Before You die…

In the end of Chapter 32, God gave a strange command to Moses. Moses was to go up to the mountain, look at the land of Canaan, and die and be gathered to His people (Deut. 32:49-50).

Most people would panic at the command to die. Yet, Moses listened attentively and took the last word of the LORD to his mind and heart and transform it to the blessings for the people of God by each tribe.

God showed the land of Canaan to Moses before his death. Why did God show Moses the land which he would not enter? Although the exact reason will never be known, we could think of a few possibilities. Because God so loved Moses, God was giving Moses the last opportunity, a clear view to gaze on the land. Or, God was providing a time for Moses to pray for the Israelites because their path forward would be far from easy. Or perhaps, God wanted to have a very personal discussion time with Moses on the content of the blessings.

Whatever the content of the prayer or of the one-on-one time between God and Moses, Moses brought the messages down and declared before the presence of the entire assemble of the Israelites.

The Content and the Structure of the Blessings: Starts with God 

After introducing a “strange” song with “strange” lyrics, Moses pronounced indeed his last words to the each tribe of the Israelites. To them, Moses pronounced his blessings to the people of the LORD from verse 2 until the end of the chapter.

First, notice the high-level structure. Although the most of the content comprises blessings for each tribe of Israel, the beginning and the ending of the blessing was all about the LORD God. Before pronouncing blessings to each tribe, Moses started with the LORD , the only true God – a bright, dynamic light from Mount Sinai to Seir to Paran. Does this beginning resonate with God in Genesis when the LORD first created light. The description provided by Moses points out a full dynamic nature of God, who moved from place to place swiftly to guide the path of the Israelites in the wilderness with the fire and cloud, with rod and staff. Because He loved His people so much, God appointed Moses inherit the life-giving Law to the Israelites. Here’s a simple, important reminder for us. The followers of Christ must acknowledge first the source of the blessings, our awesome God, before the blessings themselves.

Then, Moses transitioned to pronounce blessings to each tribe of Israel. In order to fully appreciate the “blessing” by Moses to the sons of Israel, we may need to reevaluate the our traditional understanding of the meaning of blessing in light of the text in Deuteronomy 33.

As was in the case with Jacob’s prophecy (Genesis 49), the blessing started with Reuben. The blessings did not sound much like blessing. In fact, they sounded more like a plea for them to live, survive, and not perish with few in numbers.

For Judah, an incredible prophecy was made by Jacob in Genesis that a scepter would becoming from this tribe. Moses’ blessing to Judah confirmed that this tribe was a frontier as it contended against their enemies.

Joseph was beautifully described in Jacob’s prophecy. Joseph received the double portion, as an effective first-born, with the blessings for each of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Moses blessing to Joseph was also full of praise, rich, and honor.

For other tribes, Moses’ blessings mostly remained positive and instill some courage. Asher was hailed as the most blessed of all. Gad will provide justice to his people. Nephthali would expand its territory in the south and east areas. Benjamin was the beloved of God. A collective blessings to Zebulun and Issachar was that they would be reaping the benefits of seas.

A few notable changes
Although the prophecies and blessings between Jacob and Moses remained similar for many tribes, a few notables changes are seen. The table highlights a major difference between the two.

	Jacob’s prophecy (Gen 49:5-7)	Moses’s blessings (Deut. 33)
Simeon	“Simeon and Levi are brothers;Their swords are implements of violence…“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.	Missing
Levi	Same as Simeon	“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man,Whom You proved at Massah,With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah…10 “They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. 11  “O Lord, bless his substance, And accept the work of his hands; Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”

Missing was Simeon tribe in Moses’ blessings. Why was Simeon omitted? Although the true reason is unknown, we could cautiously formulate a hypothesis related to the event when Israeliete collectively sinned by joining themselves and bowing to Baal of Peor at Shittim (Numbers 25). The anger of the LORD burned and Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, took a spear in his hand and killed the man of Israel and the Midian woman. The man who played harlot with Baal of Poer (and perhaps with the Midian woman) was Zimri, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. This shameful act and subsequent punishment took place right before the completion of the second census of the second generation Israelites. What the leader of Simeon tribe was seen intolerable, not only in the sight of the LORD, but also in the sight of the other tribes. Perhaps, for this reason, the tribe of Simeonites was singularly excluded from the blessing of Moses. In fact, Jacob’s prophecy 400 years ago was also ominous and Simeonites let themselves succumb to this negative prophecy.

In contrast, a notable turn around was seen in the blessing of Levi between Jacob and Moses. Levi, along with Simeon, received the same prophecy from Jacob. “Cursed be their anger…. scatter them in Israel (Gen 49:7)” was a tone of prophecy by Jacob on both Simeon and Levi. However, the blessings of Moses took a dramatic turn for Levi. The Levites were praised as godly. Also, ironically, the action of slaying their brothers earned the praise of God. In Genesis 34, Simeon and Levi deceived Shechem and his people by enticing them to have circumcisions then slaughtered them in the most painful state to complete revenge of their sister, Dinah’s defilement. In Exodus, after the golden calf event, the Levites stood with Moses to slaughter those who were opposing God (Exodus 32). Although they were both slaughtering events, the former earned the curse, and the latter earned the special praise by God.

The meaning of Blessings

The change in the content of the blessings for Levi from Jacob to Moses provide us with a few lessons and points to ponder on the meaning of the blessings. Most may consider blessings as “good” elements – material wealth, spiritual up, and all the associated “positive changes.” However, from this short lesson, the purpose of the blessing may be broader than our conventional thought – this may contain a strong element of discipline to teach, instruct, and eventually compel people to live holy lives ( 2 Tim 3:16) so that they would not perish. The Father discipline their sons, not to punish but turn them around that they can truly live.

Blessings expansion and ending with the LORD

After the blessings for each tribe, the content shifted back to God again from verse 26 to the end of the chapter. Moses reminded the sons of Israel of God’s essential characters and attributes. 1) He alone is God; 2) God is our dwelling place and are help (very humbling statement); 3) He provides shelter to the Israelites and their descendents; 4) God is powerful and his enemies will cringe before him.

I want to point out the element of a warriorhood in God in verse 27. The blessings almost conclude with the statement that God’s enemies will cringe before God and the Israelites. In the context to the imminent conquest before Cannaaites, this would be an immense morale booster. Also, this means that God Himself will give victory to the Israelites. In the context for all of us, this reflects the coming of Messiah Jesus Christ, who crused the head of the enemy and defeated death.

Remember. Blessings are given to remind us of God and His awesomeness and greatness. Blessings are not given for our complacency, but motivation for us to spur to be holy people of God. Let’s praise Him!