Deuteronomy 33:1-29 "Moses' Final Blessing"

Introduction

What would you say? What would you say if you knew that you would not be coming home again. What would you say if you knew you were leaving, and that you would not see all those people you know, people you watched grow. If you knew you were about to die, what would you tell those you are leaving behind? This is the position Moses is in. Moses has given his final song. He has given his final exhortation to the people to not only know the words of the Lord, but to diligently obey them. God has told Moses to go up Mount Nebo, to the top of Mt Pisgah, and from there he will view the earthly Land of Promise. Yet this is a Mountain that Moses will never return from. He will ascend, he will view, and there he will die. Moses has shared the word of the Lord. He has exhorted the people to know the Law of the Lord AND to diligently obey it. So now “Just as Jacob gathered his sons about him to bestow his blessings upon them before he died (Gen 49:1; cf. 48:21), so Moses, anticipating his own death (Deut 32:50), gathered the tribes who bore the names of Jacob’s sons...” in order to bless them.

(Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 432). Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

Text Read

This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death.

2 He said, “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; He shone forth from Mount Paran; He came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand. 3 Yes, He loved His people, all His holy ones were in His hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you, 4 when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. 5 Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.

6 “Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.”

7 And this he said of Judah: “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring Him in to His people. With your hands contend for Him, and be a help against His adversaries.”

8 And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah; 9 who said of his father and mother, ‘I regard them not’; he disowned his brothers and ignored his children. For they observed Your word and kept Your covenant. 10 They shall teach Jacob Your rules and Israel Your law; they shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. 11 Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”

12 Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.”

13 And of Joseph he said, “Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath, 14 with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, 15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. 17 A firstborn bull—he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

18 And of Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents. 19 They shall call peoples to their mountain; there they offer right sacrifices; for they draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. 21 He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments for Israel.”

22 And of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion's cub that leaps from Bashan.”

23 And of Naphtali he said, “O Naphtali, sated with favor, and full of the blessing of the Lord, possess the lake and the south.”

24 And of Asher he said, “Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.

26 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. 27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ 28 So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.”

Text Explained Before we go any farther, let us define our term. What is a blessing? “A wish, expression, or gift for the wellbeing of another. In cases of divine blessing it becomes an act in favor of the one being blessed.” So a blessing can be a physical gift or it can be an expressed desire for the well-being of another, or it could even be an official proclamation/prophecy such as when Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau. Our text begins, however, with Moses giving a quick summery of God’s choosing to love His people and how God became their God. Moses then moves into the realm of blessing which is reminiscent of Genesis 49 where Joseph gathers his sons and blesses each of them by describing who they are and who they would be. In the same way, Moses gathers the twelve tribes and offers a blessing.

6 “Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.” We see the tribe of the firstborn, Reuben. Their blessing is simple and pointed. A proclamation that they will live, but that their numbers will never grow like those of the other tribes. Our text does not explain the reason, though it could be due to the tribe’s Patriarch sin against Jacob/Israel found in Gen 35:22; 49:4. Regardless, the tribe of Reuben would live, yet remain a tribe small in number.

7 And this he said of Judah: “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him in to his people. With your hands contend for him, and be a help against his adversaries.” This blessing is interesting b/c it departs from birth order. There were two other brother prior to Judah, yet the tribe of Judah is mentioned next. Moses asks the Lord to contend on behalf of the tribe of Judah and almost assumes that Judah will be a bit isolated from the remainder of the tribes which happens in 722 BC when the Northern 10 Tribes are taken into captivity and Judah is left as with the tribe of Benjamin.

8 And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah; 9 who said of his father and mother, ‘I regard them not’; he disowned his brothers and ignored his children. For they observed Your word and kept Your covenant. 10 They shall teach Jacob Your rules and Israel Your law; they shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. 11 Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, of those who hate him, that they rise not again.” Here the priestly tribe of Levi is set apart because of their zeal for the Lord. They had demonstrated that they would stand on the Lord’s side even if it meant standing against their own brothers. They were to be the priestly tribe who would teach the Law and offer sacrifices unto the Lord on behalf of the people.

12 Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.” The youngest of the twelve would have the privilege of being the place where the temple of the Lord would be built, and the place where the Most High would dwell. For the Temple would be placed within the borders of the Tribe of Benjamin.

13 And of Joseph he said, “Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath, 14 with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, 15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. 17 A firstborn bull—he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.” Here we see Joseph mentioned along with his two sons. Joseph is called the prince among his brothers yet depending on the list you read, Joseph is not even mentioned. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh would receive lush areas fit for a prince.

18 And of Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents. 19 They shall call peoples to their mountain; there they offer right sacrifices; for they draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.” Here Zebulun and Issachar are bracketed together and they would share bordering territories. They are praised for offering right sacrifices.

20 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. 21 He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments for Israel.” Here we find the warrior character of the tribe of Gad being praised. In fact, Genesis 49:19 alludes to this “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.” Gad is also praised for executing justice.

22 And of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion's cub that leaps from Bashan.” Dan is pictured as young a but with the potential for great future strength.

23 And of Naphtali he said, “O Naphtali, sated with favor, and full of the blessing of the Lord, possess the lake and the south.” Naphtali is given a more general blessing that the Lord would give them in the Land.

24 And of Asher he said, “Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be. Asher is the last of the tribes mentioned and the phrase “dip his foot in oil” may be referencing the a part of the land rich in olive trees.

The final blessing of Moses upon each of the tribes ends with how it began. Focusing on the Lord who is over the tribes and the author of their blessings. So we read in Moses’ final words a hymn of Praise to the Lord and a prophecy if the Israelites would follow their Lord. 26 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. 27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And He thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ 28 So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.”

Text Applied

The Lord Blesses Different People in Different Ways. In our text today we find twelve different tribes of people and each of these tribes is given very different blessings. Some are blessed with great potential and others are blessed with military might. Others are blessed with religious responsibilities while others are blessed with having the location of the temple in their land. Each group blessed differently. In 1 Corinthians 12:4–5 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” The Apostle Paul’s point here is that each believer is uniquely gifted/blessed. Dear one, sometimes we fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to one another. We look at one person and wish that we were able to have that person’s skill at welding. Or we look at that person and wish that we had their ability with music. Or we look at another person and wish we had their ability with money. Dear one, God has made each of us uniquely different with different talents and abilities that we are to cultivate. God has blessed each of us in different/unique ways. Do not feel bad if the way the Lord blessed you is different than how the Lord blessed someone else. The Lord Blesses Different People in Different Ways.

The Different Blessings are for the One Body. In our text today we see that each individual tribe recieved a different blessing and they would each receive a different section of the Promised Land. Yet, as varied as a they were in geography and blessing, they were all to be part of God’s People. The children of Israel. Dear one, each of us has been given different blessings/talents/abilities, yet each of us are part of the SAME body of Christ. Again we look at 1 Corinthians 12:14–26 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the (each of YOU) in the body, each one of them, as He chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Christian, you are part of the body. Whatever God has made you to be, whatever abilities God has blessed you with, use those gifts. The Different Blessings are for the One Body.

The Head of the Body is Christ. In our text we see that Moses began and ended with the Lord. The purpose of the Children of Israel is to serve their amazing God with whatever God had blessed them with, as individuals, as unique tribes, and as part of the nation of Israel as a whole. Dear Christian, you are to serve God with whatever God has blessed you with, as an individual, as part of the local body, and as a Christian in this world. For all our blessings are for the singular purpose of Serving Christ. Colossians 1:17–18 “And He/Christ is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He/Christ is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.”