Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 33
Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 33
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 33 (KJV)
"And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death."
It is interesting and comforting to find that the last words of the lawgiver were words of unmingled blessing. We have dwelt on his various discourses, those solemn, searching and deeply affecting homilies addressed to the congregation of Israel. We have briefly meditated on that marvelous song with its mingled notes of grace and government. But we are now called to hearken to words of precious benediction, words of sweetest comfort and consolation, words flowing from the heart of the God of Israel and giving His own loving thoughts respecting them.
The student will no doubt notice a difference between the last words of Moses as recorded in Deuteronomy 33, and the last words of Jacob as given in Genesis 49. It is needless to say that both are given by the same pen, both divinely inspired; and hence, although differing, they do not and cannot clash; there is, there can be no discrepancy between two sections of God's Volume. This is a cardinal truth, a vital and fundamental principle with every devout Christian, and every true believer – a truth to be tenaciously grasped and faithfully confessed in the face of all the ignorant and insolent assaults of infidelity.
Of course, we are not going to enter on an elaborate comparison of the two chapters; this would not be impossible just now, because we are obliged to be as concise and brief as possible. But there is one grand point of difference that can be seized at a glance. Jacob gives the history of the actions of his sons, some of them sad and humiliating. On the contrary, Moses presents the actions of God's grace, whether in them or toward them. This will account for the difference. The evil actions of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are recorded by Jacob, but entirely omitted by Moses. Is this discrepancy? No, but rather God's harmony – Jacob views his sons in their personal history; Moses views them in their covenant relationship with Jehovah. Jacob gives us human failure, infirmity and sin; Moses gives us God's faithfulness, goodness and loving-kindness. Jacob gives us human actions and judgment thereon; Moses gives us God's counsels and unmingled blessing flowing out of them. Thanks and praise to our God, His counsels, blessings and glory are above and beyond all human failure, sin and folly.
We will now do little more than quote the various blessings of the tribes. They are full of most precious instruction, and do not call for much in the way of exposition. "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 [holy ones]; 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 [what a precious treasure; every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord is more precious by far than gold and silver; sweeter than honey and the honey-comb]; 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. Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men be few" (emphasis added).
We have nothing here about Reuben's instability, nothing about his sin. Grace is in the ascendant; blessings are flowing in rich abundance from the loving heart of the One Who delights to bless and to surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with the sense of His goodness.
"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." Judah is the royal line. "Our Lord sprang out of Judah," thus illustrating in a truly marvelous manner how God's grace rises in its majesty above human sin and gloriously triumphs over circumstances that reveal man's utter weakness.
"Judas: begat Phares and Zara of Thamar." Who but the Holy Spirit could have inspired the penning of these words? How plainly they declare that God's thoughts are not our thoughts. What human hand would have introduced Thamar into the genealogical line of our adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Not one. The stamp of divinity is strikingly impressed on Matthew 1:3, as it is on every clause of the Holy Volume from beginning to end. The Lord be praised that it is so.
"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes; his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk" (Gen. 49:8-12).
"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside; sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion of tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."
How highly favored is the tribe of Judah. Surely to be in the genealogical line from which our Lord sprang is a high honor; and yet we know, because our Lord Himself has told us, that it is far higher, far more blessed to hear the Word of God and keep it. To do the will of God, to treasure up in our hearts His precious commandments brings us morally nearer to Christ than even the fact of being His kindred according to the flesh (Matt 12:46-50).
"And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim [lights and perfections] 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 judgements, and Israel thy law; they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thing 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" (vv. 8-11; emphasis added).
The student will notice the fact that Simeon is here left out, though so intimately associated with Levi in Genesis 49: "Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret: unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."
When we compare Genesis 49 with Deuteronomy 33, we observe two things: human responsibility and divine sovereignty. Moreover, we see nature and its actions, grace and its fruits. Jacob looks at Simeon and Levi linked together in nature, displaying nature's tempers and ways. As far as they were concerned, they both deserved the curse. But in Levi, we see the glorious triumphs of sovereign grace. In the days of the golden calf, it was grace that enabled Levi to gird on the sword and stand for the glory of the God of Israel.
"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day" (Ex. 32:26-29).
Where was Simeon on this occasion? He was with Levi in the day of nature's self-will, fierce anger and cruel wrath; why not in the day of bold decision for Jehovah? He was ready to go with his brother to avenge a family insult, why not to vindicate the honor of God, insulted as it was by the idolatrous act of the whole congregation? Will anyone say he was not responsible? Let such a one beware about raising such a question. The call of Moses was addressed to the whole congregation; Levi alone responded; and he got the blessing. He stood for God in a dark and evil day and for this he was honored with the priesthood – the highest dignity that could be conferred on him. The call was addressed to Simeon as well as to Levi, but Simeon did not respond. Is there any difficulty here? To a mere theologian there may be; but to a devout Christian there is none. God is sovereign. He does as He pleases and gives no account of any of His matters. If anyone feels disposed to ask, "Why is Simeon omitted in Deuteronomy 33?" The simple and conclusive answer is, "O man, who art thou that repliest against God?" In Simeon, we see nature's actions judged; in Levi, we see the fruits of grace rewarded. In both we see God's truth vindicated and His Name glorified. Thus it always has been; thus it is, and thus it will always be. Man is responsible; God is sovereign. Are we called on to reconcile these two propositions? No; we are called to believe them; they are already reconciled, because they appear side by side on the pages of inspiration. This is enough for every pious mind; and as for cavilers, they will get their definitive answer by-and-by.1
"And of Benjamin," "the son of my right hand," 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." What a blessed place for Benjamin, blessed place for each beloved child of God. How precious is the thought of dwelling in safety in God's presence, in conscious nearness day and night to the true and faithful Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, abiding under the covert of His sheltering wings.
How blest are they who still abide,
Close sheltered by Thy watchful side;
Who life and strength from Thee receive,
And with Thee move and in Thee live.
Let us seek to know more and more the reality and blessedness of Benjamin's place and portion. Be not satisfied with anything short of the enjoyed presence of Christ, the abiding sense of relationship and nearness to Him. Be assured of it – it is your happy privilege. Let nothing rob you of it. Keep near the Shepherd's side, reposing in His love, lying down in the green pastures and beside the still waters. In this day of hollow profession and empty talk may we prove the deep blessedness of this; may we know the unspeakable preciousness of deep personal intimacy with Him. This is the special need of the day in which our lot is cast – a day of much intellectual traffic in truth, but of little heart knowledge and true appreciation of Christ.
"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 goodwill 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."
Joseph is a remarkable type of Christ. We have dwelt on his history in our studies of Genesis. The student will notice the emphatic way Moses speaks of his having been separated from his brethren. He was rejected and cast into the pit. In figure, he passed through the deep waters of death and thus reached the place of dignity and glory. He was raised from the dungeon to be ruler over the land of Egypt, the preserver and sustainer of his brethren. The iron entered into his soul, and he was made to taste the bitterness of the place of death before he entered the sphere of glory. Striking type of Him who hung on the cross, lay in the grave, and is now on the throne of the majesty of heaven.
We are struck with the fullness of the blessing pronounced on Joseph, both by Moses in Deuteronomy 33 and by Jacob in Genesis 49. Jacob's utterance is uncommonly fine: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren."
What a magnificent range of blessing; all flowing from and based on his sufferings: "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 the treasures hid in the sand."
Zebulun is to rejoice in his going forth and Issachar in abiding in his tents. It will be joy at home and abroad; and there will be power to act on others also – calling the people to the mountain to offer the sacrifices of righteousness. All this grounded on the fact that they will suck of the abundance of the seas and hidden treasures. Thus it always is in principle. It is our privilege to rejoice in the Lord, come what may, and to draw from eternal springs and hidden treasures that are to be found in Him. Then we will be in a condition of soul to call others to taste and see that the Lord is good, presenting to God those sacrifices of righteousness so acceptable to Him.
"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 judgements 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 favour, 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 thy strength. 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" (vv. 20-29).
Truly we may say human comment is uncalled for here. Nothing can exceed the preciousness of the grace that breathes in the closing lines of Deuteronomy. The blessings of this 33rd chapter begin and end with God and His marvelous ways with Israel. It is refreshing and comforting at the close of all the appeals, all the exhortations, all the solemn warnings, all the faithful declarations, all the prophetic records regarding failure and sin, judgment and governmental wrath – after all these, to listen to such accents as those just above quoted. It is indeed a magnificent termination to this blessed book of Deuteronomy. Grace and glory shine out with uncommon luster. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. He will make good every jot and tittle of His precious Word, and the lawgiver's last words bear testimony to all this.
The Lord's people today can draw instruction, comfort and refreshment from the blessings pronounced on Israel. Blessed be God, we can know what it is to be "satisfied with favour, and full of the blessing of the Lord." We may take comfort from the assurance that "as our days shall be our strength." We too can say, "The eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." We can say all this and much more. We can say what Israel never could and never can say. The church's blessings and privileges are heavenly and spiritual; but that does not hinder us taking comfort from the promises made to Israel.
