I don’t take us into the Old Testament as often as I should. So, today, let’s consider this proverb from God.
Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Proverbs 10:6
God of every blessing
As I participated in a Lectio 365 devotional, the speaker prayed, “God of every blessing…” This small phrase is so apparent that we rarely speak it. We seldom encourage one another with this Truth, but as we see in Proverbs 10:6, we do serve the God of every blessing. People can do good things for other people, but a blessing only comes from God. I don’t know about you, but I find great comfort and strength in this phrase.
If we are Christians, then Jesus is alive in us (Ephesians 3:17). And it is Jesus who has made the path of righteousness (Philippians 1:11). The path we are on. And this path of righteousness and salvation are the same. Now Jesus said, “But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:14). Jesus spoke as the One who blazed this trail.
Jesus Built the Path of Salvation
Jesus came to Earth as God incarnate (John 1:14). As he grew, He experienced being a baby (Luke 2:7), having a career as a craftsman (Matthew 13:55), and then His ministry of reconciliation (John 2:1-11). Then Jesus brought salvation into existence through His death, burial, and resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Jesus paved the way.
Throughout Christ’s life, in each moment of His life, He was building the path of salvation. It wasn’t there before. Before, people could only have their sins covered over with the blood of animals. Jews repeated this throughout their lives. But Christ’s sacrifice was perfect, and thus He did it once for all eternity (Hebrews 10:1-18).
Creation of the small gate and narrow path
The narrow path of salvation didn’t exist until Jesus returned to heaven and presented His blood as the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 9:24-28). Then, the small gate and narrow path were complete and ready for all who believed. For those of us who have been obedient to the call of God, we are “in Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17). And it is the righteousness of Jesus that God sees when He looks at us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We find in Scripture God’s promise “… that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Going back to our text for today, “Blessings are on the head of the righteous…” Blessings are from God alone. We are the receivers of His blessings. Blessings are for the righteous, for those of us in Christ Jesus. Praise God. He is the God of every blessing. Amen!!
Photo by Keith Hardy on Unsplash
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