Let's turn back to Deuteronomy
chapter 31. Deuteronomy chapter 31, verses
one and two, and then the first part of verse 14. And Moses went
and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them,
I am 120 years old this day. I can no more go out and come
in. Also the Lord has said unto me,
thou shalt not go over this Jordan. And then in verse 14, and the
Lord said unto Moses, behold, thy days approach that thou must
die. We've been looking for several
weeks at this text. that tells us of the approaching
death and end of the ministry of Moses. And I counted six things
from this point when the Lord spoke to Moses here and told
him, behold thy day's approach that thou must die. Six things
that Moses still had to do before he was delivered in death from
his life in this world. We've seen he had to assure the
nation of Israel as they crossed over the Jordan of God's presence
and God's help, first of all. And then second, he had to charge
Joshua to be courageous as he led the nation in. And then third, he had to finish
writing the book of the law and give it to the Levites. And then fourth, we looked at
this last time, he had to write and teach the song to the nation
of Israel that would serve as a witness for God and against
them. Tonight we're going to look at
the fifth thing. He must bless the children of
Israel before his death. If you look to chapter 33, this
was the fifth thing he had to do. He must bless the children
of Israel before his death. Verse one of chapter 33, we read,
and this is the blessing, wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed
the children of Israel before his death. If we read verses
two through five, we see that he gives a brief history of the
experience of the nation of Israel from the time that they came
out of Egypt And he said, the Lord came from Sinai and rose
up from Seir unto them. He shined forth from Mount Paran,
and he came with ten thousands of saints. From his right hand
went a fiery law for them. 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. Moses commanded us a law. even
the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in
Jeshurun when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel
were gathered together. Then with verse six, he pronounces
a blessing on each of the 12 tribes of Israel, beginning,
of course, with the eldest son of Jacob, the tribe of Reuben,
And he continues through the 11 tribes ending with Asher,
the tribe of Asher in verses 24 and 25. And then he ends with
what I'm calling his summary blessing upon all the children
of Israel, verses 26 through 29. Now what I want us to do
tonight, what we will do tonight, is to first, I want us to look
at the specific blessings pronounced on two of the 12 tribes. If we looked at the blessings
he pronounced upon each of the 12 tribes, it would take a long
time. It would take more than one message.
But I want us to look at these specific blessings he pronounced
upon two of the tribes of the nation of Israel. And then, secondly,
we will look at the general blessing, as I see it, a summary of the
blessing he pronounced upon the nation as a whole. So first,
the blessing pronounced on two of the tribes. The blessing that
I want us to look at first the blessing pronounced upon the
tribe of Levi. If you look, beginning in verse
eight. 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, 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. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments
and Israel thy law. They shall put incense before
thee and hold burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. 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." The blessing which Moses pronounced
or put upon the tribe of Levi. You notice that in this blessing,
there's a prophecy concerning the priest of God, whom Aaron
was only a type. Aaron was the first high priest,
and he was a type of our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's this holy one, and he mentions
him. if you will, in verse eight. And of Levi he said, let the
Thuman and the Urim be with the Holy One, the Holy One. The Holy One that he said the
nation of Israel proved at Massah and strove with at Meribah. Now, Massah and Meribah was a
place named by Moses where God gave them water out of the rock.
Now, the children of Israel asked this question, is God with us
or not? They were thirsty. They needed
water. It's not a luxury. Water is a necessity, isn't it?
And they needed water. They were in the wilderness,
but they murmured and complained and questioned and asked, is
God with us or not? And so God gave them water out
of that rock to drink. The Holy One, The holy one is
the same one who, if you notice down in verse 16, in the blessing
which he pronounced upon the tribe of Joseph, is the one who
was in the bush. Verse 16, and for the precious
things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the goodwill
of him that dwelt in the bush. Now what bush is he talking about?
He's talking about that bush that burned but was not consumed. Who dwelt in that bush? Well,
we know the Lord Jesus Christ did. He said, I am. When Moses
asked his name, he was commissioned there to go into Egypt and lead
the nation of Israel out. And Moses was hesitant to do
that, of course. And he said, I know they're going
to ask me your name. What shall I tell them? And God
gave him that name, I am that I am. That is the name of Yahweh,
Jehovah, the Lord God Almighty. The Lord, his name, which speaks
of him as a self-existent being. Self-existent being. He needs nothing. He depends
on no one. He's self-existent, always has
been. the eternal one, the Lord God. He's the one that dwelt in the
bush, and he's the one that commissioned Moses, and he's the holy one
here of whom Aaron was merely a type, a type. This happened, we are told here
by Moses, at that place where they strove with God. And in
the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
10 that they did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they
drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that
rock was Christ. The rock was a picture, a symbol,
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the Holy One here that is
mentioned in the blessing on the tribe of Levi was the Lord
Jesus Christ. Aaron served as a type of our
great high priest. Think of these things, these
similarities. Aaron was chosen of God to be
the high priest. They didn't have a vote. have
an election to see who would be the high priest. No, God appointed
him. God chose him and God appointed
him to be the high priest. And the same thing is true about
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord appointed him, chose
him to be the great high priest. Aaron alone made and atonement
ceremonially for the sins of Israel on the great day of atonement. And that was by God's appointment. So as a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is our great high priest, he alone, he alone made
atonement for the sins of God's spiritual Israel. giving himself
as a sacrifice. We sang that just a few minutes
ago in that hymn that we were singing, Praise Unto the Lord,
that he gave himself an atonement for sin and opened the life gate
that all may go in, that all that The Father gave Him that
we have entrance and we have access unto the Father. We have
salvation only through the Lord Jesus Christ, through His Word,
through His sacrifice. There had to be that one atonement. And in the law concerning atonement,
there was that one day in the year when Aaron, the high priest,
went in. That was his busiest day of the
year, wasn't it? You know, he was a high priest,
and I'm sure he had things to do every day. His family, other
priests in his family, they served in the tabernacle. But on the
great day of atonement, it was Aaron and Aaron alone. He's the only one who went into
the most holy place and put that blood, an atoning blood, Symbolically,
yes. Typically, yes, upon the mercy
seat. And it's Jesus Christ alone that
was the sacrifice and atonement for the sins of his people. And
he alone, no one else went into that holy place but Aaron, that
most holy place. And what was he doing there?
He was ministering. He was ministering for the nation
of Israel outside. And he's a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Where is our high priest tonight? He's at the throne, the Father's
right hand on the throne of God and of the Lamb. He's there,
and he's, what is he doing? He's ministering. He's ministering
for each and every one of us who know him, and we need his
ministry. Just as we needed his blood to
cleanse us from our sin, we need his ongoing ministry of intercession
and our advocates as he advocates for us before the Father when
we sin. We need this ongoing ministry. There was only one, only Aaron
inside that Holy of Holies ministry. And our high priest has not entered
into a tabernacle made with hands, But he's in heaven itself, making
intercession for all who come unto God by him. Well, what about
the Urim and the Thummim? I want you to look with me back
to Exodus chapter 28. This is, I believe, the first
mention of Urim and Thummim. Exodus chapter 28, when God gave
instructions concerning the garments of the priest, the high priest.
In Exodus chapter 28, Exodus chapter 28 and verse 30, God
is instructing Moses, 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. Now, we know on the breastplate
there was put the 12 stones. The 12 stones, and each stone
had the name of one of the tribes. The high priest bore upon his
heart the names of the people of God when he had this dress
on him. But we're told here that they
were to put the Urim and the Thummim inside the breastplate,
that he might bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon
his heart before the Lord continually. Well, we know the meanings of
these two words. We know the meaning of the word
Thuman and Urim, we know the meanings, but the scriptures
do not tell us what they were. And so this has opened the door
for a lot of speculation, but we'll leave that for somebody
else. The word Urim means lights, lights, and Thuman means perfections. And we learned from the scripture
that they were used, Urim and Thummim somehow was used to give
or to reveal God's counsel, God's direction. If you look at, we
see this in Numbers. If you turn to Numbers just a
moment, Numbers 27. Numbers chapter 27 and verse 21. And he shall stand before Eliezer,
the priest, who shall ask counsel for him. Now, after the judgment
of Urim, before the Lord, at his word shall they go out, and
at his word they shall come in." This is Joshua. This is the way
Joshua is going to be directed. Somehow, the priest here now
is Eliezer. Aaron has passed away, and his
son, Eliezer, is a high priest. And with the Urim and the Thummim,
the lights and the perfections, somehow God used that to reveal
to the nation of Israel His will, His counsel for them. As this
scripture says, at His word shall they go out. Now His word was
revealed to them through the Urim and the Thummim. Both he
and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation."
Then, and I'm just telling you what we know about these two
articles. We know that when they came back
out of Babylon, according to the Book of Ezra, they didn't
have the Urim and the Thummen any longer. And so, men have
speculated as to what these things are. But again, if we just take
the meaning of the words, lights and perfections, they can only
apply to God's Holy One, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, that
is in Christ alone, we know or hear the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. These words, it's interesting
that these words are always plural. Urim and Thummim, plural. They're always plural. The lights
and perfections are in Christ. Now, we could preach a whole
message on that. And maybe one day, God willing,
I shall. But just to show how light, how
Christ is the light, we think of him as the light of the world,
but the scripture says that he lighteth every man that cometh
into the world. All light is from Christ. He's the one who said, let there
be light, and light was, or is, light is. And all perfections. If you, and I'm interested in
perfection, aren't you? Because the scripture says it
must be perfect to be accepted. Whatever sacrifice man offers
unto God, it must be perfect for God to accept it. Where is
that perfection found? But only in Christ. In His sacrifice. In His obedience. That's where
we find perfection. And he is the light of his people. Now the second blessing, I want
you to look down back in our text tonight. So that's one specific
blessing. I'll try to be brief now. This blessing that's pronounced
upon the tribe of Asher, down in verses 24 and 25. And of Asher, he said, let Asher
be blessed with children. Oh, that's a good blessing, isn't
it? To be blessed with children. Happy is the man whose quiver
is full. God blesses a man with children.
That's a great blessing. Not a burden, but rather a blessing. Asher, he said, let Asher be
blessed with children. And if you notice in numbers,
when they, did a census and counted all the tribes, the place of
Asher, the number of men in the tribe of Asher. This blessing
certainly was fulfilled. Let him be acceptable to his
brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. Thy shoes shall
be iron and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. Now, as I read through this chapter
and looked at all of these blessings, I just could not pass over this
blessing, especially the blessing and promise, as thy days, so
shall thy strength be. Is this a blessing? Is this a
promise that you and I, as God's children, that we may appropriate
ourselves? I read a message one time by
Charles Spurgeon, He was preaching on the text in Hebrews 13 in
verse 5, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Now that promise,
according to him, was first given to Jacob. To Jacob when, remember,
he spent the night out there fleeing from his brother Esau
and had a stone for a pillow. And God spoke to him and God
gave him that promise. And then it's given over through
the Old Testament a number of different times. And we've seen
that recently in Isaiah. How many times did God say, I
will never leave thee. Fear not thou worm, Jacob. I
will not leave thee. I will help thee. But Charles
Spurgeon said this about the promise. He said, when God opens
a well, a well for people to drink from, When he opens a well
in the Word of God for one child of God, unless others are specifically
prohibited from drinking from that well, we may all drink from
it. And I think that's certainly
true here in this blessing that God pronounced upon Asher. As thy days, so shall thy strength
be. And I see no reason that that
cannot be a promise for you and a promise for me, especially
when we have these verses in the New Testament, like in 2
Corinthians, when God told Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee.
Well, if his grace is sufficient for me, it's sufficient for me
every day, right? Every day. As thy days shall
demand, the grace I need for this day, God will supply. As thy days shall demand, so
shall thy strength be. My grace is sufficient for thee,
for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Last Sunday morning,
we sang that hymn day by day, and that hymn begins day by day,
and with each passing moment, strength, strength, I find to
meet my trials here, trusting in my father's wise bestowment,
I have no cause for worry or for fear. Yes, what a blessing
God has given us here that was first pronounced upon the tribe
of Asher. Now, second, the general blessing
pronounced upon the nation, verse 26 through 29. There is none like unto the God
of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in
his excellency on the sky. 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. Israel
then shall dwell in safety alone. The fountain of Jacob shall be
upon a land of corn and wine. also his heaven shall drop down
due. 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. Let me just point these few things
out in that blessing. Number one, the eternal God,
is the refuge of every child of God. Every child of God here
tonight, every man needs a refuge. Everyone needs a refuge. And
for every child of God, the eternal God is our refuge. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
refuge. He is man, that's true, but he's
also the eternal God manifest in the flesh. I think these are
the words of Augustus' top lady. Till God in human flesh I see,
my thoughts no comfort find. The holy, just, and sacred three
fill with dismay my mind. But when Emmanuel's face appears,
My hope, my joy begins. His name forbids my slavish fears. His grace removes my sins. Until a person sees God in human
flesh, to know that Jesus Christ is truly God. Until a person
sees that, and knows that to be true. How could he possibly,
how could she possibly ever have any comfort, any assurance? But knowing that our Savior is
the eternal God, He's our refuge. Second, His everlasting arms
are underneath every child of God. We may fall, and most of
us have, I'm sure, We may fall, but we will never fall out of
his hand. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. He said, I give unto my sheep
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. Third, he has destroyed the great
enemy of every child of God. The word destroy really stood
out to me two days ago on Tuesday, especially in the morning devotional
by Spurgeon, I believe, on the scripture. For as much then as
the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also took
part of the same that through death he might destroy. That word destroyed just really
was big to me on that page. It stood out to me that he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage. When the Lord Jesus Christ died
upon the cross, when he crushed the head of the serpent, he didn't
just wound him, he destroyed him. He destroyed him. He is a defeated, conquered foe
of every child of God. Scripture says, resist him. Me,
resist Satan? Yes, resist him and he will flee
from thee. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
destroyed him at the cross. Number four, he's promised to
meet all of the needs of every child of God. We've reached that
land of corn and wine. We sing that hymn sometimes of
Beulah land. We've reached that land of corn
and wine. Our Lord told his disciples,
seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and
all, A-L-L, all these things shall be added unto you. That's
shelter, food, raiment. He will supply all the needs
of his children. But my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ. And number five, lastly, he has
made every child of God his happy people. Notice that last verse. Happy art thou, O Israel. Now
I know the word happy means blessed, same word, sometimes translated
happy, sometimes translated blessed. God's people are truly blessed.
They're happy, happy people. Psalm 144 and verse 15, the psalmist
said, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. Who is your
God? If it's the Lord, the Lord Jesus
Christ, you are blessed. You are happy, happy. Happy is
that people whose God is the Lord. I trust the Lord will bless
these thoughts to us here this evening. And Lord willing, next time,
But look at that last, that sixth thing that Moses still had to
do before he received his promotion, when he laid down his body here
in this world and was gathered unto his people, the people of
God. What a day that's going to be.
Amen. I know the more I See, in this
world, the more I hear, the more I look forward to heaven, don't
you? I mean, we're living in such
a time of so much turmoil and strife and division, hatred,
variance. I mean, everywhere you look,
what a day to be in a place where there's nothing but peace, perfect
peace. Let's sing a hymn before we're
dismissed.