Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said: “The LORD came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them. Yes, He loves the people;
All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet;
Everyone receives Your words. Deuteronomy 33:1-3
Moses was well informed about the power of blessing the people of God. He was instructed by the LORD to tell his brother Aaron how to pronounce a blessing over the children of Israel. He also delivered the word of God to communicate blessings and curses. So it is no wonder, that as he is about to die, that he would bless the tribes of Israel in order to cover them. Just before he departed to Mount Nebo for his final rest, he called the children of Israel together to bless them.
He began the blessing in relationship to the place where the written word of God was first delivered to people on earth. He says “The LORD came from Sinai” where the 10 commandments were delivered to Moses for the people twice. The people who Moses is blessing rebelled at the foot of Sinai, because they grew impatient waiting for him to come down. So they provoked Aaron to make a golden calf to worship a god they could see like they did in Egypt. Have you ever willfully disobeyed God? The blessing was not withheld from these rebels, as they eventually received the word of God on tablets of stone. The second time around, the word was written in stone by the finger of God Himself, and delivered to the children of Israel.
He then reminds them by his blessing that the LORD “dawned on them from Seir;“ perhaps to remind the people of the reach of God’s blessing. Since the mountain of Seir was inhabited by the Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau. Although Esau despised his birthright, he was not without an inheritance. Our God is gracious and kind, He does not hold our sins against us forever. He desires to bless you and me, and thus Moses the servant of the LORD was inspired to bless the people of God as one of the last things that he did.
The pattern of the blessing which Moses blessed the people, is that he recounted the presence of God from one mountain top to another. May you ascend to the mountain of God today to experience His bountiful blessings upon your life. No doubt the rebellious behavior on Mount Sinai came to mind among the tribes, yet the blessing that proceeded from the mouth of Moses covered their misdeeds — the blessing of the LORD is fortified with grace.
The reference to saints — “He came with ten thousands of saints“ is explained further in Galatians 3:19 — What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. The ten thousand saints are angels who delivered the word of God from heaven to earth. This means angels were all around as they indulged in idolatry—they simply had no idea that 10 angels had been sent on assignment.
Maranatha
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