Moses’ Blessings

Deuteronomy 33

            As Moses’ ministry (and his life) comes to an end, he makes a final blessing on Israel—Moses’ last words. One of the interesting things is that the tribes are listed in a unique order. Reuben is listed first, but even though he was the firstborn he did not receive the birthright. Fittingly, his blessing is very short. Judah comes next: he was the fourth son, but he inherited the birthright. Simeon, the second born, is never mentioned. Maybe that has to do with historical circumstance. Simeon’s territory was right in the center of Judah’s, and in many ways Simeon was always just considered part of Judah. So, there seems to be some commentary about the struggle to find a successor for Jacob.

            Levi, who was the third born son, who also was passed over for the birthright, is third here and has an extensive blessing. Levi’s blessing seems to focus on the fact that the tribe rallied to the Lord’s cause after the incident of the golden calf. (In this case not regarding father or mother and not recognizing brother or sister is cast as a good thing because Levi was so focused on the things of the Lord.) So, Levi’s blessing focuses on that tribe’s unique role as the priestly class and as the tabernacle workers.

            Benjamin, the last of 12 sons, is fourth; and Joseph, the 11^th son, but Jacob’s favorite, is fifth. I don’t know what to make of that. As Israel’s history unfolds, their first king, Saul, is of the tribe of Benjamin. But after the north and the south split, Ephraim becomes the prominent tribe of the north. Maybe this is a foretaste of that rivalry between the tribes that descend from Rachel’s two sons. Given that there’s implicit tension between Manasseh and Ephraim, too (Ephraim, Joseph’s second son, received Jacob’s blessing and here has his ten thousands; Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn, only has his thousands) may remind us of the hard feelings worked by favoritism.

            Once again, we are reminded of all the family drama of Jacob’s family, and implicitly we are forewarned that Israel is still a confederation of tribes more than a unified nation. It will take another 400 years for Israel to unite as one nation, a condition that will only last for about 120 years before they are torn by civil war. This is a condition that still exist among humans, that it is easier to tear apart than to bind together—whether we think about marriage and family or nations or the church. Maybe that’s why St. Paul is always so adamant that Christians strive for unity (see Ephesians and Philippians, especially).