Blessing: Temporal, from God

And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. …

I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

…because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

…so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.

He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.

Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

…by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.

…saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you.

No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.

For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’ …

I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. …

Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”

The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.

But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.

You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

…so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged. …

He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. …

You must carefully follow every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may live and multiply, and enter and possess the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers. …

He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint. …

He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.

It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year. …

There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,

When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.

And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,

…that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.

The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.

The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.

He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,

…with curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat. From the juice of the finest grapes you drank the wine.

This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab.

The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.

Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.

I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land.

Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.

I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land.

Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all.

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

O LORD our God, from Your hand comes all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy Name, and all of it belongs to You.

…therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”

…and Azariah, the chief priest of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since the people began to bring their contributions into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and there is plenty left over, because the LORD has blessed His people; this great abundance is what is left over.”

For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.

He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them.

But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’

By the breath of God the ice is formed and the watery expanses are frozen.

Whether for punishment or for His land, He accomplishes this in His loving devotion.

Do you understand how the clouds float, those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

You whose clothes get hot when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: …

For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold. …

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.

Those who live far away fear Your wonders; You make the dawn and sunset shout for joy. …

God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

You sent abundant rain, O God; You refreshed Your weary inheritance.

Your flock settled therein; O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.

The descendants of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His name will settle in it.

If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways, …

The LORD will indeed provide what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. …

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds— …

Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. …

And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,

He turns a desert into pools of water and a dry land into flowing springs. …

He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.

He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!

The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.

A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. …

He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever. …

The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season.

You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, …

…who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.

He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.

For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.

He makes peace at your borders; He fills you with the finest wheat.

Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

…and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,

Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures. …

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.

Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers.

He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

…he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

The beasts of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.

They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.

Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.

For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,

They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’

When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

Give them a message from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to relay to their masters: …

Thanksgiving will proceed from them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not be decreased; I will honor them, and they will not be belittled.

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God. …

As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.

When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they never realized that it was I who healed them.

Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things.

Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to shame.

“I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.

So the LORD God appointed a vine, and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.

Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. …

…that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? …

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. …

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”

Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.