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What is a blessing? Who (or what) can be blessed? And what effect do blessings have?
There is currently considerable discussion about whether it is possible to bless persons in same-sex unions. In light of this, it can be useful to step back and take a look at the topic of blessings in general.
Here are 7 things to know and share about blessings.
1) What are blessings?
The English word bless is used to translate the Latin word benedicere and the Greek word eulogein. Both of these mean “to speak good.”
In Scripture, the terms have a variety of uses. For example, one may bless God by speaking good of God — i.e., praising him (Psalm 68:26, James 3:9, etc.).
However, another prominent use of the term is speaking good about something other than God in hopes of bringing about good effects. Thus the patriarch Isaac intended to bless his son Esau to bring good things upon him, but through Rebekah’s intervention, this blessing was stolen by Jacob (Genesis 27).
To bless is the opposite of to curse (Latin, malidicere, “to speak evil”). When a person curses something, he speaks evil about it in order to bring about evil or bad effects. Thus the Moabite king Balak sought to have the prophet Balaam curse Israel to harm the nation, but through God’s intervention, the curse was turned into a blessing (Numbers 22-24).
Continued below.
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There is currently considerable discussion about whether it is possible to bless persons in same-sex unions. In light of this, it can be useful to step back and take a look at the topic of blessings in general.
Here are 7 things to know and share about blessings.
1) What are blessings?
The English word bless is used to translate the Latin word benedicere and the Greek word eulogein. Both of these mean “to speak good.”
In Scripture, the terms have a variety of uses. For example, one may bless God by speaking good of God — i.e., praising him (Psalm 68:26, James 3:9, etc.).
However, another prominent use of the term is speaking good about something other than God in hopes of bringing about good effects. Thus the patriarch Isaac intended to bless his son Esau to bring good things upon him, but through Rebekah’s intervention, this blessing was stolen by Jacob (Genesis 27).
To bless is the opposite of to curse (Latin, malidicere, “to speak evil”). When a person curses something, he speaks evil about it in order to bring about evil or bad effects. Thus the Moabite king Balak sought to have the prophet Balaam curse Israel to harm the nation, but through God’s intervention, the curse was turned into a blessing (Numbers 22-24).
Continued below.
7 Things to Know and Share About Blessings
What is a blessing? Who (or what) can be blessed? And what effect do blessings have?
