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G11. Being Thankful to God and Blessing Him in All Things.    [Make a Comment]

We are to be thankful to God and bless Him in all things.

This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):

Key Scriptures

BEING THANKFUL TO GOD

Deuteronomy 8:6-18 (Maimonides RP19; Meir MP13; Chinuch C430)
So obey the mitzvot of ADONAI your God, living as he directs and fearing him. For ADONAI your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams, springs and water welling up from the depths in valleys and on hillsides. It is a land of wheat and barley, grapevines, fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food in abundance and lack nothing in it; a land where the stones contain iron and the hills can be mined for copper. So you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless ADONAI your God for the good land he has given you. [(NKJ): "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."] Be careful not to forget ADONAI your God by not obeying his mitzvot, rulings and regulations that I am giving you today. Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, and increased your herds, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, you will become proud-hearted. Forgetting ADONAI your God- who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves; who led you through the vast and fearsome desert, with its poisonous snakes, scorpions and waterless, thirsty ground; who brought water out of flint rock for you; who fed you in the desert with man, unknown to your ancestors; all the while humbling and testing you in order to do you good in the end - you will think to yourself, 'My own power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.' No, you are to remember ADONAI your God, because it is he who is giving you the power to get wealth, in order to confirm his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as is happening even today.

Psalm 50:23
Whoever offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; and to him who goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courtyards with praise; give thanks to him, and bless his name.

Ephesians 5:20
... always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

Colossians 1:3
Whenever we pray, we always give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

BLESSING GOD IN ALL THINGS

Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time ADONAI set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark for the covenant of ADONAI and to stand before ADONAI to serve him and to bless in his name, as they still do today.

Psalm 34:2(1)
I will bless ADONAI at all times; his praise will always be in my mouth.

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courtyards with praise; give thanks to him, and bless his name.

Matthew 23:39
For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of ADONAI.'"

Supportive Scriptures - Being Thankful to God

Psalm 9:1-2(9:1)
For the leader. On the death of Labben. A psalm of David: I give thanks to ADONAI with all my heart. I will tell about all your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 50:14
Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God, pay your vows to the Most High

Psalm 92:2(1)
It is good to give thanks to ADONAI and sing praises to your name, 'Elyon

Psalm 95:2
Let's come into his presence with thanksgiving; let's shout for joy to him with songs of praise.

Psalm 97:12
Rejoice in ADONAI, you righteous; and give thanks on recalling his holiness.

Psalm 100:1-5
A psalm of thanksgiving: Shout for joy to ADONAI, all the earth! Serve ADONAI with gladness. Enter his presence with joyful songs. Be aware that ADONAI is God; it is he who made us; and we are his, his people, the flock in his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courtyards with praise; give thanks to him, and bless his name. For ADONAI is good, his grace continues forever, and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.

Psalm 105:1
Give thanks to ADONAI! Call on his name! Make his deeds known among the peoples.

Psalm 118:1
Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

Psalm 118:28-29
You are my God, and I thank you. You are my God; I exalt you. Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

Psalm 136:1-3 & 26
Give thanks to ADONAI, for he is good, for his grace continues forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, for his grace continues forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his grace continues forever;
----
Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his grace continues forever.

Romans 1:20b-21a
Therefore, they have no excuse; because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him.

2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who in the Messiah constantly leads us in a triumphal procession and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of what it means to know him!

Philippians 4:6
Don't worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7
Therefore, just as you received the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, keep living your life united with him. Remain deeply rooted in him; continue being built up in him and confirmed in your trust, the way you were taught, so that you overflow in thanksgiving.

Colossians 3:15b-17
And be thankful - let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.

2 Timothy 1:3
I give thanks to God, whom, like my forbears, I worship with a clean conscience, as I regularly remember you in my prayers night and day.

Supportive Scriptures - Blessing God in All Things

Genesis 9:26
Then he [Noach] said, "Blessed be ADONAI, the God of Shem; Kena'an will be their servant.

Exodus 18:10
Yitro said, "Blessed be ADONAI, who has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh, who has rescued the people from the harsh hand of the Egyptians.

Judges 5:2-3
When leaders in Isra'el dedicate themselves, and the people volunteer, you should all bless ADONAI. Hear, kings; listen, princes; I will sing to ADONAI! I will sing praise to ADONAI the God of Isra'el.

Psalm 16:17
I bless ADONAI, my counselor; at night my inmost being instructs me.

Psalm 28:6
Blessed be ADONAI, for he heard my voice as I prayed for mercy.

Psalm 41:14(13)
Blessed be ADONAI the God of Isra'el from eternity past to eternity future. Amen. Amen.

Psalm 63:5(4)
Yes, I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 68:20(19)
Blessed be Adonai! Every day he bears our burden, does God, our salvation. (Selah)

Psalm 72:18-19
Blessed be ADONAI, God, the God of Isra'el, who alone works wonders. Blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.

Psalm 96:2
Sing to ADONAI, bless his name! Proclaim his victory day after day!

Psalm 103:1-2
By David: Bless ADONAI, my soul! Everything in me, bless his holy name! Bless ADONAI, my soul, and forget none of his benefits!

Psalm 104:1-2
Bless ADONAI, my soul! ADONAI, my God, you are very great; you are clothed with glory and majesty, wrapped in light as with a robe. You spread out the heavens like a curtain

Psalm 115:18
But we will bless ADONAI from now on and forever. Halleluyah!

Psalm 134:1-2
A song of ascents: Come, bless ADONAI, all you servants of ADONAI, who serve each night in the house of ADONAI. Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and bless ADONAI.

Psalm 135:19-21
House of Isra'el, bless ADONAI! House of Aharon, bless ADONAI! House of Levi, bless ADONAI! You who fear ADONAI, bless ADONAI! Blessed be ADONAI out of Tziyon, he who dwells in Yerushalayim! Halleluyah!

Psalm 145:21
My mouth will proclaim the praise of ADONAI; all people will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Ruth 4:14
Then the women said to Na'omi, "Blessed be ADONAI, who today has provided you a redeemer! May his name be renowned in Isra'el.

Daniel 2:19-20
Then the secret was revealed to Dani'el in a vision at night, and Dani'el blessed the God of heaven in these words: "Blessed be the name of God from eternity past to eternity future! For wisdom and power are his alone"

1 Chronicles 29:20
Then David said to all the community, "Now bless ADONAI your God." All the community blessed ADONAI, the God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and prostrating themselves before ADONAI and before the king.

Matthew 26:26-27
While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b'rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, "Take! Eat! This is my body!" Also he took a cup of wine, made the b'rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, "All of you, drink from it!" (See also: Mark 14:22-23; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-24)

James 3:7-10
For people have tamed and continue to tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures; but the tongue no one can tame - it is an unstable and evil thing, full of death-dealing poison! With it we bless ADONAI, the Father; and with it we curse people, who were made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing! Brothers, it isn't right for things to be this way.

Commentary

It should be apparent from the many Scriptures quoted above, that both the Tanakh and the Kitvey B'rit Chadasha enjoin us to be thankful to God, giving thanks to Him who created all and who continues to provide for our every need. There exists, however, only one place in the Torah that specifically commands thankfulness - Deuteronomy 8:6-18, verse 10, which is the basis for the traditional Grace after Meals, the Birkat Hamazon. Notwithstanding that single occurrence, being thankful and giving thanks to God are deeply ingrained in Judaism and in Jewish practice. They are addressed in various places in the Talmud (e.g. in B'rakhot and Avot), and appear in the Siddur as the first blessing that is said upon awakening (Modeh Ani), as the next-to-last benediction of the Sh'moneh Esreh ("Modim anachnu lach ..."), and as the central theme of the Aleinu prayer ("Va'anachnu korim umishtachavim umodim"). They are also implicit in the multitude of blessings that begin "Baruch atah adonai, eloheynu melech ha-olam ..." ("Blessed are you Lord, our God, King of the universe, who ...").

There are essentially two ways in which we can bless God. The first is by expressing thankful praise to Him for the blessings He bestows on us. It may be emoted spontaneously or recited ritually in what is termed a "b'rakhah". The second way is by loving Him as our Heavenly Father, Messiah savior, and Holy Spirit, and by fulfilling His highest expectation of us, which is to be unswervingly obedient to His Word and to walk in His ways.

The totality of Scripture makes it plain that our being thankful to God and our blessing Him should not be only for His provision of food, but for all of His provisions and blessings that He bestows upon us, not the least of which is His unconditional love. There is therefore a deeper way to understand and employ the Birkat Hamazon than as merely "grace after meals". It is that, in the fullness of our having eaten, we should allow its words to permeate our soul while contemplating our blessings, and thankfully remembering that God is our provider and sustainer, and not we ourselves.

Classical Commentators

None of the commentators (Maimonides, Meir, or HaChinuch) wrote general mitzvot commanding that we be thankful to God. That is no doubt because they only sought to codify commandments they found in the Torah, and concluded that Deuteronomy 8:10 is the only Scripture in the Torah that commands thankfulness.

Two English translations for Deuteronomy 8:10 are included in the Scripture list above. None of the commentators worked in the English language, of course, but the way the New King James Version translates Deuteronomy 8:10 must have been close to how all three of them understood the Hebrew. I conclude this because all three of their mitzvot command that we bless God after we have eaten a meal (i.e. say Grace). Although the context of the Scripture is the Israelites having come into the Promised Land, Maimonides, Meir, HaChinuch and all of Judaism interpret it broadly to mean that, after we have eaten and are satisfied, we are to remember God who brought us out of Egypt. That is the purpose of the Birkat Hamazon. Meir states that we are also to bless God before eating. Using the logic of kal va-chomer (less to more), he states that if we are to bless God when we are satisfied, how much more is our obligation to bless him when we are hungry. The logic seems a little backwards, but that is his logic.

As with thanking God, none of the commentators wrote mitzvot on "blessing God" either.

NCLA: JMm JFm KMm KFm GMm GFm

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