When history books tell us what happened in the past, they focus on what humans did. They attribute all of history to choices and actions made by humans. There is some truth to that. However, today’s passage reminds us that God can and does orchestrate events so that history unfolds how He wants it to unfold.
Yesterday, we finished reading a song Moses wrote as a warning to Israel about what would happen if they failed to be faithful to Yahweh. After Moses finished the song, Yahweh directed Moses to go to the top of Mount Nebo where he would die.
Deut. 33:1 ¶ Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.
Notice the word “blessing”. In their culture, a blessing was often an inheritance, meaning a blessing was something that was certain to happen, not something people hoped would happen.
Deut. 33:2 And he said,
“Yahweh came from Sinai,
And He dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones;
At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.
Hebrew poetry is repetitive. The art of Hebrew poetry is saying the same thing in different ways. Verse 2 is poetic. Sinai, Seir, and Paran were all the same general area, so the three lines about Sinai, Seir, and Paran are saying the same thing.
The term “holy ones” refers to the angels that surrounded Yahweh in heaven.
Deut. 33:3 Indeed, He loves the people;
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone is bearing up Your words.
In this verse the term “holy ones” refers to the Israelites.
Deut. 33:4 Moses commanded us with a law,
A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
Deut. 33:5 And He was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
The name “Jeshurun” refers to Israel.
Deut. 33:6 ¶ “May Reuben live and not die,
Nor his men be few.”
Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob and should have been the leader of Israel. However, since Reuben lay with his father’s concubine (see Genesis 35:22), Jacob took preeminence away from him (see Genesis 49:3-4). When Moses blessed Reuben, he simply assured that Reuben would not cease to exist.
This map shows the land inherited by each tribe. Reuben’s portion was on the southeast edge of Israel. The Dead Sea formed a barrier between Reuben and the rest of Israel. This illustrates the lack of influence Reuben had once they settled the Promised Land.
Deut. 33:7 ¶ And this regarding Judah; so he said,
“Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”
Judah became the leading tribe of Israel. David was a descendant of Judah.
Deut. 33:8 ¶ Of Levi he said,
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your holy one,
Whom You tested at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
Notice the pronouns “Your” and “You” are capitalized. This means the translators of the Legacy Standard Bible think the second-person pronoun refers to Yahweh.
The term “holy one” refers to the tribe of Levi.
The Thummim and Urim were used by the priest to discern God’s will.
Massah and Meribah were places where the Israelites rebelled against Yahweh during their wanderings in the wilderness. This verse indicates that while the Israelites rebelled, it was also a time when Yahweh tested Israel.
Deut. 33:9 Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not recognize his brothers,
Nor did he know his own sons,
For they kept Your word,
And they observed Your covenant.
This may be a reference to the golden calf incident. The people were out of control, and the Levites disregarded their kinship with the other tribes and struck down the revelers at the command of Moses (see Exodus 32:27).
Deut. 33:10 They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
Deut. 33:11 O Yahweh, bless his substance,
And accept the work of his hands;
Crush the loins of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”
Deut. 33:12 ¶ Of Benjamin he said,
“May the beloved of Yahweh dwell in security by Him,
Who shields him all the day,
And he dwells between His shoulders.”
The word “beloved” refers to Benjamin. Just as Benjamin was beloved of Jacob, so too he was beloved by Yahweh. Jerusalem was on the southern border of Benjamin (see Joshua 18:16), which meant he dwelt near Yahweh.
Benjamin’s territory was between Judah and Joseph (see Joshua 18:11), which meant he dwelt between Yahweh’s shoulders.
Deut. 33:13 ¶ Of Joseph he said,
“Blessed of Yahweh be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep lying beneath,
Deut. 33:14 And with the choice produce of the sun,
And with the choice yield of the months,
Deut. 33:15 And with the best things of the ancient mountains,
And with the choice things of the everlasting hills,
Deut. 33:16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let it come to the head of Joseph,
And to the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.
Deut. 33:17 As the firstborn of his ox, splendor is his,
And his horns are the horns of the wild ox;
With them he will push the peoples,
All at once, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”
Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph. Jacob had claimed them as his own sons, so they became tribes of Israel (see Genesis 48:5).
In this blessing, Moses gave Ephraim and Manasseh territories that were prosperous and fruitful.
Deut. 33:18 ¶ Of Zebulun he said,
“Be glad, Zebulun, in your going forth,
And, Issachar, in your tents.
Deut. 33:19 They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer righteous sacrifices;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”
History books focus on what humans did in the past to cause history to unfold as it unfolded. However, we see in today’s Scripture reading that Moses gave a blessing which caused history to unfold in a certain manner. Moses was a prophet, meaning his blessing was from Yahweh. Thus, it was Yahweh who was orchestrating events and dictating the future of the various tribes of Israel.
If Yahweh was able to do this with Israel, He can do it today. Yes, humans can make choices. However, we should not overlook God’s ability to steer human choices and actions so that history unfolds as God wants it to unfold.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”