Deuteronomy 33:1-29 (NKJV)
1 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said:
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
3 Yes, He loves the people;
All His saints are in Your hand;
They sit down at Your feet;
Everyone receives Your words.
4 Moses commanded a law for us,
A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And He was King in Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of Judah: “Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people;
Let his hands be sufficient for him,
And may You be a help against his enemies.”
8 And of Levi he said:
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
Whom You tested at Massah,
And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not seen them’;
Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
And Israel Your law.
They shall put incense before You,
And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar.
11 Bless his substance, Lord,
And accept the work of his hands;
Strike the loins of those who rise against him,
And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,
Who shelters him all the day long;
And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said:
“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
He shall push the peoples
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 the peoples to the mountain;
There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas
And of treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 And of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who enlarges Gad;
He dwells as a lion,
And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21 He provided the first part for himself,
Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there.
He came with the heads of the people;
He administered the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s whelp;
He shall leap from Bashan.”
23 And of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Possess the west and the south.”
24 And of Asher he said:
“Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be.
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’
28 Then Israel shall dwell in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens shall also drop 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 majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places.”
The entirety of today’s reading is the blessing Moses gave to the children of Israel and to his sons. In the Old Testament, the blessing given by a father to his household was not a statement of what the patriarch hoped would happen to his sons, but a statement of what would actually happen to them. Rueben would have a large army. The work of Levi’s hands would be accepted by God. Benjamin would dwell in safety. Joseph’s land and life would be blessed beyond measure. Zebulun and Issachar would rejoice and partake of the abundance of the seas. Gad dwells like a lion. Dan and Naphtali would possess the west and south. Asher would be favored by his brothers and have sandals of iron and bronze.
The sons of Moses were also told in v. 27, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” These words of strong encouragement were to uphold and strengthen the Israelites as they entered into Canaan in the days to come, and as they would see Moses, their leader, die before entering that land. For the foreseeable future they would have Joshua as their leader who would be the one God used to take them on the next leg of their journey.
The final words of the blessing are in v. 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 majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.” The Israelites would now go forth with confidence into Canaan with God’s words and strength.
You also, dear saint, go forth each week from the Divine Service with God’s words of blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” Through God-given faith in Christ’s death for your sins, you get to go about your day and work knowing God has given you life and everything you need to live it to His glory and the good of your neighbor. Go forth this day in the sure confidence of God’s love for you. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me life and keeping me in the one true faith. Lead and guide me always until You bring me home; through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.