Quick Word Study

"Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

Bless His holy name."

Psalm 103:1

Bless.

It's a common word among Christians:

• We love our new car - we are so blessed!
• God has blessed us with good health this winter…
• (sneeze) Bless you!
• Bless your heart, you are such a caring soul!
• Bless this house
• Bless the Lord

So, what in the world does the word "bless" mean?  After a quick turn on dictionary.com, here's what I discovered:

• in the old English, bless means "to consecrate, to make holy, to give thanks"
• in the old German, bless means "to hallow with blood, to mark with blood" - this was a from an ancient ritual of sprinkling blood on pagan altars
• the latin words used in scripture for bless mean "to speak well of, to praise"
• in the English dictionary, bless means several things - to make holy, to give honor, to extol or praise, to glorify and to call upon God for protection or favor

Now, let's define our uses from above:

• We love our new car - we are so blessed! God's favor
• God has blessed us with good health this winter… God's protection
• (sneeze) Bless you! God's protection - sneezes were once thought of as an attack by an evil spirit and to say "Bless you" was to call on God's protection to ward of the spirits…hmmm…
• Bless your heart, you are such a caring soul! God's favor
• Bless this house God's favor and protection
• Bless the Lord Glorify, praise and make holy

I think the most common understanding is the receiving of God's favor when we talk about being blessed.  But when we read verses that declare a blessing on God, it can be confusing if we don't understand that "bless" also means glorify and praise.

Probably the most interesting thing about this word study is the old German use - to mark with blood.  As a believer, this is probably the most accurate definition of "bless" we could have, when it comes to God's favor in our lives.  We are marked with blood - Christ's precious, perfect and powerful blood.  The imagery of protection throughout scripture that is connected with blood is clear:

• blood sacrifices were required, all the way back to the garden to cover the sinfulness of man (Genesis 3)
• God did not allow blood to be drank because it represented life (Genesis 9:4)
• blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat and on the people for atonement of sins (Leviticus 16)
• the precious blood of the Lamb is what cleanses (I Peter 1:19)

Even though the root may be pagan, don't be fooled - false religions have often stole or imitated truth to deceive.  We absolutely are blessed by being marked with Jesus' blood and this is a great image to have in your mind when you talk of God's blessing in your life.  So yes, God has greatly blessed all of us and we are called to bless Him - glorify, praise and set Him apart from the world.  He alone is God and He alone is to be blessed!

Have a blessed day!