God Bless You

The Blessing

By William M. Self, Sr.

 

Did you know blessing is a calling

To be done more than when sneezing

So when was the last time you said

 “God Bless you”?

 

God Bless You

Bless you, or God bless you…

  

“Is a common English expression typically addressed to a person after they sneeze. Alternative responses to sneezing adopted by English speakers are the German word Gesundheit (meaning "health"), the Irish word sláinte (meaning "good health"), and the Spanish salud. The origin of this custom and its original purpose are unknown.”

“Several possible origins are commonly given.

 The practice of blessing someone who sneezes,

dating as far back as at least AD 77, however,

 is far older than most specific explanations can

 account for.” “One explanation holds that the

custom originally began as an actual blessing.

Gregory I became Pope in AD 590 as an

 outbreak of the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. 

In hopes of fighting off the disease, he ordered unending prayer and parades of chanters through the streets. At the time, sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing ("God bless you!") became a common effort to halt the disease.” Wikipedia internet Encyclopedia

 

The Bible records long before the accounts

in the Wikipedia internet Encyclopedia

 the speaking of “God Bless you”.

God, Himself, spoke to Moses and told him

to have Aaron and the priest bless the people.

The first words they were to

speak over the people were…

“God Bless You” Exodus 6:24

One of the greatest things

about this blessing is…

  

God wants His people to be blessed.

The second thing is God transfers to

man the ability to give God’s blessing.

Peter in the New Testament tells us we

 are commanded to give God’s blessing.

 In fact, every believer

has the calling to “Bless”.

Even when evil and insults

come our way we are to bless.

God told Moses He would

confirm the blessings we speak.

Peter says when we bless

we “inherit a blessing”.

  

So maybe we should say…

 “God bless you” all the time,

Not just when someone sneezes. 

 

Scripture Reading

Numbers 6:22-27 THE MESSAGE

The Aaronic Blessing

22 God spoke to Moses: 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons,

This is how you are to bless the People of Israel. Say to them,

24 God bless you and keep you,

25 God smile on you and gift you,

26 God look you full in the face

and make you prosper.

27 In so doing, they will place my name on the People of Israel —

I will confirm it by blessing them."

1 Peter 3:9-10 NIV

9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult,

but with blessing, because to this you

were called so that you may inherit a blessing.