128 Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
(ESV)
“I’m so blessed.”
We hear this phrase often in our culture. It’s not that I don’t believe that it’s a genuine feeling. I do. However, sometimes I wonder what exactly it means to be blessed. For instance, you rarely hear people use this phrase when they are enduring severe health issues or a family tragedy. In most scenarios of western culture, “blessed” is just another word for happy. It’s a word that we use to describe the feeling of getting more than we expected. Again, the issue is not the usage of the word, but rather, how we don’t use the word. If we fear the Lord and walk in obedience, yet, struggle with some kind of suffering, are we still blessed?
In this very way the man who fears the LORD will be blessed.
Psalms 128:4 HCSB
The Hebrew word translated blessed is bârak. We are literally commanded to bârak the Lord.
Davidic. My soul, praise (bârak) Yahweh, and all that is within me, praise (bârak) His holy name. 2 My soul, praise (bârak) the LORD, and do not forget all His benefits.
Psalms 103:1-2 HCSB
It means to cause one to kneel in adoration. It is not the same as “finding the right path” for our lives. That Hebrew word is ‘ashar’. So, if we read this in context, we realize that a man who fears the Lord will be brought down in humble adoration to Him. The blessing will be found in the act of worship. Let that sink in. Bowing low to our Lord IS the blessing.
In this case, it is right to conclude that prosperity leads to happiness which leads to worship. Suffering leads to joy which also leads to worship. The common denominator is blessing the Lord. The blessing itself is found in the act of our souls bowing to our Lord in humble adoration. In Him, we will find more than enough of what we desire for this life.