Deuteronomy Chapters 33-34

So, to chapter 33 and 34 and the end of both the Deuteronomy but also the Pentateuch (or the Law) and Job.

I say this but the fact of the matter is what has been established in these books is referred to over and over again in other books so when we read the Bible we are never really done with a book.

In any case, Moses has given them his song thenblesses the Nation before heading off to death, so we read in the first verses of Chapter 33

Deuteronomy 33:1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
2 And he said, “YAHAVAH 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.
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.
4 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.

And at this point he begins to bless each tribe specifically with special longer blessings given to Levi and Joseph. Also, the name Jeshurun is like a nickname for Israel the people.

6 Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.
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.
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;
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.

12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of YAHAVAH shall dwell in safety by him; and YAHAVAH shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of YAHAVAH be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
16 And for the precious things 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.
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.

18 And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.
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.
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.
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 YAHAVAH, and his judgments with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of YAHAVAH: possess thou the west and the south.
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.
25 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

At this point the blessings of each tribe conclude then Moses speaks of God, and calls Him “the God of Jeshurun.”

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.
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.
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.
29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by YAHAVAH, 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.

And that brings us to the last chapter where we read

Deuteronomy 34:1 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 YAHAVAH 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 YAHAVAH 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.

When it comes to following God, we maintain along with the scripture that from the beginning it has always been about faith.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us how faith is defined when he wrote,

Hebrews 11:6 Faith is the Substances of THINGS hoped for, the evidence of THINGS not seen.

We note that twice in that single passage in his effort to define faith he uses the word, THINGS, twice.

“Things” hoped for AND “things” not seen.

I maintain that the things speak specifically to the promises of God.

Here in Deuteronomy, we discover the culmination of some of the promises of God made to Father Abraham about 700 plus years earlier which were fulfilled when Moses was about to die when he got to see the promised land promised to Abraham so many years before.

This is what human life with God is all about – He makes promises and we choose to believe them, and accept them and walk in accordance with whatever is connected to them or not.

Faith is the substance of the PROMISES of God hoped for, the EVIDENCE of the PROMISES of God not seen.

The promises made throughout the scripture must be read contextually and by the Spirit as some literally had application then and might spiritually have application to us today – it is up to each person to decide.

But perhaps we can begin to examine the idea of God’s promises by looking first at His true motives, where He says in Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Perhaps we start there – that we begin with His proclamation that the plans He has for us are good and not for evil.

Start there. Believe that promise. He wants His creations to have a future and a hope, even an expected end – just like he did with the Nation.

Paul says something really interesting about the promises of God out in 2 Corinthians 1:20 when he wrote

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

ALL of the promises find a confirmation or a yes in Him. He is the promise maker and the promise keeper. We choose to, in faith, believe in this and them – and then surrendering, allow Him to make good on all He says.

The first promise God made in the Biblical account was to Adam when He said,

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Lacking faith, they ate.

Then in Genesis 3:15 YAHAVAH made a promise to the serpent saying and fortelling the victory He would have over it by saying,

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

After the flood YAHAVAH made a promise to Noah, saying

Genesis 9:13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
(Then to 15)
Genesis 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

OF course, to the Nation He made numerous promises which we have seen and will continue to see. Most of them are on the physical side as we read in

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 21:45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 84:11For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Proverbs 1:33 But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease,
without dread of disaster.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Of course we cannot overlook the old Jeremiah 31:31-34 where YAHAVAH says,

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

And finally, in Malachi the last OT book where we read,

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Yeshua enters the scene among His brethren and speaks numerous promises to them which like the promises made to the Nation may have application to you and I and may not.

These include,

Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 10:10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Revelation 3:5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Revelation 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

Romans 10:9 Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 14:2-3 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

(Then Citing Isaiah 61:1 Yeshua stood in the synagogue and read the following) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

John 15:7-8 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Luke 18:27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Yeshua left them after His death and resurrection promising to return to them with an angel validating his promise by saying to those standing there and watching Him ascend then disappear into the cloud and we read,

Acts 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Then we have various promises made specifically to the Bride in that day, which, again, have application to us today according to the Spirit.

These promises include

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

Acts 2:38-39 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

2 Peter 3:13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Romans 10:9-10 Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

And then we have more to that Bride from Paul but from a more personal point of view as he wrote,

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

2 Timothy 3:16 Anything that is scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Philippians 4:6-9 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Romans 4:21 Fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

1 Timothy 4:8 For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

And then we have future Spiritual Promises also offered including

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

2 Peter 1:4 By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

All of which help sew together a biblical tapestry that fully endorses the fact that our creator is not absent nor without intentions. He has a plan, makes promises according to His plan – and keeps them to bring about His will among human-kind.

The question is – do we even care?

Back to chapter 33 verse 5 where we read

5 So Moses the servant of YAHAVAH died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of YAHAVAH.
6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: 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.

In Jude verse 9 there is a reference to the body of Moses which is not mentioned in any canonical books.

Apparently Michael the Archangel had to struggle or had some kind of dispute with Satan over the body of Moses, but what that dispute entailed is not described.

There are apparently mentions of this event in some of the apocraphal books not included in the Protestant bible translations.

This struggle between Satan and a heavenly angel is not unusual in the text as another angelic struggle is described by Daniel who speaks of an angel coming to him in a vision.

This angel, named Gabriel in Daniel 8:16 and 9:21, tells Daniel that he was “resisted” by a demon called “the prince of Persia” and could not proceed until the archangel Michael came to his assistance (Daniel 10:13).

From this we have biblical validation that angels and demons (at least in this period of scripture) fight battles invisible to us over things and that the demons (in the biblical age) resisted angels and tried to prevent them from doing God’s bidding.

Because Christ plainly states that all power and authority had been placed in His hand tells me that while he will govern the entire cosmos and all the inhabitants therein, this does not mean that these wars are over or have ended.

But that is an entirely different topic.
Verse 9-12

9 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 YAHAVAH commanded Moses.
10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom YAHAVAH knew face to face,
11 In all the signs and the wonders, which YAHAVAH 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.

And that concludes our study of the Torah, also called the Law, also called the Pentateuch.

Next week we will enter into a truly fascinating book – Psalms.

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