Deuteronomy 33:26

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:26-27, “There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.[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.” Jeshurun is another name for Israel. Here in the last few verses of chapter 33 the blessing has shifted from each family of Jacob to the nation of Israel as a whole. In verses 26 and 27 the blessing has to do with all that God is doing for the nation of Israel. When it speaks of God riding “upon the heaven,” and “in his excellency on the sky,” it is demonstrating to us that God is high above all the problems and troubles of this world. God sees them, and He knows. And God is everywhere at all times. He will take care of His children. It says in verse 27 that God is our refuge. Just make sure that you make a habit of running into the refuge by putting your trust in Christ whenever you need to, which is every day. Verse 27 also paints a beautiful picture when it says, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” The children of Israel had the same blessings that every Christian also has: God will protect us, and He will “destroy” our enemies. This final destruction comes at the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus will come in His Second Coming bearing the wrath of God. It says in Revelation 19:15-16, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.[16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:28-29, “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.[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.” This is what Israel is promised: safety, prosperity, and happiness. Everyone who is “saved by the Lord” has the possibility of the same blessings. Notice it does say saved “by the Lord.” You cannot save yourself by good works or any other means. When you cast yourself totally on the mercy of Christ, then Jesus saves you. The word “Jesus” means savior. In verse 29 the Lord is called your “shield” and your “sword.” In a battle the shield is what you need for defense, and a sword is what you need for offense. Jesus will protect you, and He will fight your battles for you. It is interesting that both a shield and a sword are also used in Ephesians chapter 6 that describes the armor of a Christian. It says in Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Faith is a word that has action implied in it: the action is to rely upon and trust in the Lord Jesus. It says in Ephesians 6:17, “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” How well you know this weapon will determine how well you are able to use it in the battle. There is great value to the Word of God. It will feed you and build up your faith, and it will also make it possible for you to defeat your spiritual enemies. By the way, often the spiritual enemies come against the mind with false ideas, false beliefs, and false attitudes. Do you know how to use the sword to cut them off and cut them down before the wrong ideas take control of your mind? What are the wrong ideas: doubt, fear, negativism, hate, gloom, and the list goes on with such ideas and thoughts that have nothing to do with faith in a Savior and in an all-powerful God. It says in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.[2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The Word of God is what will transform your mind. If the Bible does not take a big enough part of your life through reading it, hearing it, and studying it, then you your mind will not be transformed.

Notice that at the end of Deuteronomy 33:29 it says, “thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee.” Jesus is the Truth, the living Truth. The Bible is the written truth. Other than the few believers who walk in fellowship with Jesus, the whole world lives in wickedness and lying. The devil is the father of all liars. So many people are overcome by the lies or at least influenced by the lies. The liars seem to love their lies. They think they are getting away with all the lying. But they are forgetting one thing: God. They will be judged by the Lord for every word that they speak. One of the benefits of walking with the Lord is that you will discover the truth and you will recognize all the lies that your enemies are telling. By understanding that these people are liars, it will save you from being fooled by them. The truth is good.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 34:1-4, “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,[2] And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,[3] And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.[4] And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.” God showed Moses all the land of Israel from the top of Mount Pisgah. In a sense God was showing Moses the future. God had a promise to fulfill, and God always fulfills His promises. God made a promise to Abraham because Abraham trusted the word of the Lord: Abraham believed what God said, and God loved that faith. It says in Genesis, “Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.” Something that is interesting is that God has done the same thing with us that He did with Abraham as far as telling us something about the future. God says, Take a look at Israel and take a look at Jerusalem, and you will see where the great future events will unfold. You will see where the culmination of human history will take place.

Moses was the law-giver. The law came through Moses. The fact that Moses was not permitted to go into the Promised Land is symbolic of the fact that no one will enter the ultimate Promised Land, heaven, through the law. You are going to need grace, a lot of grace, grace that is greater than all your sins. That is why it says in John 1:17, “The law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 34:5-8, “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.[6] And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.[7] And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.[8] And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.” When it says that Moses died “according to the word of the Lord,” the same thing will be said of each of us. God gives us life, and He takes it away when He is ready for it to end. “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away that which He hath given. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” So that you can continue to live by faith, remember this when God takes away something or someone that you currently enjoy and love. But the great truth to remember is that God decides when each person is given life and then God decides when each person loses his or her life. It says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Just as we see with Moses even someone’s death can have great meaning and purpose. Moses’ death had the purpose of showing us the weakness of the law. Jesus’ death purchased salvation for whosoever will trust in Christ. Sometimes God uses death to touch the hearts of those who are still living. Sometimes God uses death to take away the privilege and the opportunity of life. But whatever is His purpose, God definitely has a purpose. God knows what we do not know. God knows the future, and the past, and the present. God knows what is best. We do not. You will die, and everyone that you love will die. Get ready for your death by trusting in Jesus and following Him.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 34:9-12, “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.[10] And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,[11] In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,[12] And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.” Once someone dies, life goes on. God’s work did not end when Moses died. We call that the circle of life. The leadership of the children of Israel passed to another person: Joshua. What qualified Joshua to be given these responsibilities? It says in verse 9 that Joshua was, “full of the spirit of wisdom.” The “spirit of wisdom” comes from the Spirit of God. Everyone needs wisdom to accomplish properly the tasks that come their way. God is the source of all true wisdom. That is why it says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

The last three verses of Deuteronomy chapter 24 give one final description of Moses and the person that he was. It says in verse 10, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses.” Moses was a very unique prophet because of his close relationship with God and because the first covenant came through Moses. Remember that God promised that one day there would be another prophet with similarities to Moses, and what Joshua was writing here at the end of the book of Deuteronomy was that no other prophet had come yet who was like Moses. The Jews were always looking for such a prophet because they asked John the Baptist in John 1:21, “Art thou that prophet?” The promise about “another prophet” was given in Deuteronomy 18:18, “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” We know that “another prophet” was actually a Messianic prophecy. Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. Moses brought the old covenant, the covenant of the law. Jesus brought the new covenant, the covenant of grace. It says in John 1:17, “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

It says in the last part of Deuteronomy 34:10, “whom the LORD knew face to face.” True Christianity is not a religion, but it is a relationship with Jesus Christ the Son of God. When a person calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved, that person enters into an eternal relationship with the Savior. Knowing Christ becomes the defining characteristic of that person’s life. Paul wrote, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Moses was able to lead the children of Israel because Moses knew God. Moses was able to perform the miracles because Moses knew God. Moses was able to speak forth and write the Word of God because Moses knew God. God is the Almighty. God can do anything, and God often uses people. How will God use you? That depends upon God’s will for you, and depends upon the relationship that you have with Him. Make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

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