(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)
(Deuteronomy 33:1-29) Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone from Mount Paran,
And He came from the midst of myriads of holy ones;
At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.
3 Indeed, He loves the people;
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone takes of Your words.
4 Moses issued to us the Law,
A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 And He was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
6 “May Reuben live and not die,
Nor may his people be few.”
7 And this was regarding Judah; so he said:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”
8 Of Levi he said,
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man,
Whom You tested at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
9 Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For they kept Your word,
And complied with Your covenant.
10 They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob,
And Your Law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 Lord, bless his strength,
And accept the work of his hands;
Smash the hips of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“May the beloved of the Lord live in security beside Him
Who shields him all the day long,
And he lives between His shoulders.”
13 Of Joseph he said,
“Blessed of the Lord be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep waters lying beneath,
14 And with the choice yield of the sun,
And the choice produce of the months;
15 And with the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the choice things of the everlasting hills,
16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let it come to the head of Joseph,
And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,
And his horns are the horns of the wild ox;
With them he will gore the peoples
All at once, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And, Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer righteous sacrifices;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 Of Gad he said,
“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lies down as a lion,
And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.
21 Then he selected the choicest part for himself,
For there the ruler’s portion was reserved;
And he came with the leaders of the people;
He executed the justice of the Lord,
And His ordinances with Israel.”
22 Of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub;
He leaps out from Bashan.”
23 Of Naphtali he said,
“Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Take possession of the sea and the south.”
24 Of Asher he said,
“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
And may he dip his foot in olive oil.
25 Your bars will be iron and bronze,
And as your days, so will your strength be.
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And the clouds in His majesty.
27 The eternal God is a hiding place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
And He drove out the enemy from you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’
28 So Israel lives in security,
The fountain of Jacob secluded,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens also drip down dew.
29 Blessed are you, Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The shield of your help,
And He who is the sword of your majesty!
So your enemies will cringe before you,
And you will trample on their high places.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
To put God first in our lives means that He is more important than any other relationship we might have. To put God first in our lives means that we will want to obey His will, living it and teaching it. We will also desire to give our very best to the Lord, and serve Him.
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone from Mount Paran,
And He came from the midst of myriads of holy ones;
At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.
3 Indeed, He loves the people;
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone takes of Your words.
4 Moses issued to us the Law,
A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 And He was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
6 “May Reuben live and not die,
Nor may his people be few.”
7 And this was regarding Judah; so he said:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”
8 Of Levi he said,
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man,
Whom You tested at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
9 Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For they kept Your word,
And complied with Your covenant.
10 They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob,
And Your Law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 Lord, bless his strength,
And accept the work of his hands;
Smash the hips of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“May the beloved of the Lord live in security beside Him
Who shields him all the day long,
And he lives between His shoulders.”
13 Of Joseph he said,
“Blessed of the Lord be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep waters lying beneath,
14 And with the choice yield of the sun,
And the choice produce of the months;
15 And with the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the choice things of the everlasting hills,
16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let it come to the head of Joseph,
And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,
And his horns are the horns of the wild ox;
With them he will gore the peoples
All at once, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And, Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer righteous sacrifices;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 Of Gad he said,
“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lies down as a lion,
And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.
21 Then he selected the choicest part for himself,
For there the ruler’s portion was reserved;
And he came with the leaders of the people;
He executed the justice of the Lord,
And His ordinances with Israel.”
22 Of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub;
He leaps out from Bashan.”
23 Of Naphtali he said,
“Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Take possession of the sea and the south.”
24 Of Asher he said,
“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
And may he dip his foot in olive oil.
25 Your bars will be iron and bronze,
And as your days, so will your strength be.
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And the clouds in His majesty.
27 The eternal God is a hiding place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
And He drove out the enemy from you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’
28 So Israel lives in security,
The fountain of Jacob secluded,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens also drip down dew.
29 Blessed are you, Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The shield of your help,
And He who is the sword of your majesty!
So your enemies will cringe before you,
And you will trample on their high places.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
To put God first in our lives means that He is more important than any other relationship we might have. To put God first in our lives means that we will want to obey His will, living it and teaching it. We will also desire to give our very best to the Lord, and serve Him.
And when we put God first in our lives, He blesses us and fights for us; so that no matter what we might go through, we will still experience His joy. The Lord is our Thummim (the breastplate that protects our eternal inheritance of salvation), and our Urim (the light which provides clarity and wisdom, and guides us in truth and love). Putting God first in our lives is to trust in Him, fully.
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