Blessing

Deuteronomy 32:44-33:1 – Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” On that same day the Lord told Moses, “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.” This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 – This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Numbers 20:11 – Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Jeremiah 35:4 – I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.

Genesis 22:16 – The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Genesis 28:12,15 –  He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it…I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Genesis 49:10,24-25 – The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his…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, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.

Application:

• ·         When they chose the Lord, they chose life. “All the words of this law” are said to be their “life”. The law, the Lord and life are bound together. “Life” in this context refers to all that makes life rich, full and productive—as God created it to be.
• ·         Moses’ action was a lack of trust in God, as though he believed that a word alone would not suffice. God’s holiness was offended by Moses’ rash action, for he had not shown proper deference to God’s presence.
• ·         Man of God was a synonym for “prophet”, emphasizing his relationship to the One who has called him.
• ·         There is no greater name in which the Lord can take an oath than His own name.
• ·         Jesus Himself is the bridge between heaven and earth, the only “mediator between God and mankind”.
• ·         Unlike the gods of pagan religions, in which the gods were merely local deities who gave protection only within their own territories, the one true God assured Jacob that He would always be with him wherever he went.
• ·         Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, is told to “remove the crown” from his head because dominion over Jerusalem will ultimately be given to the one “to whom it rightfully belongs”.
• ·         “Mighty One of Jacob” stresses the activity of God in saving and redeeming His people.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV