MOSES Lesson 29. FIRST DAY: Read the notes and the references. SECOND DAY: THIRD DAY: Read Deuteronomy 33:1-5

Transcription

1 FIRST DAY: Read the notes and the references. SECOND DAY: Read Deuteronomy 33:1-5 Moses Blesses the Tribes [33:1] This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. [2] He said: The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes. [3] Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction, [4] the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. [5] He was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel. THIRD DAY: Read Deuteronomy 33:6-25 [6] Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few. [7] And this he said about Judah: Hear, O LORD, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes! [8] About Levi he said: Your Thummim and Urim belong to the man you favored. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah. [9] He said of his father and mother, I have no regard for them.' He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. [10] He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar. [11] Bless all his skills, O LORD, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more. [12] About Benjamin he said: Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders. [13] About Joseph he said: May the LORD bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; [14] with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; [15] with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; [16] with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. [17] In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh. [18] About Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents. [19] They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand. [20] About Gad he said: Blessed is he who enlarges Gad's domain! Gad lives there like a lion, tearing at arm or head. [21] He chose the best land for himself; the leader's portion was kept for him. When the heads of the people assembled, he carried out the LORD's righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel. [22] About Dan he said: Dan is a lion's cub, springing out of Bashan. [23] About Naphtali he said: Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake. 1

2 [24] About Asher he said: Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil. [25] The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days. Genesis 49; Jacob Blesses His Sons Question 5 [49:1] Then Jacob called for his sons and said: Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. [2] Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. [3] Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. [4] Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. [5] Simeon and Levi are brothers their swords are weapons of violence. [6] Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. [7] Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. [8] Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. [9] You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness who dares to rouse him? [10] The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. [11] He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. [12] His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. [13] Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. [14] Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. [15] When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. [16] Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. [17] Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward. [18] I look for your deliverance, O LORD. [19] Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. [20] Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. [21] Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. [22] Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. [23] With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. [24] But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, [25] because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb. [26] Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. [27] Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder. [28] All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. The Death of Jacob [29] Then he gave them these instructions: I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, [30] the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. [31] There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were 2

3 buried, and there I buried Leah. [32] The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. [33] When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. Genesis 29:31-30:24; Jacob's Children [31] When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. [32] Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now. [33] She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too. So she named him Simeon. [34] Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons. So he was named Levi. [35] She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, This time I will praise the LORD. So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. Genesis 30 [30:1] When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, Give me children, or I'll die! [2] Jacob became angry with her and said, Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children? [3] Then she said, Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family. [4] So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, [5] and she became pregnant and bore him a son. [6] Then Rachel said, God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son. Because of this she named him Dan. [7] Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. [8] Then Rachel said, I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won. So she named him Naphtali. [9] When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. [10] Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. [11] Then Leah said, What good fortune! So she named him Gad. [12] Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. [13] Then Leah said, How happy I am! The women will call me happy. So she named him Asher. [14] During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, Please give me some of your son's mandrakes. [15] But she said to her, Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too? Very well, Rachel said, he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes. [16] So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. You must sleep with me, she said. I have hired you with my son's mandrakes. So he slept with her that night. [17] God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. [18] Then Leah said, God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband. So she named him Issachar. [19] Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. [20] Then Leah said, God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons. So she named him Zebulun. [21] Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. [22] Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. [23] She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, God has taken away my disgrace. [24] She named him Joseph, and said, May the LORD add to me another son. FOURTH DAY: Read Deuteronomy 33:26-29 [26] There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. [27] The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, Destroy him!' [28] So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob's spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. [29] Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places. 3

4 Question 8 Deuteronomy 33:2-5; [2] He said: The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes. [3] Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction, [4] the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. [5] He was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel. FIFTH DAY: Read Deuteronomy 34 The Death of Moses [34:1] Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land from Gilead to Dan, [2] all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, [3] the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. [4] Then the LORD said to him, This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it. [5] And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. [6] He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. [7] Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. [8] The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. [11] who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. [12] For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. Question 10a Genesis 13:14-17; 15:18; 17:7-8; [14] The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. [15] All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. [16] I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. [17] Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you. [18] On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates [7] I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. [8] The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. Question 10b Hebrews 11:13-16; [13] All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. [14] People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. [15] If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] Instead, they were longing for a better country a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. [9] Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses. [10] Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 4

5 SIXTH DAY: Read Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12 Moses Blesses the Tribes [33:1] This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. [2] He said: The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes. [3] Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction, [4] the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. [5] He was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel. [6] Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few. [7] And this he said about Judah: Hear, O LORD, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes! [8] About Levi he said: Your Thummim and Urim belong to the man you favored. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah. [9] He said of his father and mother, I have no regard for them.' He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. [10] He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar. [11] Bless all his skills, O LORD, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more. [12] About Benjamin he said: Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders. [13] About Joseph he said: May the LORD bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; [14] with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; [15] with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; [16] with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. [17] In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh. [18] About Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents. [19] They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand. [20] About Gad he said: Blessed is he who enlarges Gad's domain! Gad lives there like a lion, tearing at arm or head. [21] He chose the best land for himself; the leader's portion was kept for him. When the heads of the people assembled, he carried out the LORD's righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel. [22] About Dan he said: Dan is a lion's cub, springing out of Bashan. [23] About Naphtali he said: Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake. [24] About Asher he said: Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, 5

6 and let him bathe his feet in oil. [25] The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days. [26] There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. [27] The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, Destroy him!' [28] So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob's spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. [29] Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places. [10] Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, [11] who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. [12] For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. The Death of Moses Deuteronomy 34 [34:1] Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land from Gilead to Dan, [2] all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, [3] the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. [4] Then the LORD said to him, This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it. [5] And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. [6] He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. [7] Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. [8] The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. [9] Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses. 6