Finishing Well June 5, 2014 Moses Blessing to the Nation Deuteronomy 33:1 7 Page 1

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1 Finishing Well June 5, 2014 Moses Blessing to the Nation Deuteronomy 33:1 7 Page 1 Acts 20:24 But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. I will never forget, as a boy, how I used to be amazed as I heard an old preacher say in public prayer, O Lord, keep my eyes on the Lord Jesus; don t let me become a wicked old man. I used to wonder why he prayed like that, but I have since seen many who had a testimony for Christ in their early days, break down and become wicked old men because they got their eyes off Christ. H. A. Ironside, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1947), 244. Who Finished Well: Peter Paul John Joshua Who Did Not Finish Well: Esau Aaron Korah Judas Iscariot Hebrews 12:1 2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2 Moses is finishing well He did fail but: Page 2 Hebrews 11:24 29 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. Moses finished well These are now his to the nation Deuteronomy 33:1 2 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. He said, The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones; At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them. Just as those before him had blessed their children, Moses,, is now blessing the nation Notice how Moses is now being referenced This is a phrase which was used to describe of God 2 Kings 1:9 10 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, O man of God, the king says, Come down. Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. This is an account of Moses last words to the nation It is fitting that he begins by outlining how God became the Place names and the names and order of tribes are in a unique order because the Holy Spirit has something to beyond the surface of the blessings

3 Page 3 Sinai = : Bush of the LORD. Pointed. My bushes. Seir = _: hairy; bristly; wooded; (root = [1] hairy; rough; a he-goat; [2] to shudder; to sweep away in a storm; to be fierce). Shaggy; goatlike. Paran = Abounding in foliage; _. Cavernous. Their beautifying. Stelman Smith and Judson Cornwall, The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos, 1998), 191. So how does the Lord first get our attention? Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The key He gets our attention and at times the way He does so The Holy Spirit reveals the reality of who God is to us and many times it is because we are in the midst of a lot of The moment we give our lives to Him, we are Romans 5:1 2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Only as a result of the work of Christ is it even possible for us to be justified What was placed on the head of Jesus? Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Hebrews 10:12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, Jesus Christ, the self identified voice in the burning bush, the, met with Moses in the, and was later crucified with the thorns of the same type of bush on His head The next location is Mt. Seir The next step for us as believers, once justified, is _ Is it easy to be sanctified? Is it easy to be holy?

4 Page 4 Leviticus 19:2 Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. Leviticus 22:31 33 So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the LORD. You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the LORD. (qā ḏǎš): be sacred, consecrated, i.e., dedicate to service and loyalty to -ק ד ש God, and so involving proper conduct (as prescribed) of any person or object so dedicated, be consecrated; consecrate, dedicate; be dedicated, be consecrated; set apart, consecrate, dedicate, regard as holy; be holy, i.e., be in a state of having superior moral qualities, with behavior which is positively unique and pure, in contrast to other corrupt standards; show oneself; regard as holy; saints, God s people, i.e., pertaining to persons who belong to God, and as such constitute a religious entity James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). Romans 6:22 23 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Philippians 2:5 7 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Galatians 5:22 25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. The final location referred to by Moses is The reason for it being listed last in the order is simple, it was one of the last locations God dealt with His people. Paran is a picture of our or entry into all that God has in store for us when we enter into His presence

5 Page 5 Romans 8:16 19 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 1 John 3:2 6 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. The locations point to the three places we find ourselves in with God Past tense we have been Present tense we are being Future tense we will be _ The final location referenced, the one which points to where Jesus came from in order to reach us is also referenced Deuteronomy 33:2 He said, The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones; At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them. Daniel 7:10 A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. Deuteronomy 33:3 5 Indeed, He loves the people; All Your holy ones are in Your hand, And they followed in Your steps; Everyone receives of Your words. Moses charged us with a law, A possession for the assembly of Jacob. And He was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, The tribes of Israel together.

6 Page 6 The meaning, therefore, would be this: The Lord embraces all nations with His love, He who, so to speak, has all His holy angels in His hand, i.e., His power, so that they serve Him as their Lord. They lie down at His feet. Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), Deuteronomy 33:3 Indeed, lover of people, all of his holy ones are in your control. They gather at your feet to do as you have instructed. (ISV) This lover of all nations, this God and creator of the universe who has angels at His feet ready to follow His instructions has provided, personally, His law to Moses This was provided to the nation as and He became King in Israel The intent for the nation was for God to be their _ The nation was the exclusive possession of the Creator of the Universe As believers, who do we belong to? Who purchased us? Titus 2:11 14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. We are God s precious possession as He gave His Son for us and then He gave us to His Son. John 17:6 10 I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. John 17:20 21 I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

7 Page 7 John 17:24 26 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. Are we specially privileged? Are we highly loved? Next comes the actual blessings and the order is not the same as we have seen in the past Reuben Judah Levi - joined, a companion Benjamin - Son of the right hand Joseph - may God add, he shall add Ephraim Manasseh Zebulun - Dwelling, wished for habitation Issachar - Reward, he is wages, to be rewarded Gad Dan - Judge, judging Naphtali - A struggle Asher - prosperity, happiness Is any tribe missing? Why?

8 Page 8 Who was the ring leader for the issue involving the war crime of perfidy in Genesis 34? Who was the oldest in favor of first killing and then instead selling Joseph into slavery? Which tribe had the largest decrease in population during the wilderness wanderings? Which tribe had a problem with false gods and strange worship? Genesis 49:5 7 Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel. What about Levi, wasn t he involved in the same incident? Who was the one tribe the stood for the Lord when no other would? Exodus 32:25 29 Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is for the LORD, come to me! And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. He said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor. So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then Moses said, Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD for every man has been against his son and against his brother in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today. Deuteronomy 33:6 May Reuben live and not die, Nor his men be few. Remember Reuben fell out of favor with Jacob due to his sin. Genesis 35:22 It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father s concubine, and Israel heard of it. So due to the sin of Reuben

9 Page 9 Genesis 49:3 4 Reuben, you are my firstborn; My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence, Because you went up to your father s bed; Then you defiled it he went up to my couch. The blessing promised that the tribe would survive, but not very large. Deuteronomy 33:6 Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben: Let the tribe of Reuben live and not die out, though they are few in number. (NLT) Some blessing, Lord keep this tribe from. Why would that be a concern? When you decide to do things your way rather than God s way, what is the danger? When you decide to take short cuts to get what you want, what is the danger? Deuteronomy 33:7 And this regarding Judah; so he said, Hear, O 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. Judah the royal tribe The tribe of Next week the rest of the tribes and the conclusion of Deuteronomy Past teachings, study notes and slides of Through the Bible with Pastor Ken Brown are available at: