Moses Blesses Israel "And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death." – Deuteronomy 33:1 Verse by verse study in Deuteronomy 33 Moses’ life is nearing its end when he gives the three sermons (really one with intermissions between) that end the book of Deuteronomy. Within approximately one month Moses will die, succession will pass to Joshua, and Israel will ford the Jordan to enter their promised land. While the contents, as the name Deuteronomy implies, is largely a repetition of the law delivered to the nation at Sinai, it is much more than that. Moses recounts the miraculous deliverance in the wilderness from varied trials and foes. He is selective in citing those elements of the law which will most effect the coming experiences of the nation. The sermon identifies the manner in which the law is to be preserved and regularly read to the people of Israel. Moses closes his sermon with a song and a blessing. The song is written in Hebrew poetic form in chapter 32. It is not only historical, but also prophetic in nature. The nineteenth century scholar, O. V. Gerlach, has written: "This song, soaring as it does to the loftiest heights, moving amidst the richest abundance of pictures of both present and future, with its concise, compressed, and pictorial style, rough, penetrating, and sharp, but full of the holiest solemnity, a witness against the disobedient nation, a celebration of the covenant God, sets before us in miniature a picture of the whole life and conduct of the great man of God, whose office it pre-eminently was to preach condemnation" The chapter we will consider is the closing of this magnificent sermon in the form of a blessing upon the tribes of Israel. Introduction – Verses 1 through 5 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. The blessings of Jacob on his twelve sons (Genesis 49) and the blessings of Moses recorded here form a parentheses for the experiences of the twelve tribes prior to their entrance into the promised land. The two blessings are distinct and separate. They differ both in contact and in the order they are given. It is noteworthy that Moses only blesses eleven of the tribes, omitting Simeon. While no reason is given, it may arise from the fact that the blessing of Jacob on Simeon (as well as Levi) was negative, more of a curse, and implied that neither tribe would have a distinct inheritance in the land: "I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel" (Genesis 49:9). While the tribe of Levi redeemed themselves in the matter of the golden calf (Exodus 32:26-28), the same was not true of Simeon. When the land was divided to Israel, while Levi was not awarded a specific location, his scattering among the people as a holy tribe was a blessing. Simeon, on the other hand, was also not given a portion of land, but was to dwell amongst the people of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 19:1). It has also been suggested that since Simeon was the one Joseph chose to put in prison as a guarantee that Benjamin would be brought from Canaan to Egypt (Genesis 42:24), he may have been the ringleader in the plot to kill Joseph (Genesis 37:19, 20). The opening verses of these blessings call the attention of the crowd gathered before Moses to an occasion, some forty years earlier, when he had spoken to the fathers of these Israelites, giving them the laws of God at Mt. Sinai. In this description we have two geographic clues to the location of Mr. Sinai.
These two descriptive phrases suggest a location in the central Sinai desert and are in agreement with the traditional location of the mount. The term "he came with ten thousand of his saints" is reminiscent of Enoch’s prophecy recorded in Jude 14, 15: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." This connection (along with that of similar words in Matthew 25:31 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7) suggests that the words are suggestive of coming judgment. Indeed, the law given at Sinai proved to be an instrument of judgment, for it contained the standard of righteousness which was unattainable by imperfect people. However, in the historic scene of Sinai it probably has reference to the hosts of angels who appeared at the giving of the law (Acts 7:53; Hebrews 2:2). The final phrase in verse two is a further description of the giving of the law. The word "law" in the Authorized Version has no Hebrew counterpart. More likely the term "fiery" refers to the lightning that surrounded the trembling mount. Moses, however, in his Deuteronomic sermon, proceeds from the awesome scene of Sinai to the assurance that this was not meant as judgment, but as a sign of Jehovah’s love for his people. The Revised Standard version translates the second phrase in verse three, "all those consecrated to him were in his hand." All of the nation of Israel were considered as "consecrated" to him through the sacrifices of the tabernacle and their acceptance of the binding restrictions of God’s law (Exodus 24:3, 7). As the law had been read to them, they sat at God’s feet and took heed of his comandments. It was just this law that they were to pass on from generation to generation as the inheritance of "the congregation of Jacob." Reuben and Judah – Verses 6 and 7 Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies. Jacob, in blessing his sons, berated Reuben for laying with his concubine, Bilhah (Genesis 35:22), categorizes his oldest as being "unstable as water," and thus not excelling (Genesis 49:4). Moses, recognizing this characteristic, prays that the tribe of Reuben be not totally extinguished. The Alexandrian Septuagint alone of all translations of this passages, inserts the name of Simeon before the phrase "let not his men be few." If this is correct, it is a fitting blessing since the tribe of Simeon was the most decimated during the wilderness wanderings, decreasing from 59,300 to 22,200 (Numbers 1:23; 26:14). The blessing of Judah is a prayer for victory – that they would return from their campaigns, that their arms would be sufficient, and that Jehovah would always be at their side. It is noteworthy that in the conquest of Canaan, Joshua led four Israel on four separate expeditions. The first three were led by the tribe of Judah. The first foray defeated Jericho and Ai (Joshua 1-8). The second conquered the valley of Aijalon, defeating the five Amorite kings (Joshua 9-10). The third and southernmost campaign, conquered Lachish, Hebron, Dabir, and Gasa (Joshua 10). It was only after thus securing the tribal inheritance of Judah that the forces moved northward all the way to Hazor, a stronghold beyond the Sea of Galilee (Joshua 11). Levi – Verses 8-11 And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. The blessings of Levi deal mostly with the priestly functions assigned to that tribe. The Urim and Thummim were evidently stones carried in the breastplate of the high priest, by which he ascertained the will of the Lord. He word mean literally "lights" and "perfections." The text before us is the only occasion in the Scriptures where the words are reversed – Thummim being before Urim. This may be indicative of the fact that the striving for perfection must is a prerequisite for one who would be a light-bearer. The waters of Massah (temptation) and Meribah (strife) describe one of the early failures of the Hebrews because of their murmuring (Exodus 17:1-7). Evidently, though it is not part of the historic record, the Levites did not demonstrate such discontent in that instance. Certainly their faithfulness is attested in the incident of the golden calf, referenced in verse 9. In that case, disregarding their close family ties to the other tribes of Israel, they slew 3,000 of the worshippers of the golden calf (Exodus 32:26-29). Their resultant blessing consisted in their being made spiritual ministers to their fellow-countrymen. The would become the teachers of the law and the administers of the burnt offerings and incense offerings. Moses concludes his blessing on this fortunate tribe by asking Jehovah to accept their sacrifices and to protect them from harm of those who would abuse them. Benjamin and Joseph – Verses 12 through 17 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. Benjamin is to dwell beside the "beloved of the LORD," perhaps a prophetic reference to King David, whose name means "beloved." This harmonizes with Jehovah dwelling "between his shoulders." One of the borders of the tribe of Benjamin ran between the hills of Jerusalem – the city itself laying in the inheritance of Judah while Mt. Moriah, with the sacred edifice being in the confines of Benjamin (Joshua 18:16; see Jamieson, Faucett and Brown on Deuteronomy 33:12). While Benjamin’s inheritance was the smallest of the tribes, it included some of the most fruitful soil. Joseph, as the most beloved of Jacob’s children and inheritor of the birthright (1 Chronicles 5:2), receives one of the longest of the blessings of Moses. The blessing seems to be an elaboration on the name of Joseph’s second son, Ephraim, who was blessed by Jacob ahead of his older brother Manasseh. Ephraim’s name means "fruitfulness, and this attribute forms the major part of his Mosaic blessing. The tribe of Joseph was given two portions of the holy land – one to Manasseh and the other to Ephraim. The latter was the most populous of the tribes and hence received the greatest land area. Its fertile valleys received abundance of dew and the crops dependant on sunlight and moonlight were copious. Underground springs were plenteous and the highly desirable mountain products, especially olives, grew profusely. Moses bases this chief blessing, not so much on the fact that Joseph was the most loved child of Jacob, but more as a reward for the persecutions of his early life – as being the one "who was separated from his brethren." Zebulon and Issachar – Verses 18 and 19 And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand. The combined inheritance of Zebulun and Issachar stretched from the Sea of Galilee to the Medierranean. Zebulunites, possessing the sea coast, "went out" on the sea, establishing profitable trade routes. This abundant trade was particularly in pearl, coral, and murex, a Tyrian dye used for expensive clothing. The "treasures hid in the sand" was from a special sand that lay on the river Belus, and was used for the making of glass for mirrors and household utensils. "The mountain" referred to in the prophetic blessing was probably Mt. Tabor, to which the tribes were gathered for sacrifices prior to going out to battle against their northern foes. This mountain is of special note in the battle of Deborah and Barak (Judges 5). Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Asher – Verses 20 through 25 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel. And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south. And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. Moses places the praising, or "enlarging" of God, as a precondition for his blessing. He acknowledges the war-like disposition of the Gadites. The "first part" which this tribe was to receive refers to the land east of the Jordan where they, along with Reuben and half the tribe of Manassah were given inheritance on the premise they would help their brethren conquer the rest of Canaan. The phrase, "teareth the arm with the crown of the head," is explained by an observation of the noted Dr. Livingstone in his Journal of Travels in Africa, where he writes that all "all ravenous animals, seize their prey at the shoulder-blade, at a particular point of the neck, near the skull, when a wound in the spinal marrow produces a speedy and apparently a painless death." The fact that Gad was promised "a portion of the lawgiver" is not in conflict that the "lawgiver" was to come from the Judah. This promise seems to indicate that Gad would be appointed a place on the judicial council which would govern Israel for the next four centuries. These were the tribal judges appointed to administer "the judgments of the Lord, and his justice with Israel." Dan is likewise noted for his warrior qualities. The reference to Bashan does not refer to the promised inheritance of Dan, since their portion was far from this land, but more to the fact that the woody ridges of Bashan were noted for being inhabited by lions. Since the inheritance of Naphtali was in the north central part of ancient Cannan, the allusion to "the west, and the south" is curious. Probably the words are to be taken in their metaphorical meaning of "sea-ward" for west (since that direction pointed to the great Mediterranean sea) and "sunny" for south. The land of Naphtali covered the entire western shore of the Sea of Galilee and is noted for its warm winter climate, thus making it a vacation paradise to this day. Asher, whose very name means "blessed: (Genesis 30:13) had a four-fold blessing:
Closing Words – Verses 26 through 29 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places. Jeshurun, meaning "the righteous one," is a pet name of God for Israel, used only in Deuteronomy and Isaiah. In its first use (Deuteronomy 32:15) it is used in a negative sense, indicating Israel’s decline from righteousness; while in Isaiah 44:2 is it used positively to indicate the end to which Israel was God’s "chosen one." In Moses’ closing words it is used as a name for Israel as the recipient of God’s favor and blessing. Theis closing benediction if primarily an ode of praise to God for both his promised protection in their battles with their enemies and his assurance of their physical prosperity and well-being if they live up to this name of Jeshurun, the righteous. With this blessing of each of the tribes of Israel individually and the nation collectively Moses, like Jacob before him, ends his message to the chosen people, the twelve tribes of Israel. |