Deuteronomy 33--Moses' Final Blessing on Israel

Deuteronomy 33
English Standard Version

Moses' Final Blessing on Israel
33 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.”

---

This should be reminiscent of Jacob blessing each of his sons, the leaders of what we know as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.  Let's see if we notice what is the same and what is different as Moses gives a final blessing to the people as if he was their father before he dies.

First, Moses gives a blessing to all the people of Israel reminding them how the LORD has been with them and has given the both His Presence and the special revelation of the Law.  They are also reminded in this blessing that the LORD is to be their king.  This will be important later when the people ask to have a king like all the other nations, because it will be a rejection of the LORD as their king.

There is not much of a blessing for Reuben the firstborn, in fact it feels like not a blessing at all when Moses says that the tribe of Reuben will live long, but will always be few in number.

​Judah is blessed as the leader of the people (though it may not be immediately obvious here, but we see that also if we look at the blessing the Jacob gave his children).  Moses calls on all the other tribes to contend for him and preserve him from his adversaries, for whether they realize it or not, this is the line that is to be preserved above all because it is the line that the Messiah will come from.

Of Levi, they people are told that they are give them their tithes and offerings, and that the LORD is to give them direction to lead the people and make righteous judgment in the way that He gave them to cast lots (the Thummin and Urim) that would communicate to them His will.  The Levites were called upon to stand with the LORD even when no one else would (like at Mount Sinai).  Above all, they are to keep the covenant and to teach it to the other tribes.  They are to make atonement and intercession for the people both through prayer and through sacrifices.  Only when the people are in right standing before God will they have victory over their enemies, so it is very important that the Levites be protected by all the other tribes and that all the Levites defend and protect the sanctuary that would be kept at the center of the camp.

Benjamin was blessed and called the beloved of the LORD.  He would dwell in safety and the LORD God surrounds him all day long.  I believe this to be a reference to the Divided Kingdom that was to come and how Benjamin was the only other tribe other than Judah to stay in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  They were faithful to the LORD and His Temple and to the tribe of Judah who had been chosen to be king and to the faithful of the tribe of Levi.

Now we see Joseph addressed, which is an address to Manasseh and Ephraim, the two sons of Joseph that were given his "double portion" of the blessing.  These sons of Joseph would be blessed on behalf of Joseph.  They would have good land, good harvests, and and they would be considered "prince" among their brothers--we'll see this in the divided kingdom as Ephraim in particular will be a leader among the tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and often this group of tribes will be known collectively as Ephraim.  The LORD will give Ephraim and Manasseh military victory over the enemies they fight, yet I will say that both of these tribes will in the end join the rebellious tribes that abandoned the king that the LORD had chosen, abandoned the Temple and worshiped false gods.  We'll see that these who were potentially strong leaders for good would now lead their brothers in evil ways.

Zebulun and Issachar are blessed together as a single entity though they are two separate tribes.  They would be people of the mountains and of the sea and they will offer right sacrifices according to this blessing.  These two tribes make up much of the land in which Jesus did most of his ministry.  There is a prophecy that says that out of this "land of darkness" (for it would be heavily influenced by Roman paganism) would come a glorious light.
​
Gad is blessed next.  They along with the tribes of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh took what appeared to be the best portion and chose their own inheritance on the east side of the Jorden River (the same way that Lot did when the land was divided between him and Abram).  So this "blessing" of getting the best portion of the land seems a little tongue-in-cheek as they were willing to desert their brothers and try to avoid war for what they perceived to be safety.  Instead, they will always live in fear of being attacked because they will live on the same side of the Jorden River as their enemies and they must always be the first to act to defend their brothers, so they will never live in peace as they must always be on watch.

Now the LORD comes to Dan.  There is not much said to Dan because we'll learn later that the LORD will not have much good to say to Dan because that tribe will be apostate and will turn the northern tribes to the worship of false gods.  This tribe will actually lose their eternal inheritance in the kingdom from what I can tell because they are the tribe that all apostates belong to and all apostates will have their portion in the Lake of Fire, not heaven.  We'll talk about this more as we study more of the Old Testament, but for right now, know that we will often see all kinds of wickedness, perversion and idolatry associated with the tribe of Dan, and so there is no blessing to be given to them.  Notice how they are even connected with Bashan, the pagan king who they had just defeated--Dan would seemingly pick up where Bashan left off.

​Naphtali's also doesn't have much said about it, other than they will live in blessing and will possess the lake (presumably the Sea of Galilee) and the land to the south of the lake.

Last, but not least is Asher who is to be "most favored" among his brothers.  They would have to defend against attacks both by land and by sea.  They will have bars of iron and bronze (strong defenses) and they will be strong for themselves and their brothers.

Moses then wraps up by speaking to all of Israel again, putting the focus back on the LORD.  There is none like Him who is their king.  He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He Himself will be their eternal dwelling place (think of that when you think of the New Heaven and the New Earth).  These people were looking for a physical land and physical rest, but the LORD wanted to provide them something so much better than the inheritance and the rest they were looking for...He wanted them to have Him, their perfect peace and rest.  "Stayed upon Jehovah, lives are fully blest.  Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest," as the hymn says.

They LORD would fight for them and show them when and where to go to battle, and if they would remain obedient to Him, their victory is sure, as would be the abundence and fruitfulness of their grain and wine.

"Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
    a people saved by the Lord,"

We too rejoice to be a people saved by the LORD, and we too can be sure the LORD will be victorious and that we will stand alongside Him and have victory over all our enemies who have made themselves out to be His enemies.  They will not be able to stand before Him.