Daily Thought

The last words of Moses are words of blessing for the people in covenant relation with Jehovah. They trace out divine counsel and the abundant goodness of God. Recounting the movements of Jehovah, Moses reflects upon His judicial manifestations at Sinai and Paran.

The Safety of the Saints. Moses reveals the heart of God toward Israel, ‘Yea, he loved the people’. What precious truth is here. In spite of all their failures, God loved His people. Nothing they could do would alter His love for them. God is greater than their failures, He loved them with an everlasting love. Israel’s security lies in the next statement, ‘all his saints are in thy hand’.

The same is true of believers today. ‘No man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand’, John 10. 29. Such is our eternal security. Sitting at His feet, Israel received God’s words. Every word proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord is more precious than gold and silver, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Mary of Bethany is the New Testament example. She sat at the Lord’s feet and heard His word.

The Blessing of the Tribes. Against the background of Jehovah’s love, Moses blesses the tribes of Israel. After the blessing of Reuben, Moses blesses Judah, saying, ‘Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah’. Prayer was characteristic of this tribe. Achsah, Jabez, and David who prayed, all belonged to Judah.

David prayed, ‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him’,Ps. 34. 6.

Later, David’s greater Son, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, prayed. He offered up, in dark Gethsemane, ‘prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears and was heard in that he feared’, Heb. 5. 7. Judah’s blessing included being heard by God. Another feature of the blessing was, ‘be thou an help to him from his enemies’. Judah’s history reveals that this tribe was foremost in warfare. Judah was the tribe that captured old Jerusalem, and went on to conquer numerous enemies. The book of Judges declares, ‘and the Lord was with Judah’, 1. 19.

Christians characterized by prayer have this confidence; God hears their prayers, and will give help in the battle against wicked spirits in heavenly places.