What is the most important word in the Bible, other than God or one of His names or titles? The word describes something that comes from God; it's no good if it doesn't come from Him. It's the first thing He gave to Adam and Eve after giving them life and likeness to Himself. It's God's purpose; He's made promises to bring it about, across the globe and throughout generations unto eternity. It is the theme of the first main heading in Jesus' famous sermon. It is what Jesus secured in His death and resurrection. It is found painted on random pieces of wood at Hobby Lobby.

Salvation is a good word, as is forgiveness, along with adoption, fellowship, eternal-life (hyphenated to be one). Gospel, cross, even faith, are honorable mentions. Love is raising its hand in the back trying to get our attention. And if you're paying attention to what this series of advent messages is about you might guess the word would be covenant, or Christmas, but Christmas isn't in the Bible, and covenant, while a good word, doesn't necessarily mean it's a biblical covenant.

The best Bible word is blessing. "God blessed them" (Genesis 1:28). "Blessed are the [eight]" groups (Matthew 5). “Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” (Psalm 3:8) Blessing is an umbrella category covering all the good gifts from God.

Jesus was born to be the Mediator of blessings. "He comes to make His blessings flow / Far as the curse is found" (Isaac Watts, "Joy to the World"). These blessings include redemption, amen! We summarize the story arc: Creation - Fall - Redemption, and okay. But God's blessings are redeeming unto more. We could tell the story: Creation full of and for blessings to men - Fall in the form of men believing that God was holding back some blessings - Redemption unto the receiving and multiplying of true blessings. "Blessings abound where'er He reigns" (another Isaac Watts, "Jesus Shall Reign").

We need to slow down, because all this excitement is going to make us think it's Christmas already, and we've got almost three weeks to go. And this Not Yet is actually a critical piece for our understanding advent.

God is, and so reveals Himself to be, the God of blessings. But, God wants us not only to know that every good and perfect gift comes down from Him as our Father, He wants us to believe Him when He promises that He will bless us…later. God delights in our faith that He will bless us, so He delights to tell us what He's going to do, sometimes long before He actually does it.

He loves to get glory for Himself through word and then fulfilling His word. His is a doxological program, and it involves His revelation of His resolve to elect and bless persons and families and nations in time. And you thought your advent plans were special!

Waiting is built in. Like various gifts we give, it’s not just assembly, but some anticipation required. And this is fine, because what is it that overcomes the world? Our faith. Our faith is in the one who makes blessing His global and everlasting business.

One way to wrap the lights around the tree of this topic—so to speak—is to consider three unconditional covenants that anticipate Christmas. The birth of the Messiah was a divine promise that belongs with a trifecta of promises. I'm referring to the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. We'll take one a Sunday.

In all three of these covenants God committed Himself to bring ways of favor on His people. In all three of these covenants God took His faithfulness out on parade so that we could see it so that we could depend on it. In all three of these covenants God specified blessings to come, and His Son's first advent began the dispersing of blessings that Christ's second advent will fulfill.

We are about four-thousand years into the first post-Babel blessing project to the nations.

A man named Abram was minding his own pagan business in the ancient city of Ur when God called Abram to another land. Genesis 10 lists a bunch of peoples/families/proto-nations that came about after the judgment of dispersion at the tower of Babel described in Genesis 11. Then at the start of Genesis 12, God promises to make and bless a new nation and to make a way for the blessing of all the other nations.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1–3 ESV)

There are seven particulars to this promise. The Lord commits that 1) Abram would be a great nation, 2) Abram will be blessed, 3) Abram's name will be made great, 4), Abram will be a blessing, 5) Abram's friends will be blessed and his enemies cursed, 6) Abram will be the channel of blessing to all the families of the earth, and 7) Abram and his offspring will get the land shown to him.

There are individual outcomes of this covenant to Abram himself, there are national outcomes for his offspring and land, and there are universal outcomes through him. Four of the seven include the Lord’s act of blessing.

The Lord clarifies the covenant with Abram a couple more times, including in Genesis 15 and 17. Especially in chapter 15, the Lord along walks through the divided animals while Abram is in a sleep, and this emphasizes that the covenant is unconditional.

God bound Himself to bring blessings, physical and spiritual, some immediate and some eternal. In fact, it is an "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7) and part of that includes the land of Canaan as an "everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8).

Abram was elected to receive blessings and then to be a vessel of blessings. These blessings would flow far as the curse is found.

NONE of this happened immediately. Between chapter 12 and chapter 15, a ten year period, Abram had questions. Where's my son? Do I need to reinterpret Your promise as a reference to my servant? The Lord said, "your very own son shall be your heir." And Abram believed (Genesis 15:6). But it took another fifteen year after that before Isaac was born.

Abram also had questions about the land. "O LORD God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" And that is when the Lord did the covenant walk.

And STILL Abram slept with his servant Hagar. And STILL Abram struggled, and waited. And AGAIN the Lord kept giving Word of coming blessings (Genesis 17:1-8). Abram became Abraham, Isaac was born to Sarah, Isaac had to wait but also eventually had a son, Jacob/Israel, and the rest is history…of more waiting.

This is how the New Testament starts!

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1 ESV)

The first gospel by Matthew makes sure we know who Jesus is by giving us Jesus’ genealogy that begins with Abraham. Abraham is mentioned three times, in the heading and the actual list and then again in the summary (Matthew 1:1, 2, 17) leading up to the story of Jesus’ birth (Matthew 1:18-25).

We shouldn’t forget Abraham’s connection to advent because he also learned to wait on God’s Word and because Jesus’ birth is the ultimate fulfillment of “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The incarnation of the Lord mediates blessings covenanted by the Lord.

In Galatians 3 Paul states that, in one way, Jesus is the fulfillment of God's covenant to Abraham as the one through whom the blessings will come.

in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:14 ESV)

And while pointing out that all who believe are sons of Abraham--and wow, what a privilege to be grafted in to God's covenant of blessing--there are sons by faith among the nations as well as sons of faith among the nation, Israel.

When it comes to how we are justified by God, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, it is by faith in Jesus, not circumcision or Sabbath keeping. But God's blessings aren't limited to only the spiritual blessings, God hasn't turned the land promises into spiritual "land" either.

Jesus mediates the blessings, and Jesus is not done blessing all the families of the earth. Jesus came and blessings abound, AND Jesus is coming again, a second advent, and it will be blessings galore, in Israel and .

By way of advent application:

My wife has been giving advent pajamas to kids for years, and now she includes the grandkids. One of my grandsons who is in the early stages of learning about this waiting season opened his present, wrapped and under the tree, to find pjs, and was greatly disappointed. “Is this Christmas?” Ha! No! Just a little something to get us even more excited for what’s to come.

Think of what spiritual and earthly blessings Jesus has already given through His work the first time He came, and think of what is to come when He comes again. Jesus is fulfilling the Lord’s covenant to bless the nations far as the curse is found.

There is a cycle of receiving blessing, then blessing others, and then receiving more blessing. This is our calling (1 Peter 3:9). See if you can shorten the cycle: Receive, Re-gift, Rejoice.

Bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing!

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7–8 ESV)