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Deuteronomy Chapter 33 "The
Blessings of the Tribes." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location Deuteronomy 33:1 "And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death." Moses is addressing all the tribes and he is going to give each of them a blessing individually before His death. It is the last days of his life for he is one hundred and twenty years of age. Deuteronomy 33:2 "And he said, the Lord from Sinai, And rose up from Sir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints: for His right hand went a fiery law for them." Moses is saying the Lord came to him on Mount Sinai with understanding as sun the shines in the morning. It was a ray of light that hammered the law like a fire on those stones and cut them onto those two tablets of stone. There are some places where the law is even referred to as the "fiery law", because of method of delivery. God loved us enough that when He gave the law to us, it was a help to our people and not a hindrance. Deuteronomy 33:3 "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." God loves all His children, and He gave the command to Moses that every seven years all the people would come together and all the law would be read to them. Today it is to be done within their congregations. Once every seven years "the words", the book of Deuteronomy of the law was to be read to them. Of course the rest of God's Word is to be read daily and become part of our lives and the thinking of our minds. The lineage of Christ came through Jacob. That lineage of Christ is given in Luke 3:23-38. Lets take just the thirty third and thirty forth verses Deuteronomy 33:4 "Moses commanded us a law, Even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob." Luke 3:33 "Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda [Judah in the Hebrew]," Keep in mind that this is the lineage of Mary's father, the father in law of Joseph and that is why it reads "Which was the son of..." Luke 3:34 "Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the sone of Nachor." It is through Christ of the lineage of Jacob, and David that all the people will be blessed from all the races. Deuteronomy 33:5 "And He was king of Jeshurun, When the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together," "Jeshurun" was mentioned in the "Song of Moses" in the fifteenth verse, and it means "the upright one". It is almost like Moses is mocking them a bit for under the conditions of Jeshurun, the people are blessed so much that they forget who gave them the blessing and become completely submerged in the good times. Moses is saying that in time this is how these occasions are going to become; when the people come together as the Lord commanded, they are going to be so blessed that the good times over-ride the purpose that they came together. That purpose was to read and study the law. The study time will becomes party time. Moses is reminding the people that God is the King in the good times as well as the bad times. If you want the blessings to continue, you have better keep your respect for God at all times. It is just human nation that during the times where God has removed all problems of our lives, we tend to remover our closeness to Him. We forget to thank Him for the simple thing, and our food, homes, and loved ones, until trouble come to them. In comparison, this is like the person that refuses to go to the doctor until he is on his death bed, and then expects the doctor to heal him when all his vital organs are gone. Moses is warning us to keep close to our Father and seek His help for even the little things in our life, and thank Him when we are blessed or helped by the Lord. Deuteronomy 33:6 "Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few." Rueben is the first mentioned here because he is the first born of Jacob [Israel]. The word "Reuben" means, "behold a son". Reuben was not allow to receive the blessing promise because he committed incest with his mother. Thus God would not use his first born in the king line, nor in the lineage of Christ. We see that Simeon was left out of this lest of blessings, and the reason for being left out was given in Genesis 49:7; "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." Deuteronomy 33:7 "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." " The word "Judah" means "praised" in the Hebrew tongue. This blessing has the answer to success in anyone's life. "Let his hands be sufficient for him;" You work with your hands, and this is asking God for the health of these people to where they can do the work that God has put before them. The blessing that Jacob put on Judah is given in Genesis 49:10; "The scepter 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." Genesis 49:11 "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:" Genesis 49:12 "His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk." The saying that God helps them that help themselves is not Scriptural, but it is the truth. Judah is given the task of the right to rule, the right to sit as the judge over all the tribes. This is not the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant, but it is the right to royalty and Jesus Christ was born in that lineage. We read this above in Luke 3:33, where Judah is in the lineage of Jesus, through His mother Mary's father. Deuteronomy 33:8 "And of Levi he said, "Let Thy Thummim and Thy Urim be with Thy holy one, Whom Thou didst prove at Massah, And with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah." " The word "Levi" means "joined" in the Hebrew tongue. Through Levi comes the priest line, and through him all the tribes would join themselves to God. The word "Massah" means "temptation", and "Meribah" means "strife". It was through the Thummim and the Urim that God would lead the Levitical priests. The Thimmum and the Urim in the Hebrew tongue means "lights", and "perfection". "Lights" in the manner that brought all judgments of gilt to light, and "perfection" for moral perfection, and thus innocence. These two precious stones called the Thummim and Urim were part of the priest's breastplate and worn in a bag that was attached to the breastplate of priests. When any legal decision had to be made, the priest had to be present, especially concerning land or of the such. The Thummim stone would be cast down and the way the stone landed determined innocence or gilt. If a moral decision was to be made the Urim stone was cast, and the pointing determined it to be yes or no, guilt or innocence. The decisions were made on yes or no, right or wrong, and it was sort of like flipping a coin to see who gets the ball first. However the belief was that God had complete control over the precious stones, for it was at God's command that this method was to be used. Exodus 28:30 "And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually." Of course long after Aaron and his sons died and into many generation, this system of determining gilt or innocence remained the form of judgment to the Israelites. We know that after Christ became our sacrifice on the cross, that on Pentecost God sent the Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the direction that we should take. The Thimmim and the Urim no longer exists, for it was one of those things that are fulfilled in Christ. The Spirit leads us in our study of the Scriptures and guides to the lesson or opens our eyes to a prophecy. Deuteronomy 33:9 "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." This is also speaking of Levi the priest line. Deuteronomy 33:10 "They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy law: They shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon Thine altar." The Levitical priest are the one that shall teach Jacob, all of the tribes, the full judgments and laws of God. The sacrifice on the altar was one of the blood ordinances that were done away with in Jesus Christ's shed blood on the cross. Colossians 2 established that all those sacrifices were nailed to the cross. Christ became our sacrifice for one and all times, and to give the thought that any other thing had to be sacrificed after Christ's death, is blasphemy, for it is the re-crucifying of Christ all over again. It is to say that Christ's death was not sufficient to pay the price for all sin. That would be the same as Moses great mistake, for instead of speaking once to the rock softly, he smote the rock in anger twice, and caused God's judgment to come down on him. The only thing that we sacrifice today is our love to God in repentance. Deuteronomy 33:11 "Bless, Lord, his substance, And accept the work of his hands: Smite through the loins them that rise against him, And of them that hate him, that they rise not again." This is a continuation of the duties of the priest. These prophecies are not idle words, but are promises to those that love Him. Those that decide in our generation today to teach and plant the seeds of truth, also fall under this promise. The Levitical contract with God, to do these priestly duties and rituals ended at the cross, for after Christ's death all are commanded under the great commission to "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to ever person." The reason so much protection is given to Levi, or those teaching the truth from God's Word, is that when you teach it as God's Word states, you will be persecuted for what you say. Just as Christ was persecuted, so naturally Christ's students are going to be persecuted also. The Kenites haven't changed their character or their traditions at all in these past two thousand years, and just as they killed Christ they will plot against you. God is saying when you take care of my teaching, you will have plenty to eat and your needs will be taken care of [I will bless your hands]. God even promises that He will take care with His vengeance of those that even talk and plot against you. God is warning us that you must be very careful of talking against those that are a planter of seeds and a worker for God. What you say and do against that person serving God will come right down on your own head two fold. Before uttering a word against a servant of God make sure it is the truth, you had better have the evidence in hand, with the witness to back it up. The penelty for gossip comes not from God's servant, but from God Himself. Deuteronomy 33:12 "And of Benjamin 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." The word "Benjamin" in the Hebrew means "son of my right hand". This is a great promise, it is a promise of protection for these people. Paul was a Benjamite, as recorded in Romans 11:1 "I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." The thing that is between your shoulders is you heart, your mind that does your thinking and guides you in all that you do, and think. Deuteronomy 33:13 "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," The word "Joseph" in the Hebrew means "increase", to be prosperous. These are the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant, that were not passed on to the Jews, but to the two sons of Joseph. Genesis 48:17 "And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Epphraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head." Genesis 48:18 "And Joseph said unto his father, "Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head." Genesis 48:19 "And his father refused, and said, "I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." Genesis 48:20 "And he blessed them that day, saying, "In thee shall Israel bless, saying `God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh:' and He set Ephraim before Manasseh." Deuteronomy 33:14 "And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, And for the precious thing put forth by the moon," This is talking about natural agriculture, the bring forth of their fruit of the produce and crops in their season of every year. These blessings of your crops is something that you can count on all the time, and in season when you plant the seed and harvest the crops. Notice "put forth by the moon", for many farmers today even plan their crops by the season, and plant by the moon. The moon controls the tides and underground waters. Deuteronomy 33:15 "And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, And for the precious things of the lasting hills," Joseph was very special to our heavenly Father, and God passed all the Abrahamic covenant promises that were passed from Abraham to Isaac, and on to Jacob; now to Joseph's two sons. Joseph was to have a double portion, and His two sons would both be the father of tribes with their peoples being great nations. Deuteronomy 33:16 "And for the precious thing of the earth and fulness thereof, And for the good will 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." The one that "dwelt in the firey bush" was God. God will bring the good will to these two tribes and the nations that they grow into. The "one that was separated from his brethren" was Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery. This is why these promised contracts of God's covenant still hold good to our generation. Joseph was sold into slavery because he was the favorite son of his father, and because of the dreams that he had. In those dreams his brothers and father and mother bowing down to him. The dream cause the act of selling Joseph, while it also provide the way for survival for the whole family when the famine came over the land of Canaan where they dwelt. God blessed Joseph in those ancient days, as he is also blessing the offspring of Joseph's two sons in the British people [Ephraim], as well as our nation in the United States [Manasseh]. Wake up and apply the blessings that God promised to us in these end times and these tribes could only be the English and the United States. Just as Joseph ruled over all of Egypt as far as the control is concerned, so also the entire world today seeks stabilizing of their economies through the wealth and monetary systems of our two nations. Joseph was there when his family was on the verge of starvation, and the enemies were on their doorsteps, and the United States and England are there also when the nations of the other tribes call out for our help. There is a reason that God blessed us so much, and just as He blessed us, He expects our commitment to our brethren and to His Word. God always keeps His Word. Deuteronomy 33:17 "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." " This is the promise of the blessings of the first born that is bestowed on Ephraim and Manasseh alike. Though Ephraim will out number Manasseh, Manasseh shall be the one to push his people to the ends of the earth, and there they will have the power of the "unicorns". The "unicorn" that is stated here is translated to this mythical animal when in the text is merely states a sure footed animal such as a rhinoceros, or buffalo. The name "Ephraim" means "fruitful", while the name "Manasseh" means "forgetful" in the Hebrew. Even to this day our people don't know their roots or where they came from. They gave favor in to the immigrants that call themselves "Caucasians", and most Christians have no idea where that name came from, or why. They think it is a race, however it is in reverence to the migrations of the ten tribes through the Caucasus mountains. What we enjoy in our land are all of the things that God promised to Abraham that would come on His people in the time of the end. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, looks like a duck, and does the things that a duck does, it must be a duck. We can use this same reasoning with our nation of America. If it looks like Manasseh should look, does the things that God says that Manasseh will do, is blessed with all the blessings God promised it would have; Has the power and productivity of the blessing people, than we must be the blessing people. Our laws and constitution are of the laws of God, and the seal of our land is has those symbols that Jacob and Moses both said would be on our seal. Manasseh certainly is not tied up with the Jews, for they have run back to Palestine, and they get along with nobody. The only people that trust that government are those of her kind. They seek to do harm for no reason, and their land is reeked with terrorism. Then to their own government denies the existence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and they seek to wipe Christ name from their peoples minds. The prophet identified the House of Israel in the latter day, for they are the ones calling themselves by the Living God. Hosea 1:10 "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, `Ye are not My People,' there it shall be said unto them, `Ye are the sons of the living God," These "children of Israel" are the Israelites of the "house of Israel", not of the "house of Judah". It is the house of Israel that God divorced in this chapter, for God never divorced Judah, or the Jews. It is the house of Israel that calls themselves "sons of the living God", for Christ is the "living God", He came out of the tomb, and those that consider themselves the sons of the living God call themselves "Christians". The Jews, mixed with the Kenites have confused the issue over the years, to where most pastors have no idea what the difference is between a Kenite, a Jew, Judah, Israel, or the Christian nations. You yourself and by your own choice can be a Joseph, when you do God's work. When you give back to God the love that He has given to you, God will bless you. In many children's stories it names times and places that things took place and there is a reason for it, for when the tribes migrated, it left a mark on the people of those times. Deuteronomy 33:18 "And of Zebulun he said, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and Issachar, in thy tents." " "Zebulun" means "habitation" in the Hebrew, while "Issachar" means "reward". Deuteronomy 33:19 "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 treasures hid in the sand." The people of Holland and the Netherlands know that their lineage is in these two tribes, and it is from the damming of the sea that their land has become very fertile. By the building of the dikes, and drainage of the sea waters their lands have become very productive. Their ports are some of the oldest and largest on the face of their earth, and their people are scattered around the world in the shipping industry. Deuteronomy 33:20 "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."" "Gad" in the Hebrew tongue means "troop". These people are military people in what ever land they reside in. Deuteronomy 33:21 "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 judgments with Israel." These people are tied directly to the tribe of Dan. Deuteronomy 33:22 "And of Dan he said, "Dan is a lion's whelp: He shall leap from Bashan." " The word "Dan" means to "judge", and the enforces of the judge are the people of Gad. "Daniel" means "God is my judge". "Bashan" means and is symbolic of double fruitfulness. Numbers 2:32 discusses why Dan was called the lion's whelp, for though there were only one hundred and fifty seven thousand numbered in the camp of Dan, in their wanderings, they were numbered over six hundred and three thousand numbered in the camps of their brethren, and bringing up the rear of the nation in the wanderings and in the times of defense. Though most agree today that in the land of Ireland, the name Dan is very precious to the Irish people, but the actually count of the Irish numbers is many times over that when you count them in the other Christian nation and count the number of Irishmen that reside in their own lands. America holds far more Irishmen than in all the land of Ireland. While the tribe of Gad became the Military, the tribe of Dan takes the role of the policemen scattered amongst the people in most of the tribes. Deuteronomy 33:23 "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." " "Naphtali" in the Hebrew means "wrestling". This is where their land was in their original tracks of land. Deuteronomy 33:24 "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." " The name "Asher" means "blessed". Deuteronomy 33:25 "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; And as thy days, so shall thy strength be." These people are very hard workers, and no matter how hard their work was, God guaranteed them sufficient strength to fill their needs. Deuteronomy 33:26 "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, "Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, And in His excellency on the sky." "Jeshurun" again means the "upright one" and there is none like the God of the upright ones. Jeshurun was the slang name that God gave to Israel when they became the good time people that refused to give God the credit when things went well with them. You see the richness of God and His love for His children, for He desires to bless them even when they are to blind to show their love for Him. He sends His love because He promised Abraham that He would, and now thousands of years after Abraham is dead and gone, these blessing still come to our nation and the people of the House of Israel. "He writteth in the heaven thy help;" means that He is always there for you, when you come in repentance, and seek His help. He wants to help you, so take the time to tell him you love him, and thank Him for all the things that He has given you. Deuteronomy 33:27 "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.' " No matter where God's people went and migrated to, God was always there with His everlasting arms under us to hold us up. He went before our people and defended them from their enemies. Even today His everlasting arms are there when you are in right-standing with him to help you and lead you through those hard times. If you are a rebellious child to Him, God has His ways of correcting you to bring you back to him, or He will allow you to destroy yourself if you chose to do so. Deuteronomy 33:28 "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." "Jacob" is a word that is used when all twelve tribes including Levi are part of the promise. As the Israelite tribes have migrated, they have ended up in the lands that are very productive. God promised sufficient rain fall that would bring the corn and the wine. The tribes that call themselves "Christian nations" both in America and Europe, are the most productive in all the world. However when we look at the entire nation of Russia, it would be above the continental United States, and similar in location to what the northern parts of Alaska are like. God's people knew enough to pick the lands to settle in where by it would yield great crops. We are a blessed people, and God has brought it all to us. It was no accident that we ended up here with the blessing we have. Deuteronomy 33:29 "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." To get the high ground, militarily, is to say you have the battle won. God has gone before us in all our battles to give us the victory. However in the spiritual sense, it would be from this Seed, the offspring of Israel would come Christ, who is the shield of our help. He is the sword of our excellency, and our nation has taken that sword or Word of God and placed it within our land, on our money, in our constitution, and in our hearts [minds]. We are a Christian nation, as is those of our Brethren in Europe and around the world where ever they may be. It is from Jesus Christ, that Babe that was born in Bethlehem, that God would bless all peoples on the face of the earth. For in Christ's precious sacrifice all peoples of all races, tongues and nations can come to God in righteous repentance, and be saved and have the inheritance of eternal life. God promised that through the Seed of Abraham would come the blessing that would be for all peoples and friend, that Seed is our Lord Jesus Christ.
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