The Cost of Discipleship, 1959, SCM Press Ltd, p 96, n 2. |
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degree, in every real Christian. And it is equally true, that real Christianity always begins in poverty in spirit, and goes on in the order here set down, till the man of God is made perfect’ (Note 27).
If poverty in spirit is the beginning of the life of faith, how does that life of faith progress through the Beatitudes? Here is the wonder of wonders that seems to escapes so many. Jesus himself is the embodiment of the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are a portrait of Christ. He, and he alone, has perfectly fulfilled their calling. He is the poor in spirit, he is the one who mourns, he is the meek, he is the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, he is the merciful, he is the pure in heart, he is the peacemaker, and he is the one who is persecuted because of righteousness. Consequently, he alone is the Blessed One. His is the kingdom of heaven, he is the comforted, he inherits the earth, he is filled, he is shown mercy, he sees God, he is called the Son of God, his is the kingdom of heaven. And it is only when our lives are joined to his that we are enabled to respond to the callings contained in the Beatitudes, to meet their terms, to become the objects of their blessings, and, empowered for success, to receive their promises.
Perhaps that is something of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer meant when he said that ‘Jesus ... alone makes blessed those whom he calls, and ... is in his person the sole ground of their beatitude’ (Note 28).
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