Deuteronomy 33:8

_AND OF LEVI HE SAID, LET THY THUMMIM AND THY URIM BE WITH THY HOLY ONE, WHOM THOU DIDST PROVE AT MASSAH, AND WITH WHOM THOU DIDST STRIVE AT THE WATERS OF MERIBAH;_ Of Levi he said. The burden of this blessing is the appointment of the Levites to the dignified and sacred office of the priesthood (Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 22:8; Deuteronomy 17:8); a reward for their zeal in supporting the cause of God, and their unsparing severity in chastising even their nearest and dearest relatives who had participated in the idolatry of the molten call (Exodus 32:26: cf....

8_And of Levi he said. _This qualification, or modification of the harsher sentence of Jacob was introduced not only for the sake of the tribe of Levi, but rather of the whole people. Jacob had said, “Simeon and Levi are brethren: instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, my tongue, (313) be not thou united,” (Genesis 49:5.) Assuredly their descendants might have been discouraged, or at least might have been regarded contemptuously, when a patriarch, and the founder of their race, had thus abominated them. God, however, afterwards consecrated this tribe to Himself, so that their sanctity might be communicated to the other tribes; which could not be the case unless their previous opprobrium were removed. But if

6-23 The order in which the tribes are here blessed, is not the same as is observed elsewhere. The blessing of Judah may refer to the whole tribe in general, or to David as a type of Christ. Moses largely blesses the tribe of Levi. Acceptance with God is what we should all aim at, and desire, in all our devotions, whether men accept us or not, 2 Corinthians 5:9. This prayer is a prophecy, that God will keep up a ministry in his church to the end of time. The tribe of Benjamin had their inheritance close to mount Zion. To be situated near the ordinances, is a precious gift from the Lord, a privilege not to be exchanged for any worldly advantage, or indulgence. We should thankfully receive the earthly blessings sent to us, through the successive seasons. But those good gifts which come down from the Father of lights, through the rising of the Sun of righteousness, and the pouring out of h...

Verse Deuteronomy 33:8. _OF LEVI HE SAID_] Concerning the _Urim_ and _Thummim_, Exodus 28:30, Exodus 28:30. _THY HOLY ONE_] Aaron primarily, who was anointed the high priest of God, and whose office was the most holy that man could be invested with. Therefore Aaron was called God's _holy one_, and the more especially so as he was the type of the MOST HOLY and blessed Jesus, from whom the _Urim _- all _light_ and _wisdom_, and _Thummim _- all _excellence, completion_, and _perfection_, are derived. _WHOM THOU DIDST PROVE, C._] God contended with Aaron as well as with Moses at the

THY HOLY ONE - i. e., Levi, regarded as the representative of the whole priestly and Levitical stock which sprang from him. The contrast between the tone of this passage and that of Genesis 49:5 is remarkable. Though the prediction of Jacob respecting the dispersion of this tribe held good, yet it was so overruled as to issue in honor and reward. The recovery of God’s favor is to be traced to the faithfulness with which Moses and Aaron, who came of this tribe, served God in their high offices; and to the zeal and constancy which conspicuous persons of the tribe (e. g. Phinehas, Numbers 25:11 ff), and the whole tribe itself (compare Exodus 32:26), manifested on critical occasions in supporting

EXPOSITION MOSES' BLESSING. Before ascending Mount Nebo, to take a view of the land he was not permitted to cuter and then to die, Moses took farewell of the people he had so long guided and ruled, by pronouncing on them a blessing in their several tribes. This blessing was probably spoken on the same day as the song recorded in the preceding chapter, and to the same assembly. The one may be regarded as the counterpart of the other. In the song, Moses dwells chiefly on the calamities that were to befall the people because of their apostasy; in the blessing, he depicts the benefits that were to be enjoyed by them through the Divine favor. The tone of the one is somber and minatory; the tone of the other is serene and cheering. The one presents the darker side, the other the brighter side, of Israel's fortunes. Both were fitting utterances for the occasion: the one the farewell warning, t...

AND OF LEVI HE SAID,.... That is, Moses said of the tribe of Levi, as both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: [LET] THY THUMMIM AND THY URIM [BE] WITH THY HOLY ONE; with Aaron, as the same Targums interpret it, who was of the tribe of Levi, and was a holy good man, a saint of the Lord, as he is called, Psalms 106:16; of the Urim and Thummim, which were with him and with every high priest, Exodus 28:30; and though they were not in use under the second temple, yet had their fulfilment in Christ the antitype of Aaron, who may be chiefly here intended; who is after called the Lord's Holy One, as he is, both as God and man, holy in both his natures, divine and human, and in his life and actions; and with him are the true Urim and Thummim, lights and perfections, the light o

THUMMIM (_ See Scofield) - (Exodus 28:30). _...

3. THE BLESSING OF MOSES Chapter S 32:44-33:29 _ 1. Introduction (Deuteronomy 32:44)_ 2. Jehovah's manifestation (Deuteronomy 33:1) 3. The blessing of Reuben, Judah and Levi (Deuteronomy 33:6) 4. The blessing of Benjamin and Joseph (Deuteronomy 33:12) 5. The blessing of Zebulon and Issachar (Deuteronomy 33:18) 6. The blessing of Gad, Dan, Nephtali and Asher ...

DEUTERONOMY 33. THE BLESSING OF MOSES. Of this poem (quite unconnected with the context) the following statements may be made: (_a)_ It was composed during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (786- 746 B.C.) A date after the disruption is required by Deuteronomy 33:7; a period of prosperity by Deuteronomy 33:13. Prior to 786 B.C. Israel had been ruled by petty kings, and after 746 B.C. the Northern Kingdom had a long and disastrous struggle with Damascus. (_b)_ The writer belonged to the Northern Kingdom, and therefore gives far more prominence to Israel (Joseph) than to Judah. (_c)_ He was a member of the priestly class (Deuteronomy 33:8). Accepting the above conclusions, it follo