Deuteronomy 33:4

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:4-5, “Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.[5] And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” The “law” is called the inheritance of the children of Israel. The law is the main thing and the most important thing that God gave to them. In the days of Moses the law was the Word of God. If the law was their great blessing, just think how blessed we are because we have the entire Old Testament and the entire New Testament. Do we know how blessed we are? If so, then we will value the Word of God.

It says that Moses was “king” in Jeshurun. Officially, Israel did not have a king until King Saul after the period of the Judges. But Moses was the leader, and in many ways in any country the leader is the king. That is true in America. The founders of the country tried to create an executive office that would have much less power than a king, but to no avail. The president became a king. That is the tendency of human nature to acquire more and more power whenever possible. It started with Nimrod who founded Babylon. Nimrod hunted and conquered people and made a kingdom. That process is still taking place. Those who turn to Jesus escape the slavery of the mind. Believers in Jesus have Him for their king, and believers look for a kingdom whose builder and maker is God.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:6, “Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.” To live and not die: that would be nice. People fear death, or put it out of their minds. One of the many benefits of believing on Jesus is that through Him you will live forever and not die. That is what Jesus promised His believers. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:[26] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

In Deuteronomy 33:7 Moses pronounced a blessing for Judah. It says, “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.” When Moses said, “Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah,” this is a promise that Judah’s prayers would be answered. Another one of the benefits of being a Christian is that Jesus promised to answer our prayers. It is a pretty good benefit to have the All Powerful Being always ready and willing to listen to our prayers and to answer them. Please use this resource. Jesus said in John 14:13, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

After answer to prayer was mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:7, Moses said about Judah, “let his hands be sufficient for him.” After you pray, then it is time to take your hands and do what you can do by your efforts. You asked God to do something, and now let’s see what you can do. God does not want you to pray and do nothing. Also, when Moses said of Judah, “let his hands be sufficient for him,” Moses is saying that Judah will have the blessing of being self-sufficient. Judah will be able to provide for his own on his own. You are not in a good place in life if you must always rely upon others for your needs. Jesus promised that our material needs would be supplied if we put Him first. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The last part of the blessing given to Judah was, “be thou an help to him from his enemies.” Judah would have enemies, even with the blessings of God on him. We all do. In some ways this life is a war with many battles. Those who do not know the Lord are led by a spirit that resists Christians and opposes them. The greater persecutions of violence also come. But we have the Lord to fight for us. Another benefit to being a Christian is that God will fight for us. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:8-11, “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;[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.[10] They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.[11] 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.” ‘Thummim’ means ‘completeness’ or ‘perfection.’ ‘Urim’ means ‘lights.’ Light refers to illumination: the understanding of the Word of God. Completeness refers to the fact that the Word of God (the Bible) is everything that a believer needs for faith and practice. In many ways the Levites were supposed to be the preachers. As it says in verse 9, “they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.” God’s Word and its truth is more important than even family ties or any other influence. For the preacher there should be one goal: to faithfully present the truth of the Word of God, relying upon the Lord for understanding. One of the problems with systems of theology or declarations of church dogma is that the preacher involved in those things just might be too much influenced by them instead of the ‘Urim” and the Thummim.”

Once the Israelites learned God’s Word, they also needed to “observe” His Word: in other words put it into practice. You have not really learned the Word unless you have applied it to your life. If it tells you to pray, how much do you pray? If it tells you to live a holy life, how holy is your life? One of the things that really harmed Christianity were all the preachers who were not true to the Word in their own life. They preached for a while, and then the truth of their own life came out. That is one reason that most preachers should be “elders.” Often it takes many years to learn to faithfully walk with Christ. If you learn to preach without learning to faithfully walk with Christ, you could ultimately do more damage than good.

Once they have learned the Word of God and to faithfully follow it themselves, then they can do what it says in verse 10, “They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law.” Finally, after enough learning has taken place, after they have put into practice what they have learned, and after enough years have passed, then they can teach others.

In addition to teaching, the Levites were told at the end of verse 10 that they would also, “put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.” Incense symbolizes prayer. Incense has a pleasing fragrance, and prayer is pleasing to Jesus because He loves to hear from us. That is why the Bible is full of invitations to pray. One example is Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not of.” Christians are told in the New Testament to “Pray without ceasing.” Concerning just one need, the need for wisdom, James writes 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.”

Part of the blessing to the Levites in verse 33:10 was that they would have “whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.” They had sacrifices: sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice, day after day and year after year. What were all of these sacrifices all about? They were symbolic. They were symbolic of the need of sacrifice to satisfy the judgment that otherwise would come from God who is Judge of the whole earth. The sacrifices were symbolic of the final sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.” If Jesus is your sacrifice, then you are blessed: you have the greatest of all blessings of the people who live upon this earth. No matter what happens to you in your life, you can always be thankful for the sacrifice that Jesus was for you and for your sins.

Deuteronomy 33:11 gives two more blessings for the Levites: to bless the work of their hands, and to defeat their enemies. We need the work of our hands to be blessed by God, because unless the Lord help us, we labor in vain. It must be Jesus working through us, and that only happens as we walk in fellowship with Christ. We need the Lord to defeat our enemies because that is God’s way. He does not want us to be like Peter and take up a sword and foolishly flail around and strike off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Our enemies are too powerful for us. But they are not too powerful for God. And our real enemies are spiritual in nature and not flesh and blood. We need the sword of the Lord, which is the Word of God, and we need the helmet of salvation, and we need our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, and all the other parts of the Christian armor as mentioned in Ephesians chapter 6. In summary we need to rely upon God to fight our battles for us.

The Bible says in 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.” This blessing talks about what Benjamin will do, and what the Lord will do for Benjamin. When it says in the first phrase, “The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him,” it means that Benjamin will actually help the beloved of the Lord to dwell in safety. God loves everyone as far as having sent the Savior to die for us all so we can all be saved, but God also has a special love for His believers, called here “The beloved of the LORD.” God uses believers to help other believers. God likes to use people to do with Him and for Him much of what God is doing. God uses preachers and teachers of the Word of God to feed the soul and to point people to Christ. God uses doctors and nurses to help those that are sick. God uses local and national leaders to guide a people and a nation. God uses neighbors to help other neighbors. God uses parents to help children. And later in life God uses the children to help the parents. God uses those who have money to help those who do not have money, and to help worthy causes. And here is one more: God uses Christians to help other Christians. If you are a Christian, then you need other Christians. God will use them in your life. It says in First Corinthians 3:5-10, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?[6] I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.[7] So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.[8] Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.[9] For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.[10] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”

It is an interesting phrase in Deuteronomy 33:12, “the LORD shall cover him all the day long.” We know that Jesus is with us, and we know that Jesus protects us, and this verse uses the symbolism of God being a covering for us: in other words a shield. If anything comes against us, Jesus will deflect it. If anything attacks us, God will make it of no effect. There are many benefits to being a Christian. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, then you can fall at His feet, call upon His name, and be saved from your sins.

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