Blessing
And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing.
2 Samuel 6:11-12 (ESV)
The Hebrew word for blessing literally means to kneel toward. It’s symbolic of someone being inclined toward you, ready to help, ready to serve, ready to give whatever they have to you. In Scripture we read in many places where people were blessed. If God is blessing someone or something, the picture is Him kneeling down, lending out His empowering to a person or situation.
What qualifies a person for receiving God’s blessing? How many right things must we do before God relents and begins to bless us? How many wrong things must we participate in before God removes His blessings from us? We live in a culture where blessings don’t fit our view of God very well. Many of us act as if God being favorably leaned into our lives and our situations are solely dependent upon us getting the equation right.
If I live my life in such a way that warrants God’s blessing, then I’ll get it. If I mess it up however, then He’s going to take His toys to another sand box. That thought process is fine until you encounter people and places where that just simply isn’t true.
For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:45-48 (ESV)
As far as I know, the sun rose this morning in Las Vegas, Amsterdam and Haiti (some of the most “sin ridden” places in the world). As Matthew 5 shows, God’s blessings aren’t based on people’s performance, but upon the simple fact that God is perfect. It means that everything He is involved in and every place He shows up always works out for our good (because He’s that good).
If you spend some time looking into the life of Obed-edom you’ll see that he wasn’t necessarily anyone significant to start with. He began his life as a Philistine from Gath (Whoa, wait a minute?! You mean the guys who hated Israel? And wasn’t Gath where Goliath was from? Yes, those Philistines). Somewhere along his story, he became allegiant to the cause of Israel and King David. Obed-edom and his family lived among the Jews as a sojourner within the country’s borders.
I can see the picture now. One day Obed-edom is out playing ball with his kids. He hears a commotion coming down the road… it’s King David and the Ark of the Covenant. David says, “Hey Obee, can we keep this thing here for a minute? Someone just touched it and they died.” Obed-edom, not wanting to upset the king says hesitantly, “Sure, anything for the king.”
Little did he know that simple act of submission would lead to the greatest encounter Obed-edom and his family had experienced up until that point. God Himself was leaned into all their family affairs. Peace flowed out of their home. Literally, the grass was greener on their side of the fence. These blessings had nothing to do with Obed-edom’s behaviors. It had everything to do with where God’s Presence was manifest. The Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of God’s manifest Presence, rested at Obed-edom’s house and so did God’s blessings.
Coincidentally, if you fast forward into passages of 1 Chronicles 15 you’ll read about Obed-edom moving to Jerusalem and being appointed to a Levites position. He follows God’s blessings because of God’s manifest Presence in his life. Isn’t that really the story for us all? When we encounter a God who is completely loving and good it draws us in. It’s magnetic.
When God sent Jesus our way, it wasn’t because we were deserving. It was because He’s perfect, good, loving and wants us to be with Him. At one point or another we were all outsiders invited to be insiders.
What if our starting point was that God desires to bless us? Wouldn’t that drop the pretentious veil of performance? God’s perfection causes blessings and anytime you become aware of His interaction in your life, blessings are sure to follow. You’ll see the world a different way. You’ll see people a different way. Not because you’ve got life figured out, but because the God we’ve invited into our homes and lives is spilling His amazingness all over everything He touches!
Prayer: Father, thank You that Your blessings are because of who You are. I fully believe and accept that You want to cover my life in your Goodness. I believe that You are leaned into me today and because of that, I’m leaning into You. Wherever You want to go and whatever You want to do, Holy Spirit, I’m all in.
