THE COMMANDED BLESSING

by

R.W. Schambach

“Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year; and it will bring forth produce enough for three years”   (Leviticus 25:21)

            Most people do not have any other concept of financial management than living from paycheck to paycheck.   In fact, some people become so financially strapped by living above their means, they begin to have total dependency on credit cards.  Other people, because of severe circumstances or because of poor and battered lifestyles inherited from their parents, depend on the government for a meager existence.  God does not condemn people living with limited means; yet, He does picture in Scripture, a package of blessing for His people that will free them from financial bondage.  He pictures a life of supernatural, super-abundant living for His chosen ones.

            In the Book of Leviticus, God used the term “commanded blessing”.  He was referring to the Year of Jubilee, which He commanded His children to celebrate.  The Year of Jubilee was a celebration of debt cancellation which had seven blessings assigned to it.  God gave very specific instructions in Leviticus 25.  First, the children of Israel were to sow and reap for six years.  In the seventh year, they were to neither “sow nor prune” their vineyards, nor were they to reap.  God promised His children that they would have enough stored from the sixth year’s harvest, they would have plenty to eat during the Sabbath year, or year seven.   Then, God said they were to count out seven periods of seven years - 49 years total.  The 49^th year was also a Sabbath year, there would be no sowing or reaping.  After the 49^th year, in year 50, again, there would also be no sowing or reaping.

            Year 50 was to be the Year of Jubilee, a time for celebration.  This is when the “commanded blessing” was to come in.  God said, that in year 48, they would gather enough produce, they would have abundance through year 49, year 50, and also year 51.   Even though they had not worked in three years, they would have enough food to last the period!  They would work in one year, and bring in enough to last them three years!  That is because of God’s “commanded blessing” of Jubilee.   Their obedience to three specific commands brought about this supernatural abundance.

First, they had to plant initially

            If they failed to do so for six years, they would never have eaten.  Hard work and sowing are things God rewards.   The Apostle Paul told the church in Thessalonica, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat”  (2 Thessalonians 3:10b).  He told the church at Corinth, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2Corinthians 9:6).   If a believer today wants to enjoy the super-abundant commanded blessing of God, he or she must do something.  Working for and sowing into the Kingdom are actions that God rewards.

Secondly, God commanded His people to keep the Sabbath year; rest from their labors, and set aside a period of time to reflect on His goodness

            This is a principle we need to closely heed, particularly in the day and age in which we live.   So many people spend their time working multiple hours; juggling jobs; and running incessantly.  Nightly, they return to their homes exhausted, with not time for their families or for God.   As a result, they suffer spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially.  Often, their homes suffer because children and teenagers feel abandoned.

Furthermore, God cannot “command the blessing on their households because they have forsaken His house of worship . . their devotional time with Him and fellowship with God’s people

            God gave a third requirement for the “commanded blessing” - they were to celebrate the Year of Jubilee.  In that marvelous, supernatural period of the flow of God’s grace, His people had to fulfill one obligation - they were to free each other from indebtedness.  They were to “forgive” debt.   So many of God’s people want to be debt free or have their own debts forgiven.  Yet, within their hearts, they hold others in bondage to horrible words said in the past or hurtful actions to them or their family members.   They claim to love Jesus and be obedient to His ways, but they will not forgive their neighbors.  Jesus used a parable in Matthew 18 to teach an important lesson about forgiveness.

            A certain servant owed his king more money than could be repaid in a lifetime.  When the king came to require payment, the servant wept and begged for forgiveness.   The king had mercy on his servant and forgave the huge debt.  That same servant had a friend who owed him a very small amount.  Rather than forgiving his friend the very small amount, he had his friend thrown into prison.   Those who stood by watching were so angry at the servant that they went to the king about it.  The king said to him, “should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (Matthew 18:33) The king was so angry he sent the unforgiving servant to be punished.   The final words of Jesus as He told this story are the ones we need to remember: “So My Heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”  (v. 35)

            When Jesus stood up to preach after He was baptized with the Holy Ghost, He told the congregation at Nazareth He had come to preach the Year of Jubilee.  His mission, in His own words,  was to “proclaim liberty to the captives... (and) to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”  (Luke 4:18b).   Anyone who embraces Jesus as Savior must embrace His same mission - “setting prisoners free.”  Sometimes believers think only of drug addicts or alcoholics needing deliverance when it comes to “setting the captive free.”   Yet, forgiveness is “setting free” those who are bound.  If a daughter claims to love Jesus, she must forgive her mother.  If an employee calls himself a Christian, he must forgive his supervisor.    Furthermore, if someone desires to enjoy the blessings of Jubilee, he or she must practice the commandments of Jubilee: to sow, to “Sabbath” with God, and to forgive.

The “Commanded Blessing” is a lifestyle that Jesus came to bring

            It is, in fact, the lifestyle of the Kingdom of God: “.. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  (John 10:10)   The word abundant has many synonyms: “Superabundance, excessive, overflowing, surplus, over and above, more than enough, profuse, extraordinary, above the ordinary, more than sufficient.”  (Taken from Word Wealth, p. 1593, Spirit-Filled Life Bible)   This is the kind of life God wants for His children.  Yet, as we read further in the teachings of Jesus, we find that there are requirements for His abundant living.

            First, anyone wanting the abundant life of Christ must have an open and receptive heart to His commands.   Jesus told His disciples, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 13:12)   Jesus was talking about those who had spiritual ears to hear and understand Him.  Those who are openhearted in hearing the commands of Christ and doing what He says will have abundant life.  Those who have no hearing and are closed in their spirits will have everything taken away from them. 

            In the same chapter Jesus taught a parable on the seed that fell on “good ground.”   He taught that the heart receptive to His words would produce abundance through its obedience:  “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty.”  (v. 23)

            In addition to being openhearted, a person who would receive Christ’s “commanded blessing” would have to be a giver.   Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”  (Luke 6:38)   Giving is a lifestyle.  A Jesus person is one who gives money, time, and ability to the work of the Kingdom of God.  A Jesus person gives time in prayer for those sick or afflicted, and time to listen to the lonely orphan or widow.   A Jesus person gives love and gives his life.  If we would be like Jesus and operate in His commanded blessing, we must be supernatural givers.

Another principle of tapping into the abundant life of Christ does not make sense to the natural mind

            Jesus mentioned, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone: but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who love his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in the world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24,25)   Jesus, of course, was speaking about His death.  When He gave His life; many lives were saved.  Jesus wanted us to learn how to enjoy abundant life.

            As we “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,” putting the priorities of Jesus above those in our lives, “all these things shall be added to us.”  (Matthew 6:33) It is a paradox, but it is the absolute truth of the Kingdom - one must die to oneself in order to live.   For instance, if one is willing to give up the third job and drive a less expensive car, so he will have time at night to pray and spend time with his children, he will invite Jesus’ “commanded blessing” on his life.  When that lazy believer gets up from the sofa, stops watching the soap opera and goes next door to tend to the widow’s needs, she will invite the “commanded blessing” on her life.

            So many believers want the preacher to fix all that is wrong in their lives.  Yet, if they would read the Word and let the living Jesus speak to them, they would understand their full responsibility in enjoying the blessings God intended for His children. 

God wants to “Command the Blessing”

It is time to sow, spend time with God, forgive, stay open to HisWord, keep giving, and die to ourselves, so we can reap the super-abundant harvest of Jubilee in our lives.