Burunche’s Blog

Deuteronomy 33 The Blessing

1-5 “Moses, man of God, blessed the People of Israel with this blessing before his death. He said, God came down from Sinai, He dawned from Seir upon them; He radiated light from Mount Paran, coming with ten thousand holy angels and tongues of fire streaming from his right hand. Oh, how you love the people, all his holy ones are palmed in your left hand. They sit at your feet, honoring your teaching, the Revelation commanded by Moses, as the assembly of Jacob’s inheritance. Thus, God became king in Jeshurun as the leaders and tribes of Israel gathered.”

The Israelites are gathered and now God is moving Moses to pass on blessings that are also prophecies over the various tribes. To understand some of these prophecies, go back to the descriptions of Jacob’s sons in Genesis.

6 Reuben: “Let Reuben live and not die, but just barely, in diminishing numbers.”  Reuben was not a virtuous man at all. Sadly, Reuben’s sin has left a spiritual stain on his descendants. This prophecy reflects that reality.

7 Judah: “Listen, God, to the Voice of Judah, bring him to his people; strengthen his grip, be his helper against his foes.” Although other tribes receive wonderful prophecies, Judah will wind up being the tribe of kingship. Along with Benjamin, Judah will eventually form the Southern Kingdom. While the ten tribes comprising the Northern Kingdom will be annihilated or carried off by the Assyrians, Judah and Benjamin will be conquered by the Babylonians. The prophet Daniel is one of those exiles. It is Jews from Judah and Benjamin who will return from Babylon to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

8-11 Levi: “Let your Thummim and Urim belong to your loyal saint; the one you tested at Massah, whom you fought with at the Waters of Meribah, who said of his father and mother,
‘I no longer recognize them.’ He turned his back on his brothers and neglected his children, because he was guarding your sayings and watching over your Covenant. Let him teach your rules to Jacob and your Revelation to Israel, let him keep the incense rising to your nostrils
and the Whole-Burnt-Offerings on your Altar. God bless his commitment, stamp your seal of approval on what he does; disable the loins of those who defy him, make sure we’ve heard the last from those who hate him.”

The Levites distinguished themselves several times, first at the time of the golden calf incident, when they slaughtered those indulging in orgies. The Levites had no regard for their relatives, but fulfilled God’s commands.

12 Benjamin: “God’s beloved; God’s permanent residence. Encircled by God all day long, within whom God is at home.” Benjamin was Rachel’s second son and a favorite of his father Jacob.

13-17 Joseph: “Blessed by God be his land: The best fresh dew from high heaven, and fountains springing from the depths; the best radiance streaming from the sun and the best the moon has to offer; beauty pouring off the tops of the mountains and the best from the everlasting hills; the best of Earth’s exuberant gifts, the smile of the Burning-Bush Dweller. All this on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the set-apart one among his brothers. In splendor he’s like a firstborn bull, his horns the horns of a wild ox; He’ll gore the nations with those horns, push them all to the ends of the Earth. Ephraim by the ten thousands will do this, Manasseh by the thousands will do this.”

When Jacob was blessing Joseph’s sons, he blessed Ephraim more extravagantly than he did Manasseh. That favoritism persists. Eventually Ephraim and Manasseh will become part of the Northern Kingdom, be destroyed by Assyria, and disappear. But before that happens, there will be centuries marked by God’s favor.

18-19 Zebulun and Issachar: “Celebrate, Zebulun, as you go out, and Issachar, as you stay home. They’ll invite people to the Mountain and offer sacrifices of right worship, for they will have hauled riches in from the sea and gleaned treasures from the beaches.” These tribes will eventually settle on the seacoast, enjoying the blessings of that location.

20-21 Gad: “Blessed is he who makes Gad large. Gad roams like a lion, tears off an arm, rips open a skull. He took one look and grabbed the best place for himself, the portion just made for someone in charge. He took his place at the head, carried out God’s right ways and his rules for life in Israel.” Gad continues to follow the patterns described in this blessing.

22 Dan: “Dan is a lion’s cub leaping out of Bashan.” The tribe of Dan will wind up in the northeast part of the country near Bashan. Sadly, Dan will also become a center of Jeroboam’s fake religion that he sets up to prevent his people from traveling to Jerusalem for worship.

23 Naphtali: “Naphtali brims with blessings, spills over with God’s blessings as he takes possession of the sea and southland.”  This blessing says it all.

24-25 Asher: “Asher, best blessed of the sons! May he be the favorite of his brothers, his feet massaged in oil. Safe behind iron-clad doors and gates, your strength like iron as long as you live.” Asher receives a wonderful blessing, one that many of us would like to claim for ourselves.

* * *

26-28 There is none like God, Jeshurun, riding to your rescue through the skies, his dignity haloed by clouds. The ancient God is home on a foundation of everlasting arms. (Other translations read: The Eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.) He drove out the enemy before you and commanded, “Destroy!” Israel lived securely,
the fountain of Jacob undisturbed in grain and wine country and, oh yes, his heavens drip dew.

29 Lucky Israel! Who has it as good as you? A people saved by God! The Shield who defends you, the Sword who brings triumph. Your enemies will come crawling on their bellies and you’ll march on their backs.

If you make it to Jerusalem, do your best to visit Hadassah Hospital to see the Marc Chagall stained glass windows depicting the blessings upon each of the tribes. These luminous creations closely follow the verses above.

This chapter of Deuteronomy is one of my favorites, particularly Deuteronomy 33:27. Although I have used The Message for the Bible study, I am actually fondest of the quote in this image. Throughout our lives, we have faced enormous challenges-tribal war, deaths of parents and siblings, upheavals in supporting churches, turnover in personnel at the various hospitals where we have served. And throughout all those struggles, the eternal God has remained our refuge, and those everlasting arms have continued to hold us-and will hold us-for all eternity.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we praise You for Your love, Your mercy, Your grace, and Your protection. May all who read these words put their trust in You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on November 18, 2025 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.