Introduction

Introduction

When beginning to consider and research this topic there are two questions to consider:

  1. What do people call blessed?
  2. What does God call blessed?

After answering these questions then we must ask:

  1. What must we do to become blessed in the eyes of God?

Only the blessings of God will remain forever and will count in eternity.  This study will examine what the Bible defines as a blessed man.  It is based on a search of the words “blessed is the man” in the King James Version.  Each verse contains key points that tell us how to live a life that is considered blessed by the Lord.  Each point has several verses with brief descriptions that support it.  There are questions for personal reflection or group discussion at the end of each section. Also, there is a place to write any insights you may have as you study.

Definitions of Blessed

Before we begin looking at the key verses, let us define the word blessed according to the Bible.

  1. Happy – an inner happiness that is not connected to what we have in the natural.  It is a joy that comes from being in right standing with God and pleasing Him.
  1. To kneel and bless – congratulate, command, to receive benefits or fruit from

Genesis 1:22  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Job 42:12  So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

Psalms 128:4  Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

This commanded blessing is also seen in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for people who are obedient to God.

  1. Fortunate, well off – from the New Testament

The Beatitudes – Matthew 5:3-11 defines blessed as someone who has the following qualities:

  • Poor in spirit
  • Mourn
  • Meek
  • Hunger and thirst for righteousness
  • Merciful
  • Pure in heart
  • Peacemakers
  • Persecuted

… the blessing comes because of coming into alignment with the above characteristics.

Luke 11:28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

John 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Acts 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Revelation 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Each of these 3 definitions is divided into sections in this study.

Questions

What are true blessings?

How are they different from material possessions that the world focuses on?

How can we find true happiness?