Blessed to be a blessing

Psalms 67:1-2  - May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

 

The Great Commission, recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, is frequently viewed as a New Testament directive to spread the gospel to all nations. However, its impact can be observed throughout the Old Testament, where God’s overarching plan was for His people to serve as a light to the nations. Usually its portrayed in the spirit of being blessed to be a blessing.

 

When God called Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, God said in verse 3:

·      ……and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

 

In other words, God told Abraham that God will bless him, make his name great so that through him, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Blessed to be a blessing.

 

So was it with the other patriarchs. God promised to bless them so that through them the nations of the earth will be blessed.

 

We now understand that these promises were a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who would be the Savior of the world.

 

In the same vein, the psalmist, inspired by the Holy Spirit, expresses in Psalm 67:1-2 a powerful chorus: "Lord, bless us so that we may be a blessing." This blessing points to the salvation of the nations, revealing the heart of the Great Commission woven beautifully throughout the fabric of the Old Testament.

 

The psalmist asks the Lord for three important blessings:

 

  • Lord be gracious to us
  • Bless us 
  • Make his face shine on us

 

And these are the very same priestly blessings recorded in Numbers 6:24-26.

 

We in the new covenant have received all these blessings through the Second Person in the Trinity. 

 

  • Ephesians 2:8 -  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.


Jesus’ death and resurrection provide the path for the forgiveness of our sins and this is purely by the grace of God. The Lord has been gracious to us.

 

  • John 1:12 - Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 

 

This adoption grants us the privilege of calling God "Father" and being part of His eternal family. This is the greatest blessing that we can receive, to be part of the family of God.

 

  • 2 Corinthians 4:6, - For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

 

This signifies God's face shining upon us through the work of Jesus, bringing spiritual light and understanding.

 

Now that we have received these blessings, we are entrusted with a responsibility.

 

“your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations”

 

The blessings God has given us are not meant to be an end in themselves. We are blessed to be a blessing, following the example of the patriarchs and the nation of Israel. This can only be realized when we actively obey the Great Commission and go forth, out of our comfort zone.

 

This is the duty of every born-again believer in Christ. If we desire to see the ends of the earth come to know the Lord, we must echo the words of the prophet Isaiah:

 

Isaiah 6:8. - Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'

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