Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Deuteronomy chapter 33 as we continue our study through the Word of God. Tonight we will finish up the fifth and last book of Moses and what a journey it has been. As we open up tonight we are going to see the last public address of Moses to the children of Israel before he dies and he is going to give a blessing to each tribe or really a prophecy of what will transpire in each of these tribes, which is not always a blessing. With that said, let’s begin reading in Deuteronomy chapter 33, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us as we study His Word.

VERSE 1

            Back in Genesis chapter 49 we saw Jacob or Israel give his blessings to his children before his death. And now Moses is doing the same, not to his children but to the descendants of the 12 sons of Israel or Jacob and we know them as the 12 tribes of Israel.

            I like this, “Moses the man of God.” That is how I want to be thought of. Joe, the man of God! Don’t you feel the same way? I want my love for God to be so deep that it is reflected in my actions, the things that I say, that people would see me as a man of God! And my prayer is that I would finish the race that God has set before me and not only finish it, but finish it strong in the Lord, as Paul did. Remember what he said in

II Timothy 4:6-7, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  “Lord, help me to do no less” and I’m sure that is your prayer too!

VERSES 2-5

            Before he gives them these blessings, he reminds them of God and how He met with them on Mount Sinai and gave to them the Law. And something we didn’t get in Exodus is that a multitude of saints or angels were around Him when He gave the Law! That had to leave an impression on their minds even if they were young!

VERSE 6

            The first blessing goes to Ruben and it speaks of the growth of the tribe and yet there was never a prophet, judge or king that came from the tribe of Ruben.  This seems to coincide with what Jacob said back in Genesis 49:3-4, that they would not excel. Also, this is one of the 2½ tribes that did not go into the Promise Land but remained on the east side of the Jordan River, in the upper northeast section of the Dead Sea region.

VERSE 7

            Judah means, “praise” and that is interesting because Moses prayed that the Lord would hear the voice of Judah or that He would hear their praise! There also may be a hint of the coming Messiah from the tribe of Judah as we see Jacob clearly speak of the coming Messiah from Judah in Genesis 49:8-11.

            Here is a little side note. The tribe of Simeon is not mentioned here. There are a few thoughts regarding this but most seem to feel it is because it was a small tribe and it was surrounded by the tribe of Judah and thus, assimilated into that tribe. I am not sure about that but it is a possibility.

VERSES 8-11

            For the tribe of Levi, Moses prayed that their enemies would be defeated and that this tribe from which the priests came from, the descendants of Aaron were the priests, they would teach the children of Israel the things of God. And again, it does seem to correspond to what Jacob prayed for them in Genesis 49:5-7, that they would be divided and scattered and they were, throughout the land of Israel.  Keep in mind, once they entered the land and established their allotted lands, there were 48 Levitical cities established throughout the land so that they could teach the judgments and Law of God to the people!

VERSE 12

            For the tribe of Benjamin, they occupied a small area of land northeast of Judah and as Jacob prayed in Genesis 49:27, this beloved tribe were fierce warriors!

VERSES 13-17

            Next Moses blessed the tribe of Joseph, which is broken down into his two sons; Ephraim and Manasseh. And, numerically speaking, they were very blessed, and it goes along with the blessing of Jacob given in Genesis 49:22-26. Also, keep in mind that half the tribe of Manasseh stayed on the east side of the Jordan River in the upper portion of the land, and half on the west side of the Jordan River, in the Promise Land, between the Sea of Galilee and the northern part of the Dead Sea going north to south and they extended east to west from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

VERSES 18-19

            The blessings of these two tribes, Zebulun and Issachar are interesting. Some say that the sea blessed them, but they are land locked. So I am not positive what that means, although there may be a hint that it is related to what is spoken of and now found in the land of Asher, who is on the seacoast, and we will talk about that in a few minutes. What about this taking treasure from the sand? It could be speaking of oil. Now many laugh at that but according to this report, Zion Oil Applies for Issachar-Zebulun License, there seems to be some merit to this idea. This article is from February 24, 2009 and we are told:

Zion Oil & Gas applied today for an additional 245,000 acres of exploration area in the biblical lands of Zebulun and Issachar. “… for they [Zebulun & Issachar] shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.” (Deuteronomy 33:19) The applied for license area also includes the valley of Megiddo.    If Zion is extended the new license area, the company’s total area under license will grow to 400,000 acres.

- Oil In Israel

            They have not found oil yet, but they are investing heavily and they truly believe, because of what the Scriptures say, that they will find oil one day!  Time will tell and I would not be surprised at all if they found a massive oil deposit in this region!

VERSES 20-21

            Now Moses gives his blessings to the tribe of Gad, and they also stayed on the east side of the Jordan River, right between the tribes of Manasseh and Reuben. The tribe of Gad produced powerful warriors for the nation. In I Chronicles 12:14 we are told of the mighty men Gad provided for king David, “These were from the sons of Gad, captains of the army; the least was over a hundred, and the greatest was over a thousand.”  This also was the blessing that Jacob spoke of in Genesis 49:19.

VERSE 22

            The tribe of Dan was not good. In fact, they brought trouble to the rest of the nation and thus, what Moses is saying here might not be that complimentary. In Judges 18:30 we see the tribe of Dan introduce idolatry into Israel. Jeroboam, king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel set up one of his idolatrous golden calves in Dan according to I Kings 12:26-30. And in the end, the tribe of Dan became the center of idol worship as Amos 8:14 tells us. And when Jacob spoke of this tribe back in Genesis 49:16-17, he also spoke of the trouble of this tribe.

            One other point here and that is this reference to Bashan. This area was in the northern part of Israel but Dan had land allotted to them in the southern part of Israel. So what does this mean?  Hundreds of years after Moses spoke these words, the tribe of Dan migrated to the north, in this area of Bashan according to Judges 18.

VERSE 23

            The tribe of Naphtali had land around the Sea of Galilee, which was a blessing and it was in this area that Jesus did most of His earthly ministry around. I guess this tribe did receive the full blessing of the LORD. And in Genesis 49:21 Jacob spoke of this tribe giving “goodly words” or words of beauty.  This could be that in this area Jesus spoke words of beauty, goodly words that would bless the people!

VERSES 24-25

            The tribe of Asher had land allotted to them in the northern part of Israel along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. To the east of Asher were the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, which I find interesting. You see, this phrase, “let him dip his foot in oil,” what does that mean?  Some say that it is speaking of the olive trees and thus, the pressed olives produce olive oil. That could be, but I also believe it can be a reference to oil being found in Israel! Listen to what Jan Markell had to say regarding a recent find in this area of Israel that may extend into the areas of Zebulun and Naphtali. She wrote:

Since Bible prophecy is in a fast-forward mode, we need to be paying attention to major events taking place. One of the issues that those with their eye on the sky have wondered about is what is the wealth Israel possesses that is so vital that Gog (Russia) and her allies are willing to invade Israel to seize it.  A story many seem to think significant is the fact that Israel has just discovered five trillion feet of natural gas off the shore of Haifa. And that is just for starters. It is believed there is much more soon to be tapped into, as well as oil not yet discovered in various parts of the country. Oil may be a speculation but the natural gas is a reality.

Russia needs natural gas! That was, in part, her reason for invading the former Soviet state of Georgia. Additionally, Russia is building seaports in Syria and Libya. Libya is one of the participants in this forthcoming war. Another participant -- Turkey -- is now more aligned with Russia than ever before. A primary participant in the Gog-Magog war is Iran who is always strengthening her ties with Russia.

- Jan Markell, Russian Roulette

            Many feel that where there is gas, there must be oil and they are looking and they believe it is just a matter of time until they find it. Thus, watch closely what is happening in this part of the world because I believe that we are seeing the setup for the Magog invasion spoken of in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.  If oil is found, look out!

VERSES 26-29

            Moses speaks of how God has poured out His blessings upon Israel- there is no God like the God of Israel. He comes to their side in times of trouble, defeating their enemies. He makes their land bountiful. They are a people who have been saved by the LORD, by YAHWEH!

            Folks, as Christians, look how God has blessed us exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think!  Look at how He drives out the enemies of our lives.  Look at how He comes to our side to help us in time of need. We too are a people who have been saved by the LORD, by YAHWEH! May we not forget that! Remember what Paul said in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

VERSES 1-3

            This whole range of mountains east of the Jordan River was called Abarim and one of the summits of the mountain was called Pisgah and Nebo was probably the higher of these peaks where Moses would climb up to die. And yes, God did not allow Moses to enter into the Promise Land with the Children of Israel but He did allow Moses to see all the land that they would possess! Some feel from Mount Pisgah you could see all the land of Israel, which may be true. But I tend to see this as a supernatural event as God showed Moses where the tribes would even be in this land before they ever entered it. Today Israel only occupies a fraction of the land that God has promised them but one day they will possess it all!

            Folks, our God is so gracious and merciful to us as He was too Moses. Why do I say that? Because God did allow Moses to enter the Promise Land. Yes, it was not in his day but in Jesus’ day. In Mark 9:1-9 we see this take place as we are told, “And He said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.’ Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ — because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

            Moses appears with Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus! Not only that, but I also believe that Moses is one of the two witnesses that we see during the Tribulation Period and we see that in Revelation 11:3-14, where we are told, “‘And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.’ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

            Now I do feel for certain that one of these two witnesses is Elijah for we are told in Malachi 4:5-6, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”  I think that is clear. And the reason I say the other is Moses is because he represented the Law and Elijah the prophets and thus, the witness of the Law and the prophets in the Tribulation Period. Also, when you look at the miracles that he does they are very similar to what we read that he did in Exodus. And ultimately, Moses will be in the Kingdom Age with Jesus and us!  So our God is very gracious and merciful with Moses as He is with us!

VERSE 4

            Here are the last words that Moses hears from the LORD before he died, at least the last words he hears before he goes to be with the LORD! And this is basically what the Lord told Moses. All that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob He is more than able to bring to pass. In fact, they will come to pass very shortly as the children of Israel enter into the Promise Land. Folks, what God has promised to us He is more than able to bring them to pass, all we need to do is trust in Him and walk by faith!

            Here is an interesting point that Thompson makes regarding what God allowed Moses to see. He wrote, “The invitation to Moses to view the land was not merely a kindly provision of God to allow His servant to view Israel’s inheritance. It may have had some legal significance. There is some evidence that this was part of a legal process. A man ‘viewed’ what he was to possess.” An interesting point to say the least!

            Moses could see the land, but he could not enter in, at least not yet. In regards to this, Kalland wrote, “What drama! What pathos [sorrow]! What inward pain! What sense of accomplishment mixed with disappointment must have been in Moses’ mind as he looked over the land the Lord had promised to Israel!”  It truly must have been hard for Moses and yet, he knew what the Lord told him and he laid his pride down and made Joshua the leader. That is important for they needed to see that this position was not taken by force but it was passed down.

VERSES 5-8

            Moses didn’t die because he was old or sick. It was not that he had a heart attack or even died of old age. He died because his work was finished; he completed what God had called him to do. You see, Moses was the Lawgiver and the Law could never take you into the Promise Land. Thus, Joshua was now to lead them in and the Greek name for Joshua is Jesus. I think you see where I am going here. You see, the Law could never take us into that spirit filled life, only Jesus can.  And so, it will be Joshua who will lead the children of Israel into the Promise Land.

            As you read this there is not a lot of fanfare spoken of Moses here. If Moses had a tombstone, what do you think was written on it?

            It was not “Moses, Prince of Egypt.”

            It was not “Moses, Murderer of an Egyptian.”

            It was not “Moses, Shepherd in the Wilderness.”

            It was not “Moses, Spokesman for a Nation.”

            It was not “Moses, Miracle Worker.”

            It was not “Moses, Prophet.”

            It was not “Moses, the Man Who Saw a Piece of God’s Glory.”

            It was not “Moses, Who Never Entered the Promised Land.”

            At the end of it all, the title was simple: Moses the servant of the Lord.

Folks, the same is true of every one of us. We are all bondslaves of Jesus Christ and thus, no fanfare for us, just, Joe, the servant of the LORD!  You see, God gets the glory and not us!

            That phrase, “according to the word of the LORD” literally means, “upon the mouth of the Lord.” In other words, as God gave Moses a kiss, his life on this earth ended and he was with his Master, YAHWEH!  Spurgeon put it like this, “As a mother takes her child and kisses it, and then lays it down to sleep in its own bed; so did the Lord kiss the soul of Moses away to be with him for ever, and then he hid is body we know not where.”

            Here is something that is strange to me. God buried the body of Moses and no one knows where his grave is to this day. Why is that?  Because people would make it into a shrine and worship it! That may be one reason but I think there is more to it, there has to be.

            In Jude 9 we are told, “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” For some reason there was a satanic contention over the body of Moses!  It could be that Satan was going to do something with the body of Moses and God had other plans for him. You see, we already saw that Moses was with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration and that during the first 3½ years of the 7-year Tribulation Period Moses will be ministering as one of the two witnesses we read about in Revelation chapter 11.  I wish Jude had told us more but that is all we know and I think that is why God buried the body of Moses!

            The children of Israel mourned for Moses for thirty days and then what happened? Then they went into a prolonged psychotherapy sessions to help them through this? No, that didn’t happen! Maybe they were mad at God and did nothing, they just sat around all day shaking their fist towards God?  No, that didn’t happen! The days of mourning were over, they ended and then it was time to go on, to move forward, to reach for that upward calling that God had upon their lives and enter into the Promise Land! They needed to keep on walking. What a lesson that should be for us, keep moving forward in the Lord. You see, there are many things we can mourn about, the death of a loved one, the sickness of a loved one, but not only that, there are many other things that can cause us to mourn over, and folks, I am not negating that this does happen or to say you have no faith if you mourn.

            I remember when my dad died several years back. It was a very difficult time for me. My dad was dying of cancer and I was able to get off of work and care for him at home, he was in hospice at the time.  And I was there, in the room with my dad when he died early one morning.  And I did mourn for my dad. I loved him very much. He was a great dad, a good man who would help anyone and what he said he would do, he did it. He was a man of his word. But the days of mourning for my father ended and I needed to move on and that week I was back in the pulpit teaching again.  It did not mean I didn’t have times and still do when I miss him, grieve over the loss of my dad, but I do need to move on. I needed to get back to the work that God called me to do.

Folks, you can mourn for many things, like rebellious children, the loss of a job, and-so-on but don’t let it paralyze you. You keep walking and God will give you those times of refreshing that you need. I know that it is hard. I remember when my children walked away from the Lord, praise the Lord they have returned but it was tough. It lasted several years and when they were at home, well, it was tough.  And every Thursday and every Sunday I was here because I knew that is where God called me to be. I could have stayed home, isolated myself, barricaded myself in my little world, but what good what that have done.  Thus, instead I walked and trusted in the Lord to give me the strength that I needed during those times and He did!  If you are going through a time of mourning right now, give it to the Lord and let His peace and comfort fill your life as you walk as He has called you!

VERSE 9

            Joshua was now in charge, God put His Spirit upon him to lead the people and they were to go forward now! And the people followed Joshua because they saw the kind of leadership that was passed on from Moses to Joshua and as they followed Moses they will follow Joshua because they knew these men followed the Lord.

VERSES 10-12

            Moses was truly a great servant of God and what made him great is his faith. You see, it was God who not only worked in Moses but through Moses and God touched the people through His servant Moses!

            In Hebrews 11:23-29 we see Moses spoken of in this section we call the hall of faith. And not only do we see Moses but his parents who built in him a love for God. Paul tells us in these verses, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”

            Moses was a man, with all of man’s weaknesses but he was also “the man of God” and “the servant of the LORD.”  Thompson makes these comments about the man, Moses, “In him were concentrated all the great offices of Israel – prophet, ruler, judge and priest. If some who held these offices were great, Moses was the greatest of them all.”  I agree!

            As we close the door on these first five books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch, we will now be entering into the book of Joshua as the children of Israel will now enter into the Promise Land.  And folks, this is where we started almost 14 years ago, in the book of Joshua.  We have finished up all 66 books of the Bible verse by verse, and now, we are going to start all over again.  What a joy it has been to give to you the whole counsel of God.

Paul put it like this in Acts 20:26-32, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

            Folks, please understand that there are wolves out there and they are dressed many times in sheep’s clothing. Why is that?  They do this to deceive people and get them to believe their false doctrine that they are promoting. That is one of the reasons we need to know God’s Word because it will set us free from the false doctrine that is out there. Thus, my desire is that we would continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we live out His Word as we continue to study the Scriptures, as we continue to study the Word of God.  I can’t wait to see what the Lord will show us as we go through His Word a second time. Thus, may we press on into the Promise Land, that Spirit filled life as we walk in the Lord, surrendered to His Spirit!