Monday 11/14/22

Talents

📺️ Deuteronomy 33 🔊

¹And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

 ²And 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.

 ³Yea, 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.

 ⁴Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

 ⁵And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

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

 ⁷And 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.

 ⁸And 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;

 ⁹Who 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.

 ¹⁰They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.

 ¹¹Bless, 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.

 ¹²And 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.

 ¹³And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

 ¹⁴And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,

 ¹⁵And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,

 ¹⁶And 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.

 ¹⁷His 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.

 ¹⁸And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.

 ¹⁹They 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.

 ²⁰And 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.

 ²¹And 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 the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.

 ²²And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

 ²³And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.

 ²⁴And 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.

 ²⁵Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

 ²⁶There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.

 ²⁷The 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.

 ²⁸Israel 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.

 ²⁹Happy 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

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Moses 

Date Penned: (1407 BC)

Overview: To Remind and Rededicate Israel to the Lord (c 1-34)

Theme: The Change in Leadership (c 31-34)

Message: Moses Blesses All the Tribes (v 1-29)

Deuteronomy 33 Commentary

(33-6-25) Different Blessings for Different Tribes - Note the difference in blessings God gave each tribe. To one he gave the best land, to another strength, to another safety. The combined tribes, working together, had the potential to become a strong nation. Too often we see someone with a particular blessing and think that God must love that person more than others. Think rather that God draws out in all people their unique talents. All these gifts are needed to complete his plan. Don't be envious of the gifts others have. Instead, look for the gifts God has given you, resolve to do the tasks he has uniquely qualified you to do, and rejoice that he is calling you to play a unique role in accomplishing his plan on earth.

(33:24) Washing Feet in Oil - Bathing one's feet in oil was a sign of prosperity. Olive oil was used for many purposes in ancient Israel. It was a food ingredient and was used in the cooking process. It was also used for lamp oil, medicines, perfumes, and cosmetics. Since it was such a useful commodity, using it to wash one's feet was a sign that there was plenty available for all other uses.

(33:27) God is our Refuge - Moses' song declares that God is our refuge, our only true security. How often we entrust our lives to other things--perhaps money, a career, relationships, a noble cause, or a lifelong dream. But our only true refuge is the eternal God, who always holds out his arms to catch us when the shaky supports that we trust collapse and we fall. No storm can destroy us when we take refuge in him. Those without God, however, must forever be cautious. One mistake may wipe them out. Living for God in this world may look like risky business. But it is the godless who are on shaky ground. When God is our refuge, we are on firm ground, so we can dare to be bold.

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Deuteronomy with Chapter 33 and we see us come to the end of the book of Deuteronomy as Moses blessing the tribes. Here he gives different blessings to different tribes due to their unique talents. In making application we see the Lord blessing us with different talents within the body of Christ. Some within the body question God on the talents they receive asking Him why they don't have the talents that others receive. God has a plan for your life and blesses us accordingly. It reminds me when of my youth as I loved basketball and wanted to play at a professional level. As others grew taller and stronger and as I played in college I found out that the Lord had not blessed me in the area of basketball at a higher level. It made me jealous of others who received the physical talents of the Lord that I didn't attain. Looking back I see that basketball was not Gods' plan for my life. He has blessed me in other areas that coincide with my life. So how about you? Are you dissatisfied with the talents God has given you or the ones you don't poses? Let us learn from today's text and embrace the talents God gives us as we follow His Will for our lives.