And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

Think of a time you have been blessed by someone, in the moment, in a significant way. A time when someone met a need or encouraged you. And now, looking back you may see that the timing and intention of this person to bless you had a long-lasting impact.

This happened for me in junior college. I was working my way through school and I was running out of money to pay for tuition. I called my Dad and let him know of the need. I think he went to his Bible Study and they prayed about it. Then a man in that study loaned me $5,000, with payments starting after graduation. After I made three payments, he forgave the loan. Back in 1993, this was a more significant sum. It was just what I needed. I ended up graduating, and getting an AA degree.

I then got a full-ride scholarship to the state school of my choice, applied that sum to a private school, got a music scholarship, and worked hard and received a BA in Accounting and Finance.

Looking back, this man blessed me first, at the time with my immediate need. But the blessing continued and expanded. For without an AA degree, I could not have transferred to a university and earned a bachelor’s degree. And without the bachelor’s degree, I may not have qualified for the executive jobs I attained after school.

This is similar to what God is promising the Israelites here. First, he turned away a massive invading army. Second, he provided them food and immediate needs in harvest. Third, he made them prosperous for the immediate future. Fourth, he promised he would never put them to shame in this massive way. And now, fifth, he goes well into the future and promises them the giving of his Spirit through Jesus. He promises connection to an Almighty God evidenced by prophecies, dreams, and visions. He promises mighty signs and acts of judgment against evil. And he promises that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Talk about a multiplied, multi-stage blessing! God knows how to bless those who rend their hearts to him. He heaps blessing after blessing on those truly repentant and 100% sold out to him.

Lord, thank you for these promises you made to the Israelites. I, as a grafted-in Gentile, am a beneficiary of the same blessings today. Praise to the one, true God of the past, the present and the future, the Alpha and Omega. You cannot be out-blessed!