In Mark 10:16 we are told that Jesus took children up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this event. What was Jesus doing and why was it important enough for the synoptic writers to record this event?

Children are a sign of the covenant. God’s promises spoken over His people include the promise of offspring. God’s first pronounced blessing was to Adam and Eve when He spoke that they should be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28). God pronounced the same type of blessing to Noah in Gen 9:1. And then again to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Gen 17:2, 22:18, and 28:14). Again God promised offspring to David in 2Sam 7:11-12.

It is through our offspring, natural or spiritual, that God’s plan for the future unfolds. He has a plan, not just for today but tomorrow as well. Through our offspring the life of Christ is given to the world.

God instructed Aaron, His first High Priest how to bless. (By the way, if you are a believer in Christ, then you have been called as a priest as well.) God told Moses to speak to Aaron and his sons saying: “Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall SAY (emphasis added) to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace. So they shall put My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.” Num 6:23-27. God said if we pronounce the blessing, He will bless. In the Hebrew this is very much in the present tense. Today we hear preachers saying: “May the Lord bless you…” But it is rather: “The Lord blesses you…” He is the Great I Am not the maybe-I-will-if-I-feel-like-it-sometime-in-the-future.

God does not institute rites for the fun of it. There is no wasted motion in what God does, nor is there a lack of purpose. Every thing that God does, he does so to produce life at a higher level when it is observed. This blessing in Numbers 6 was the vehicle God chose so that He could bless His people. He is present in the blessing, when it is invoked, to impart the blessing. “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. (emphasis added)” This is the way God chose to impart something of Himself to His people.

Jesus continued to use this rite of blessing to impart life to His followers and to the future generations. This blessing must be spoken; it is not something wished for silently. In fact, everything man ever receives from God is by the spoken word. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. “The word is nigh thee, even in they mouth, and in they heart; that is the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:8-10).”

Simply put, God is present in the blessing when it is spoken. Why would you not choose to bless your children in the same way Jesus did? The building of Godly character is one of the benefits children receive when the blessing is imparted to them by their parents and others.

When you speak the blessing over others the last part is about God imparting “peace” to His people. The Hebrew word is “Shalom,” which means the sum total of ALL the good which the Lord does for His people. Isn’t that what we want for our children and others?

Children as well as others who receive blessings from their parents and others on a regular basis will notice a difference in their lives. It is God who blesses when His name is invoked over our children and friends. In Jewish families, parents will take a dip of honey and place it on the lips of their small children when invoking the blessing and remind the children that the Word of God is as sweet as honey and much to be desired; a wonderful custom that you might want to begin.

Read how Jacob struggled to receive his blessing (Gen 25), how he fulfilled it in Gen 27—29, and just how important the blessing pronounced and received is. The Apostle Peter tells us that we are called for the very purpose of inheriting a blessing (1Peter 3:9). The Scripture is replete with stories of pronouncing and inheriting a blessing. Search them out. You will be amazed.

In conclusion, every blessing in the Bible is a verbal one. The blessing is not just a desire hidden in the heart. It must be spoken. Words have power when they are released. God said it this way: “Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel, You shall SAY to them. . .”