“…You are now the blessed of the LORD.”
                                                     Genesis 26:29

Dearly beloved in Christ,


                                             I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today let us meditate on the ways in which we can be blessed of the Lord and also the exaltation of such a blessed life. We find many people living in a calamitous situation with shortcomings. But it is written that the Lord God blessed Isaac and so he was so exalted that the people around him, who were against him, came and declared that they had found him to be blessed of the Lord. They also wanted to make a covenant with him. How did this blessing come to Isaac? What was the secret of his exaltation? Let us meditate on that today. Isaac humbled himself before the Lord and also completely devoted himself to be at the place where the Lord wanted him to be. It was a time of famine. He wanted to go to Egypt. But at that time the Lord appeared to him in a vision and directed him to dwell at Gerar. He accepted the guidance of the Lord and obeyed him. He dwelt at Gerar. Beloved in Christ, today we search for a place to dwell in. We do not seek the guidance of the Lord, but look for some place. It may be any place. We end up in misery. But when we have the guidance of the Lord and know His will, we would enjoy His blessings as well. Not only was the Lord with Isaac, but He blessed him and made him prosper. Isaac obeyed the Lord. The Lord blessed him in His own way. When you believe in the Lord, He will bless you. The Bible says, “. . . .but he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.”(Proverbs 28:25). To receive blessings from the Lord, we should submit ourselves to live according to His word. We should obey Him by listening to His words. Contrary to this, we often think that the Lord should listen to our words and accept our will. If we want the true blessings of the Lord, we should have the heart of Isaac to obey the directions of the Lord and abide by it. Because he obeyed the Lord, the Lord blessed all that he did. Many face defeats in all their attempts and endeavours. They incur loss. They are oppressed by loss. They are fed up with life and take wrong decisions. You who are reading this, dear Brother/ Sister, the Lord wants to take you along a blessed path of progress and prosperity. When you submit to His plan and will and word, He will bless all that you do.


I. CHARACTERISTICS OF A BLESSED LIFE


1. No Sorrow


“The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” Proverbs 10:22


                                         When a person is blessed by the Lord, there would be no sorrow along with it. Usually when the business is prosperous, there arise struggles, and jealousy among partners. The tendency would be to take the gain by one person who considers himself the channel of those blessings. Even in loss, there is a tendency to apportion the blame on the other. But the blessings of the Lord are different. As you listen to His words and obey them, the Lord blesses beyond measure. And there is no sorrow involved in it. How did the Lord bless Isaac in the land? The Bible says, “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man
began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous” (Gen. 26:12,13). The Lord blessedthe works of his hands. That is why at that time in that land the Lord blessed the works of his hand 100 times. When the Lord so blesses a person, it is always beyond measure. Thereby in the eyes of others he is made great. The blessings of the Lord are not accompanied with tears, sorrows or anxiety, but are accompanied with rejoicing. Many do not know what to do in times of calamity and deficiency. They want to make it up in some way. They resort to borrowing, and finally land themselves in trouble. They are enslaved in debt and submit themselves to demeaning practices. Dear Brother/ Sister, in your life if you seek the Lord, you would lack nothing. Isaac obeyed the words of the Lord, and therefore was blessed by the Lord. As he was blessed 100 fold, he was exalted among the people of the place. He had a number of servants. In his boundary, there was prosperity and speciality. Even Abimelech the king of the place noted his prosperity. He found him more prosperous than himself. He was greater than him. Today when the Lord blesses you, you would prosper day by day. To obtain this blessing of the Lord, you must be worthy.


2. Freedom from Sickness


“So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.” Exodus 23:25


                                                  When the Lord blesses your bread and water, there would be no diseases in the family. I have seen a house that was blessed by the Lord when He blessed the bread and water of that house. Just a simple prayer led the family to believe in Christ. That family was a heathen family living in a foreign land where occasions for listening to Tamil was rare. Just to listen to Tamil from persons who came from Tamilnadu, they invited the servant of God fordinner. They were expecting just four persons. But that man took with him some ten persons. The family did not know what to do. They thought that they could share their portion with them. The servant of God prayed for the food placed before them. The Lord listened to his prayer and blessed the food and water of the house. God made the food abound so much that it was sufficient for all of them and for the members of the family. Not only that, it was sufficient for them for three more days. They accepted the Lord who could do that. Dear Brother/ Sister, when you serve the Lord, your bread and water will be blessed. That brings about health in all those in your boundary.


3. Prosperity


“For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.” Deuteronomy 15:6


                                                              When we walk in His ways and inherit His promises, the Lord blesses us abundantly. Then you would find prosperity in economic status. Today borrowing money as loan is very common. You can do anything with borrowed money. Hence, people plan for so many things on borrowed money. When I was a teacher, I had wrong ideas about money and prosperity. I yearned for a prosperous life. My wife and I were working as teachers and living in parents’ house. We had three small children. I borrowed money and began a business. I started a shop for selling sports goods with the name Victory Sports in an important street in Trichy. I thought I could earn a lot of money. I did not know whether it was acceptable in the sight of God. But because of this endeavour I started borrowing money more and more and came under heavy debt. I got myself enslaved under the burden of debt and its ensuing tribulation.Beloved in Christ, only when you have the real blessings of the Lord, you can enjoy the benefits that accompany it. I used to think of those days and realize how the Lord loved me and gave me deliverance from it. He has also blessed me with His ministry without the sorrow of debt. Thus I used to thank the Lord. The Lord protects us from such enslavement. The Bible says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7). Through this verse the Lord warned me and gave me good thoughts so that I may not borrow any longer. Thus He will bless you also. In the life of Isaac, as the Lord blessed him, his life
was excellent and the Philistines were envious of him. It is said: “for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.” (Genesis 26:14). So they drove him away from Gerar. Today also we are blessed by the Lord. He is a living God. It is His intention to bless the Israelites. If you are also a child of the loving Lord. He will bless you also as He blessed Isaac. If you realize His will in your life, and submit yourself to do according to His plan, He will surely bless you.


4. Long Life


“The LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!” Psalm 128:5,6


                                                            Further, Isaac had the fear of the Lord. Only when you have this fear of the Lord, can you obey Him fully. Not only are you blessed but your days are extended to see your children’s children. He gives you peace and makes it all the more wonderful. Isaac was so blessed by the Lord. Now let us examine how Isaac was worthy to receiveII. 

THE CHARACTER OF ISAAC THAT MADE HIM BLESSED


1. Obedience to God’s Guidance


“Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 26:2


                                                         Isaac obeyed the Lord and dwelt in the place God had directed him to. We in our lives choose places thinking that it would facilitate prosperity. Some seek to go abroad thinking that going abroad is a sure way to attain riches. Some borrow money to enable their children to go abroad. They suffer in their families as a result. While ministering in Kuwait I enquired a Brother about his salary. He was a good carpenter. He said that he got 50 Kuwait dollars as salary. I further wanted to know how he managed with that little money. He said that he dwelt in a dormitory and he was given free food. So he was saving 25 Kuwait dollars. I enquired him about his debt. He said that he would be able to settle it in 3 years if he lived like this. He had to be very careful about his expenditure to settle all his loans. But if you could abide by the words of the Lord and live in the place He decides, He will bless you 100 times in that place.


2. Generous to the Core


“But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him.Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah.” Genesis 26:20,21


                                                            His generous nature was exemplary before God. The people of the place knew the reason of prosperity and filled up all the wells dug up by his father Abraham. They destroyed the water resources which they thought was the reason of his blessings. It was an act of jealousy. Even today such things happen. On identifying the reason for the success of a man, people out of jealousy resort to measures to destroy the source of success of that man. Sometimes they destroy the very health of the person. People indulge in practices to destroy the boundaries of the person they are envious of. Beloved in Christ, one reason for the blessing of being called the blessed of the Lord is his generosity. He did not quarrel with the people who took the well of his father for themselves. The Lord created another place for him. They did not quarrel with him any longer. “And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” (Genesis 26:22) Dear Brother/ Sister, are you worried that you have no place to dwell in? Do you yearn for a house to call it your own to dwell with your children? If you adopt the good generosity of Isaac, the Lord will surely give you a good place and make it a blessing for you. The Lord will enable you.


3. Prayerful


“Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” Genesis 25:21


                                                            The Lord doubly blessed the womb of Rebecca. There are people who blame others about their shortcomings. They magnify even small things and accuse others. They even speak ill of their own spouses. They seek glorification in vilifying their wives. They mischievously magnify small weaknesses in others. Even parents sometimes talk ill of their own children and call them nick names. But Isaac was not worried about the weakness of his wife. He reported it to the Lord. He prayed and interceded on\ her behalf. He was a prayer warrior. The Lord gave a double blessing. Many people do not pray for a good life. They do not pray for their children to be endowed with wisdom. The
Bible teaches: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5). Jesus taught: “Ask and it will be given unto you.” He will supply all your need in plenty. He is faithful to do it. You may lack wisdom, or children or houses or business or health. You should know one thing. When you pray to Him, He listens to your prayer. Psalm 65:2 says: “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” You are worried about so many things in life. Why? It is lack of faith in the words of the Lord. Psalm 138:8 says: “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me.” If you have that faith in the Lord, you need not be disturbed or worried about anything. The Bible says: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.” (Romans 10:12). You do not realize this truth. Believe that and call upon Him. Just pray and know that He hears your prayers. He will bless you two fold. We read in Genesis 24:63 that Isaac had the habit of meditation. When you love the words of the Lord and meditate upon it day and night, the Lord blesses you. Today make a decision to meditate upon His words and to wait upon Him in prayer. He does not discriminate between persons. When a man takes this decision and prays to the Lord, He will surely bless him abundantly and crown him with happiness. May the Lord make you realize this and make you pray! Develop the habit of meditation.


4. Heritage of Abraham


“‘And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.”’ Genesis 26:24

                                                        In the life of Isaac, his father had earned for him great blessings. It was because of the service of Abraham. Today if you do some service to the Lord, you seek the blessings of your children. Instead of doing something for the Lord, people seek wealth elsewhere in wrong places. In 2 Kings fifth chapter we read that the leprosy of Naaman came to Gehazi as a curse. The reason was his wrong notions and action. But Abraham when called by the Lord accepted it and left his father’s house and his own nation with his wife and with Lot. If you accept the call of the Lord and act according to His directions, you will be truly blessed. Because of blessings of wealth Lot separated from him. Later he and his family were taken prisoners by the king. Then Abraham took with him 318 of his family and followed them and rescued them from the enemy. He did the work of redeeming ministry. Not only that. When the Lord was provoked to anger by the misdeeds of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, he stood before the Lord and pleaded. Thus he accepted the call of the Lord, did the ministry of redemption, and interceded for others. His descendants were thus blessed. We seek blessings for our descendants when we work for the Lord. Let us submit ourselves to win favours and blessing on our children and their descendants.

                                    May the Lord bless us!
                               In the service of Christ Jesus,
                                        Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.