Dt. 33 The Blessing of Moses: Grace in the End

Did you notice anything unusual about this passage?

Anything different from what we have looked at over the last few weeks?

There's nothing bad here!

There are no curses,

There are no warnings,

There are no prophecies of gloom and doom!

It is pure, unfiltered blessing!

After giving the Israelites warning upon warning,

and after reminding them continually to walk in the ways of the Lord,

Moses now leaves them with a blessing.

Deuteronomy 33 consists of Moses' blessing to the tribes of Israel.

Why is it here?

What does it tell us about Christ?

What can we learn from it?

Well, after seeing all the warnings and all the curses of the last few chapters,

what do these blessings tell us?

These blessings tell us that yes, God is a holy God,

yes, God cannot allow sin into his presence

yes, God will judge those who rebel against him.

But the story doesn't end there.

The story does not end with judgment,

but with blessing.

The story does not end with wrath,

but with grace.

There is GRACE in the end.

The final word is blessing.

Notice first v1

This is blessing with which Moses--THE MAN OF GOD

--blessed the children of Israel

"Man of God" in the OT usually refers to a prophet--(Samuel and Kings)

Moses, as the Man of God--as the prophet--blesses the people.

As we have seen before,

a blessing is spoken by God's appointed leader to God's people.

a blessing is not merely preaching,

it is a completely different sort of proclamation.

Preaching is where God speaks to his people and tells you

who he is, what he has done, and what he requires of you.

Blessing is where God places his grace, his name, his gifts upon you.

And so here,

after giving all the warnings and all the promises,

God places his blessing upon the children of Israel

through his appointed servant Moses.

This is what I will do at the end of the service!

After proclaiming the Word of God,

after speaking of what God has done for us,

and what God requires of us,

I will proclaim his blessing upon you,

that he WILL give you his grace and his mercy.

But what are the blessings that Moses proclaims to Israel in this chapter?

While Moses blesses all 12 tribes,

there are essentially four types of blessing that we see in Dt 33.

1. The Blessing of the Law

v2-5,

Notice how the Law is seen as a blessing.

Remember that the word TORAH means more than just Law.

It means instruction or direction.

That from the right hand of God, this fiery instruction comes

--this fiery direction.

Why did Moses and the Israelites think of the Law as a blessing?

First, because it came from God.

The picture in verse two is of Yahweh as the rising sun,

whose radiance shines on his people.

And he comes with 10,000 saints--10,000 holy ones, a reference to angels--

and with the heavenly host gives a fiery law to his people.

[did you ever wonder why Paul talks about the law being given

through angels--Gal 3:19--this is why he says it]

That now, the heavenly radiance may dwell on earth.

That now, the glory of the sun, reflected in this fiery law,

may give light and direction and instruction to His people.

So the law is a blessing because it gives light to our path.

It points us in the direction that we should go.

But Second, the law is a blessing because it shows us the love of God:

look at verse 3--God has given the law because he loves us.

The law should NOT be seen as something bad.

It is a picture of God's love for us.

Without the Law we would not understand our own sinfulness.

Without the Law we would not see how much we need Christ.

Without the Law we would not know what God requires of us.

Because the Law is a blessing.

The Law--used rightly--leads us to life.

But it is in the law that we hear the voice of God,

calling us to sit at his feet and receive his Word.

We see the blessing of the Law also in the blessing given to Levi. (8-11)

The Levites had been set apart as those who were to serve in the tabernacle

and teach the Law to Israel.

Verse 8 refers back to Exodus 32 when the Israelites had sinned against God,

and the Levites were the only ones who had stood by Moses

while the people worshiped the golden calf.

They had done as God commanded,

even when it meant that they had to put to death members of their own families.

That is why v9 says: (read)

They kept covenant--they observed God's word--even when it hurt.

Therefore God gave them the privilege of teaching the Law to Israel (v10)

God gave them the privilege of offering the sacrifices.

Because they were faithful to the Law,

they were able to proclaim it to others.

Think of Jesus teaching in Matt 10:34-39

Or for that matter, how about Luke 14:26?

Jesus says, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother,

wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also,

he CANNOT be my disciple"

He then speaks of the importance of counting the cost of discipleship, saying,

"whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple"

CANNOT BE

Do we hear that?

You are probably expecting me to find some clever way of assuring you

that Jesus didn't mean what he said.

I'm sorry, but I can't do that.

Jesus meant what he said.

After all, his very next line is: "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor,

how shall it be seasoned?

It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear"

Jesus is drawing on Dt 33. He is remembering the story of Exodus 32,

and how the Levites were faithful

--even when it meant killing their own family members.

Jesus turns to the crowds,

Jesus turns to those who know the blessings of Moses,

to those who know the Law intimately,

and says, will you be like the Levites?

will you follow me, even when it hurts?

even when it costs you the love and respect of your family?

even when it means that you have to lose your job?

even when it means that your friends will laugh?

But Jesus is offering the blessing of Levi as well!

Because those who are his disciples will teach his Law

--they will instruct others in the right way

--they will offer holy sacrifices in his name.

You who forsake all for Jesus' sake,

will receive the blessing of Levi:

see v11-12

God will accept the work of your hands if indeed you are in Christ.

If you trust in Christ alone,

and forsake all others for him,

then your enemies will indeed be destroyed.

Those who hate you will never rise again.

So the Law is a blessing--because the Law is given by God himself because he loves us,

and desires that we love him above family, friends, and anything else.

The rest of the blessings flow from this one:

2. The Blessing of God's Presence

We see this in v5 where God himself is KING in Jeshurun

(Jeshurun means "holy and upright--God is king of the righteous nation)

When God himself is present with his people, then they are blessed.

v12--Benjamin is blessed because God is with him

This is the great blessing of Emanuel--God with us.

And this blessing finally comes to its great fulfillment in Christ.

Because Christ himself is with you.

And if you find shelter in him--if you seek refuge in Christ,

then you will dwell securely!

Jesus offers the blessing of Benjamin when he declares:

"come unto me all who are weary and heavey laden, and I will give you rest."

Now you need to start with Levi:

you need to start by forsaking all others and clinging to Christ.

If you insist on seeking rest from someone else;

if you are looking for fulfillment and happiness

from someone or something beside Christ,

then you will never find rest in Christ.

This is why Jesus goes on to say,

"take my yoke upon you, and learn from ME,

for I am gentle and humble in heart"

Christ insists that you listen to him--to his instruction --to his Torah, his Law;

The blessing of Christ's presence and his comfort

do not come to those who will not listen to Christ.

How can you learn from him? How can you take Christ's yoke upon you?

Hear his Word; sing his Word; do his Word; love his Word!

"Let the Word of God dwell in you richly, Paul says,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with grace in your hearts"

In your families, by yourselves,

read the Word, discuss the Word, sing together, pray together,

find refuge in Christ alone and he will give you rest.

3. The Blessing of Land and Seed

Throughout the blessings we hear echoes of the blessing of Abraham,

that through his seed, blessing would come to the nations.

And this blessing is seen most clearly in the blessing of Joseph. (13-17)

All the best and precious gifts of creation are given to God's people.

Not only does Joseph receive the blessings of the land,

But he also has lots and lots of kids.

The ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.

Joseph is the only son of Jacob to have so many kids,

that they need to have TWO separate tribes!

But how does this effect us?

God gave the promised land to Israel--and we are Gentiles.

But Paul tells us in Romans 4,

that the promise to Abraham must be seen in a new light:

Romans 4:13-16 says (read)

The promise of the land, Paul says,

was the promise that "he would be the heir of the world"

--Paul says that the promise of the Land was not merely the promise of Palestine,

but indeed the promise of the whole world.

Palestine was just the downpayment!

Now, we don't receive the promise through the Law.

We've seen that before.

The Law cannot give you the Land

--the Law cannot bring you salvation.

Only the righteousness of faith--only trusting in the righteousness of Jesus Christ

--can bring you salvation,

and as Paul says, can make you an heir of the whole world with Abraham.

But Paul also insists that the Promise with Abraham was made sure (or certain)

to ALL the seed--not only the those who are of the Law,

but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.

In other words,

these promises of inheriting the Land are FOR US!

WE will receive all the blessings of the Land--not merely of Palestine

--but of the whole world.

This is what the new creation is all about!

That we will indeed inherit the promised Land--the new creation.

But there is a problem:

the Promised Land is full of big, nasty, brutal enemies!

That was true for the Israelites 3000 years ago

That is true for us today.

We are in the Plains of Moab, we are in the wilderness

--looking forward to the Promised Land.

But there are many foes yet to fight.

And so God give us...

4. The Blessing of Victory over Our Enemies

And if Christ is with you.

If you have received the blessing of his presence,

then he will also defeat all of your enemies.

v7--the blessing of Juday is that Yahweh will hear his voice,

and defeat his enemies.

You know, of course,

that our Savior was of the tribe of Judah.

And indeed, God heard his voice,

strengthened his hand,

and through his death, destroyed his enemies.

But we saw this in v11 in the blessing of Levi.

We see this also in v22

--as Dan is compared to a leaping lion that overwhelms his enemies.

God has offered you his blessing:

he will give you the strength to defeat your enemies--if you trust in him.

If you hear his Law--his instruction--and obey,

then you will never have to fear your enemies.

What are the weapons of warfare in Dt. 33?

v7--why does God help Judah against his enemies?

Because Judah prays.

v11--how does God strike those who rise against Levi?

by accepting the work of Levi's hands.

What IS the work of Levi's hands?

Worship--preaching--teaching--sacrifices

v20--Gad is compared to a lion who tears the arm and the head. How?

Gad is a judge--who renders justice through the Torah--the Law.

The weapons of warfare here, are not militaristic.

The weapons of warfare are spiritual:

prayer, preaching, worship, ruling.

Israel is to be a victorious nation because they worship right!

And in vv26-29 we see the praise that Israel gives to God: (read)

Again, we see the centrality of worship:

the way in which you defeat your enemies is to tread down their high places.

Israel dwells in safety,

in a land of grain and new wine.

These are not only the basic staples of life:

these are also things that you were to offer as sacrifices to God,

as firstfruits of the harvest!

The praise of God is the foundation of our victory over our enemies.

Indeed, this is how we defeat our enemies.

As we saw in Sunday school,

the way in which we wage our warfare is through the Word of God,

through prayer, and indeed, through the sacraments.

As Paul says in I Corinthians 10,

after he has described the faithlessness of the Israelites,

he says in v12ff

This is why in which we find comfort in the hour of temptataion.

We worship.

This is the way of escape that God has given us when we are sorely tested:

This is the way in which we flee from idolatry:

we turn to the cup of blessing.

When we took the cup this morning,

we took in our hands, the cup of blessing.

Once again we were offered the new wine of God's presence

--the cup of the new covenant in Christ's blood.