Bible Study With Jairus

Deuteronomy 33: Moses' Prophecies to the Twelve Tribes- Blessed Be He Who Enlarges Gad

Introduction and Opening Prayer

Welcome to Bible Study with Jairus. Today we will continue our discussion of Moses' blessing and prophecy regarding the future of Gad, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. We will also explore Jacob's prophetic blessing over Gad, and examine what we can learn from Gad's experience as it applies to New Testament Christian life.

As I have mentioned many times, each story of the twelve tribes of Israel is a story of transformation from sinner to saint. It does not matter how you have sinned or where you started; both Jews and Gentiles are sinners. The book of Romans tells the story of transforming sinners into the many sons of God who come to the glory of God. So, the story of the twelve tribes is a story of transformation, turning different kinds of sinners into the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem.

We have already examined many of Jacob's sons. Today we enter into the prophecy regarding Gad, who was the son of Zilpah, Leah's maid, with Jacob.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to be with us and teach us. We will begin with prayer.

Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We come boldly to the throne of grace through the blood of Jesus Christ. By His blood, we can come to Your throne of grace to receive mercy, grace, and timely help. We ask for timely help today. We ask for daily manna today. We ask for Your heavenly bread today, because Your Word is bread for us.

Illuminate the Word of God in the Old Testament, the word of prophecy through the mouth of Moses and Jacob. Illuminate the Word of God through the presence of the Holy Spirit within us and upon us. We give glory to the Father and to Jesus Christ the Son, who paved the way for us to ask boldly. The Father gave us the Holy Spirit.

We thank You for sending the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son. We recognize and acknowledge Your continuous presence of the Holy Spirit within us. We ask for the cleansing of the precious blood of Jesus Christ upon our hearts, our mouths, our minds, our tongues, and our ears. Remove all veils by applying the blood of Christ. We further petition and request the anointing of the oil of the Holy Spirit in our ears and in our mouths.

I give all the members of my body as a living sacrifice, as weapons of righteousness, to utter the gracious Word and oracles of God in the name of Jesus Christ. We thank You, Holy Spirit, in advance for Your presence, for Your illumination, and for Your teaching to the people of God today. Amen.

The Story of Transformation

Each story of Jacob’s twelve sons is a story of transformation. Even if you are like Reuben, who committed sins of immorality and fornication, you will experience salvation and become one of the pearl gates in the New Jerusalem.

Or perhaps you are as twisted as Simeon, who thought the solution to his problems was to kill another person. Joseph was his target. So many people today are twisted into thinking that the way to solve their problems is to kill or eliminate others. Simeon was twisted to such a degree that he believed his problem in life was Joseph. He was probably the one who tried his hardest to kill Joseph. Otherwise, we cannot explain why Joseph later bound him up among all the other brothers who went to Egypt.

Growing up in a dysfunctional family like Jacob's was difficult. Jacob favored Rachel and her sons Joseph and Benjamin. I mentioned that his favoritism toward Joseph did not begin when he made the colorful coat. No, it started when Rachel took away the mandrakes from Reuben. It probably started early, perhaps when Joseph was allowed to eat the only egg or chicken at the dinner table.  Simeon may not have been allowed to do that.

I read a sermon by Charles Spurgeon. Do not quote me on this because I am speaking from memory, and I may be wrong. He said that the persecution of Cain toward Abel did not begin the moment Cain killed Abel. It began at the dinner table. Every day, Cain made fun of Abel for raising sheep instead of providing the family with produce.

The persecution among God's people always involves a relationship between God's people and God's tools. In Isaiah 19, God mentions that Israel is His inheritance, Egypt is His people (if I remember correctly), but Assyria his handiwork. The word “handiwork” was also translated as “tools” sometimes. Ishmael was His tool as well as Assyria. Ishmael was always a tool for God to chastise Israel. The dynamic relationship among God's people, among those created by God, even within a single family or a church, always includes some people whom Satan uses to instigate persecution against the people of God.

But in His infinite wisdom, God uses all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. Joseph’s brothers meant to do evil. They were instigated by Satan to hurt him, but God meant it for good. God turned the evil into good, so Joseph could be trained and perfected through the persecution. Eventually, he became the ruler of nations.

That is always the dynamic among the people of God. Even in Revelation, you have the greater body of Christ called "the woman" in chapter 12. Then you have the man child, the stronger part of the overcomer, the victor. All the environment God created, all the people around you, are the woman. All believers in the church are the woman. But out of the woman will come a stronger part: those who are firstfruits, overcomers, resurrected members of excellence, as the apostle Paul mentioned.

This does not mean that other members of the body, other members of the woman, other members of humanity will not be saved. No, that is not what it is saying. It is saying that God always works through a remnant, a group of overcomers, to fulfill His purpose. Among God's people, it is always that dynamic.

Jacob’s Dysfunctional Family

In Jacob’s dysfunctional family, there were twelve sons and one daughter. They hated each other. They showed partiality. They had different statuses: the sons of Leah, the sons of the two concubines or maids, and the sons of Rachel. This made for complicated relationships. But through the strife among different wives and children, God used difficulties to transform Jacob from a heel grabber into Israel, who wrestles with God, even becoming the prince of God.

In other words, without so many wives, so many children, and so many struggles in Jacob's life, he would not have experienced the transformation of God. God works through the environment. God hides Himself in all the people and matters in our lives. The dynamic structure of the twelve sons of Jacob, or the Israelites, is a picture of how God deals with any individual today.

You may not have four wives. You may not have twelve sons and one daughter, but you have a complicated life with your own circumstances. God is using that complicated network of circumstances, people, and matters around you to work good in you. You are Jacob today.

Don’t look at your life as easier than Jacob's. My life is not easier than Jacob's. Even I, with one wife, find that God uses marriage to correct and humble me in ways I would never choose for myself.  I mean that God sometimes uses marriage, uses our spouses, to correct us.  We may not always be joyful when the correction comes through our spouses or the people around us, but that does not mean God is not working through it.

Our lives are as complicated as Jacob's, even if we do not have four wives and twelve children. Perhaps you have four wives through divorces. Life can be complicated.

Through this complicated network of family matters, people, hatred, strife, and fighting against each other, dynamic relationships and characters are being formed. Watchman Nee, a Chinese Christian, mentioned in his writing that none of God's people become saved without experiencing suffering. They either become soft toward God and are transformed like Jacob through the circumstances, or they become hardened. They become hard-hearted. They hate God because their prayers for healing, for their parents, for their mothers, or for other requests were not answered. Their hearts become hard.

There are trials and difficulties in life. Through these, you develop character. If God is sovereign, there will be difficult environments, and a difficult network of relationships in life. Your unique characteristics, your way of reacting to your surroundings, are being shaped.

The Character of Reuben

I said that Reuben was probably reacting to his father's neglect toward his mother and toward Rachel's maid. Both were neglected because Leah did not choose to sleep with another man when her husband neglected her. Instead, she tried to give him babies to woo him and gain back his love. That is why she tried to give him babies one after another. After this last baby, she said, "This time my husband will be united with me because I gave him six sons."

Rachel probably had Jacob's attention all the time. To the point that Leah had to rent Jacob for one night to produce Zebulun. That was probably not a pleasant experience when Reuben had to give up his mandrakes to Rachel, becoming the price for his mother to rent his father to sleep with her for one night. It is not a pleasant experience. If I were a child, I definitely would not be proud of this.

Of course, Rachel's maid was neglected as well. In Chinese history, there is a story about a wealthy landlord who had many wives. He could not visit all of them. So, some wives, burning with desire, would find a young man to sleep with. Then the rich man would find out and kill the young man or the concubine. It is an everlasting story in Chinese literature because the Chinese have a long tradition of having many wives. It was the same in biblical accounts.

I think Rachel's maid was neglected. Both of them were instigated by Satan to fall into fornication and defile Jacob’s bed. I have mentioned again and again why Reuben did not sleep with his mother's maid. They were probably closer to him, like family members. But Rachel's maid was more like a distant member of the bigger family. So, his way of reacting to the environment, the suffering, neglect, and difficulty in his life, was fornication.

That is on the surface. But the inward motive was revenge through sleeping with his father's wife, a distant member of the family, to bring humiliation to his father. That was the hidden motive of revenge. "You neglected me, you neglected my mother, I will get back at you."

But Reuben was not one hundred percent twisted into becoming a monster. Even though he fell into fornication, he was not as twisted as Simeon, who tried to kill Joseph, thinking Joseph was the problem. Or that Rachel was the problem. Getting rid of your enemy was the way to solve your own problem. No.

Why? Because Reuben was the firstborn, and firstborn sons in that culture received a special measure of love and attention, at least for a season. Every parent loves their firstborn with a particular tenderness. Jacob would have been no different. Reuben had his fair share of his father's love in those early years, and that early experience of being loved, even partially, kept him from becoming fully hardened.

This is something I understand from my own family. My father was the firstborn son of my grandfather, and he was treasured as a baby. My father told me a story from his childhood in rural China, where in those days the kitchen and the area where horses were kept were sometimes in the same building. One day my father, still a very small child, wandered into that space and cried out, startling a horse. The horse did not actually kick him, but my grandfather, hearing the noise and seeing the horse rear up, assumed the worst and rushed in and beat the horse severely. That was old China, and I am not defending mistreating animals, but the story reveals how fiercely my grandfather loved his firstborn son. He would punish a horse on behalf of that child without a second thought.

But things change. As my father grew older and more siblings came along, that fierce favoritism shifted to a younger aunt and uncle. By the time I was old enough to observe my grandfather, I never once saw him treat my father with that same special tenderness my father had described. Yet my father's account of those early years was vivid and certain. He had been treasured. He knew it. And that early experience of love, even though it faded, was enough to keep something in him from going fully dark. The same was true of Reuben. He sinned deeply, but he was not a monster. He still had enough of a father's love embedded in him to try to protect Joseph when the others wanted to kill him.

Prophecy Based on Character

Many prophecies Jacob gave to his children were based on his observation of their character. Jacob did not give a lot of prophecies arbitrarily. He gave each one based on his observation of how they dealt with the environment in the complicated dynamic of Jacob's family.

Reuben reacted with hatred and fornication toward his father, and he lost his firstborn right. When Simeon was pushed to a certain point, he wanted to kill Joseph. That is my own interpretation from the Bible. I think Simeon was the leader who plotted the scheme to kill Joseph because Joseph later only bound him. Levi was probably just a brother who followed suit, following Simeon and helping him kill. But later Levi changed direction. He became one who stood together with Moses and with God to kill those who worshiped idols. He experienced transformation.

I also talked about Judah. He experienced his fair share of falling, going down to the land of Moab, losing his wife, losing his two sons. This was judgment from God. Three people died in his family, all his loved ones. When he went out to find comfort, he got tricked by Tamar.

In the experience of Judah, and in Moses' blessing to Judah and Jacob's blessing for Judah, I quoted the words of Moses: "God hears the cries of Judah." There must have been a place, a hidden, sacred place where Judah repented. In Judah's life story, he became the mediator between his father Jacob and his son Benjamin. When Benjamin was requested by Joseph to visit Egypt in order to get more food, everyone was afraid. Jacob was afraid of losing Benjamin as he had lost Joseph.  Judah rose and said, "Let Benjamin go with me. If Benjamin is harmed, kill one of my sons." He rose up and became a leader among his brothers.

Many of Jacob's prophecies were based on his observation of the characteristics of each of his twelve sons. I mentioned that he prophesied over Issachar. He prophesied that Issachar was someone who loved being quiet, like a donkey, hardworking and willing to carry the load, willing to lie down in the sheepfold, never complaining.

Then I compared this with Moses' prophecy to Issachar, calling Issachar blessed in the tent. I mentioned the characteristics of the prophetic gift. You have to dwell in the tent of God. You have to have a character that is able to remain quiet before the Lord so you can hear the voice of God. One of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament, Elijah, heard the word of the Lord not in the storm, not in the wind, but in the still small voice after the earthquake. You have to be quiet to be able to listen and hear the voice of the Lord. That is a prerequisite of the prophetic gift.

The prophets we read about in the Old Testament are still here among us. But they're different from apostles, or evangelists. Evangelists are the outgoing ones, the life-of-the-party types. They're always talking with people, connecting with everyone they meet, giving high-fives and handshakes all around.

But here's the thing: they probably don't spend the same kind of time in the tent that a prophet does. And when I say "the tent," I'm talking about that sacred space, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God, the tabernacle where we meet with Him face to face. That's where prophets tend to linger.

To really be still before God—to take on that calling as an intercessor, staying up late while the world sleeps, praying and pleading for God's purposes and for His people—you need to carry something of Issachar's character within you.

 

Think of it like this: you're willing to be the donkey in the sheepfold. You're content to lie down in that quiet place, carrying heavy burdens that nobody else sees, asking for nothing in return, just giving all the glory to God. That's the heart of it. It's why Jacob spoke that prophecy over Issachar the way he did; he saw that character, that willingness to serve unseen and bear the weight without fanfare.

If you go back to Genesis 49 and read carefully about each prophecy regarding the sons of Jacob, you can trace this hint. Every prophecy regarding each son of Jacob started from the characteristic of that person that Jacob observed in the dynamic, complicated environment of these twelve sons, these four wives, this big family. It’s about how you react to things and how you develop your character.

Look at Judah, too. Jacob watched him transform, really saw who he was becoming, and blessed him for it. He called out what he saw: "You're a lion, a lion's cub, a lioness. You devour the enemy. You overcome."

Here's the beautiful thing; every single one of Jacob's sons received a prophecy shaped by what Jacob observed in their character, right there in the midst of their circumstances. And it's the same for you. Through your own character, through your own one-of-a-kind uniqueness, like a snowflake that God specially crafted, He has a calling that fits only you.

If you want to speak prophetically into someone's life today, start by really seeing who they are, their character, the way God has shaped them. Now, I know prophecy flows from revelation, but here's something I've found: when you can pinpoint what makes someone tick, when you recognize the character God has built in them, you can speak right into that place.

That's the key, really understanding how God created them, how He's been molding their character all along, and how He intends to use that unique shaping for His purposes.

A Personal Example

For example, let me use my own story. In 2015, I left the Local Church Movement, the Chinese evangelical church initiated by Watchman Nee, and moved toward the Pentecostal church and charismatic/prophetic movement. I was eager to pursue the gift of prophecy. I encountered many people who have prophetic gifts.

A couple of months ago, I ran into a lady who is very gifted in the prophetic. When she saw me, she immediately spoke the word of the Lord to me. She said, "I see the sun rising. God will open doors for you for your ministry and financial blessings.  Then, she said something that really resonated in my heart. She said, "One of the great characteristics God loves about you is your willingness to take risks when you know it is from the Lord."

The reason this struck such a chord with me is that a few months earlier, God had planted this desire in my heart to reach out to someone, a key figure in the Chinese democratic movement. But the situation around me was pretty threatening; there was real danger, the potential for real harm if I went through with it. Still, it felt like the Lord was leading me, so I stepped out and did it.

Sure enough, the leader of the movement was furious with me, and it created some ripple effects among the people close to me. But I knew it was God, so I took that risk anyway. I genuinely believe God called me to share the gospel with these people, to minister to members of that movement. He gave me that burden, and I felt it clearly from the Holy Spirit, this prompting to speak to him about repentance, especially while he was going through such a hard time. But he wouldn't hear it. He was angry.

I don't know how it will all unfold, but God has shown me that eventually, this person will come to faith. Still, every promise has its conditions—and the condition is repentance. So, I took the chance. I took a great risk, facing a lot of criticism, even among people close to me. I took the chance. I paid the price. Her words really encouraged me.

I am not a smart person, but I am bold sometimes. I am fearful at times, but I am bold if I know it is from the Lord. So, if you want to prophesy over somebody, of course you need revelation. But the prophecy Jacob gave his sons started from his observation of the characteristics of each of his twelve sons.

I mentioned Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Benjamin, Joseph, Issachar, and Zebulun. Today I am talking about Gad. What characteristic do we see in Gad?

I give you this illustration to show you that even when we receive revelation regarding a person, it does not take away our observation of their characteristic, how they react in the environment God created for them, or in the difficult, complicated network of life God has put them in. Jesus told us that nothing is outside the control of God the Father. If there is no permission from the Father God, not even one sparrow will fall from heaven. Every one of your hairs is counted by God the Father. In Romans 8, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us so that all things work together for our good.

What is Gad's most prominent characteristic? Understanding this is essential to grasping the prophecy spoken over him. Jacob's prophecy about Gad, which addresses his future and calling, serves as the seed. Moses' prophecy builds upon this foundation, developing it further. Gad is no longer merely one man but has become a tribe. Thus, Moses' prophecy nurtures the seed planted by Jacob, cultivating it within Gad's destiny and the calling of his descendants.

Jacob's Prophecy Over Gad

Let us read Genesis 49, verse 19 first. It is a very short description, prophecy, or blessing to Gad through the mouth of Jacob. Very short. But in this very short prophecy, we can see the characteristic of Gad that Jacob observed in his time with him.

Genesis 49, verse 19 says: "Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels." Let me read that again. Genesis 49, verse 19: "Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels."

When I was a child, I was slight of frame and lacking in strength, yet I possessed a stubborn resilience. During a scuffle with a village boy, he pushed me to the ground and pinned me beneath him, but still I would not yield. Even with him sitting on my face, I fought back and bit him. Years later, when I told this tale to my daughter, she laughed at the picture it painted. But I want her to understand the heart of it: I never gave up. I never gave up.

I want you to use your imagination and look at the complicated situation Gad lived in. When he was born, he already had four older brothers: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. After four sons were born to Leah and Jacob, Leah could not have any more babies. So, in her constant struggle and fight with Rachel, she came up with the idea: "Let me give my maid Zilpah to my husband Jacob, so he can have more sons through my maid."

I do not know why Leah's strategy was just to give him baby after baby. Maybe babies made Jacob happy because at that time Rachel could not have a baby. So probably Jacob had his fair share of joyful moments with his sons. His sons made him happy to a certain extent. He probably enjoyed the company of his sons and loved them. That is possibly why Leah was thinking, "Okay, give me more sons, make him happier, so I can win over my husband."

She gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and Jacob went into Zilpah and had another son. This son was called Gad. Gad is the fifth son of Jacob, but not the fifth son of Leah. He was named Gad which means "lucky" because Leah claimed, oh, I am lucky. I have another son.

Then of course Jacob had another son with Zilpah, named Asher. We will talk about the blessings of Moses over Asher, and the prophecy to Asher by Jacob, next time. But today we are going to dwell on Gad.

Gad's Difficult Position

Imagine the complicated situation and family dynamic that Gad lived in. When he was born, he was not Jacob or Rachel’s favorite. He was Leah’s maid’s son . His four older brothers formed their own tight-knit tribe, a proud and powerful kingdom like lions. Think of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, especially given the fierce natures of Simeon and Levi. When those four brothers came together, they were like a pack of lions. They might have said, "You want to fight with us, Gad?  You are just the son of a maid. Even with your lowly status, we might let you join our group. But you have to submit to us and do whatever we tell you to do."

While this takes some imagination, I hope it is a holy imagination. This is a very common situation in big families. When you are not the firstborn and you are not born of the same mother, you are more than likely going to be mistreated.

Some scholars suggest that David was born to a concubine or even a prostitute rather than Jesse's wife. According to this view, that is why he was sent out to the wilderness to tend the sheep. He was not even invited to the family dinner when the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse's sons. After Samuel had looked at all seven sons, he asked, "Do you have another son?" Jesse replied, "Oh, yes, we do, but he is hardly worth mentioning. It is David, and he is out tending the sheep." Samuel firmly responded, "Call him. If you do not call him, I am not leaving. I am not going through with this." Even Eliab, the firstborn of Jesse, showed a proud attitude when David finally arrived. This kind of exclusion is highly unusual when children share the same mother. Throughout human history, when siblings are born of the same mother, both the parents and older siblings are usually very caring and protective toward the youngest. As a younger brother in my own family, I know firsthand that we are almost always overprotected.

So, David was probably not the legitimate son, or not of the same mother as the other brothers. Not being born of the same mother, even as the maid of Leah, sometimes makes it hard for you to blend in.

Let me use American words because I am an immigrant. I am a Chinese American. I know many immigrants, second generation immigrants, who have a hard time blending into American culture. I have encountered so many second and third generation Chinese who do not consider themselves Chinese. They consider themselves Americans. But when they go out into society, they are told to go back to China. They are not blending in. They want to become Americans. That is why we give second and third generation Chinese Americans the nickname "banana." We call them yellow on the outside but white on the inside. They want to become American. They want to be recognized as American. But when they grow up, they always have a hard time blending in and being accepted as other Americans.

Nowadays it is better, but that is a common experience not only of second and third generation Chinese Americans, but of many immigrant Americans and their children. They do not identify with their parents' home country, whether China, Somalia, or other country. They identify as Americans. But when they grow up in American society, they are ostracized by some Americans. "Go back to China. Go back to Somalia. Go back to Africa. Go back to Vietnam. Go back to Korea." They have a hard time blending in.

When we consider modern American society, which is a diverse melting pot, we can imagine how difficult it was for Gad to blend into his family. He was Jacob’s first son born to Leah’s maid Zilpah and she bore Asher next.  Later on Rachel gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin, while Leah had two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun. However, that all happened later.   He was the an outsider among the children, and he struggled to fit in. Even though Leah's children sometimes felt abandoned and neglected by their father, they still stood together as four strong lions. They formed a tight-knit pride. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah bound themselves together as one because they shared the same mother. When one said, "Let's go," all four went together because of that maternal bond. They loved each other, acting as a single tribe and a single pride.

When Gad entered this family, he unfortunately became the scapegoat for the other children like his half brother Dan. This is a common part of the human experience that we see everywhere. When I was a child, I noticed this dynamic in school, in our village. It is true now even across American society. Many children are born completely innocent and have no concept of race or prejudice. However, when they witness their parents or the culture around them mistreating certain groups, they learn to pick on those same people at school simply because they are vulnerable. It is a painful cycle. Sometimes, when you are picked on by your parents at home, you end up targeting other weaker individuals. You use them as a scapegoat to deal with your own pain. It is a deeply human, yet heartbreaking, reality.

When the intense hatred and neglect among Leah’s four children bound them together, they certainly were not saints. Was Levi a saint? Was Simeon a saint? No, they were flawed, destructive people. Hurt people hurt people, and sinners sin. Because they felt neglected and mistreated by their father, by Rachel, or by anyone they perceived as an enemy, they took their anger out on others. They were ready to mistreat, bully, and chase down anyone they could use as a target.

Remember, when Gad was born, Joseph had not even been born yet. Eventually, however, Joseph became the ultimate scapegoat for their deep-rooted family problems. At least two of the four brothers, Reuben and Judah, tried to protect Joseph because they were more mature and did not want to break their father’s heart. On the other hand, Simeon, likely alongside Levi, wanted to use Joseph as a scapegoat for his own life frustrations. He simply wanted to get rid of him.

He thought to himself, "If I can just get rid of Joseph, all my problems will vanish." We see this same dangerous mindset throughout human history. It is like thinking that if a group of people eliminate another group of people, their problems will suddenly be solved. No, it does not work that way. When the Chinese people were humiliated and mistreated by Western imperialism, a deep hatred grew. Some thought, "If we get rid of all Westerners and European people to conquer the world, we will regain the glory of China." No, it simply does not work that way. It is the same when Palestinians think that killing Jews, or Jews think that killing Palestinians, will solve their problems. The solution is not to eliminate the people you feel God is using to challenge you.

Sometimes, God allows external pressures, like Ishmael in biblical history, to refine and deal with your character. God is watching to see exactly how you will react. Will you respond with faith, love, and a tender heart, allowing your difficult environment to discipline you? Will you allow it to shape you into a Joseph, ultimately receiving the fruit of righteousness? Or will you become hardhearted like Pharaoh, entirely consumed by hatred? Ultimately, God is watching your heart.

I really can’t imagine when Gad came along, his four brothers were as joyful as Leah was.  No. They were going to pick on him, chase him and try to take him down through bullying him. They were going to make fun of him and use him as a scapegoat because Joseph was not born yet. When Joseph was born, he eventually became the ultimate scapegoat. For a season, Gad was the unfortunate one.

The Spirit of Gad: Fighting Back

That is why, in the prophecy of Jacob, which I have mentioned again and again, his prophecy is first and foremost based on his observation of the character of his son and how he reacted to the complicated environment surrounding him.

When Gad was chased by other people, he may have run away for a time, but he didn’t stop there. He fought back. That is the spirit of Gad.

When Simeon, using him as our example of the antagonist, tried to chase Gad, trip him, mock him, and bully him, Gad simply would not tolerate it. He would fight back fiercely. Throughout Gad's childhood, Jacob spent a lot of time watching his sons, and he quickly noticed this defining trait. Gad would not accept being mistreated. He would stand up for himself and push back. That was the resilient, intrinsic characteristic of Gad that Jacob observed from the very beginning.

So, Jacob recorded his prophecy to his son Gad in just one sentence. He said in Genesis 49, verse 19: "Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels."

Perhaps Simeon tried to raid Gad, trip him up, or set him up for failure. Ultimately, however, Gad overcame by fighting back and raiding right back at his enemy's heel. The biblical passage uses plurals here, speaking of raiders and how Gad shall raid at their heels. This phrasing reveals that it was not just one individual trying to bully him. Instead, it was likely a band of attackers or a collective group, perhaps even all four of his older brothers acting together. While Reuben and Judah were relatively better, they were still just kids at the time. They were four brothers banding together, thinking that they could conquer their world if they worked as a team. They viewed themselves as four powerful lions who would dominate the territory, demanding that everyone else submit to their leadership.

Gad completely rejected that demand and fought back every single time. This is exactly what Jacob observed in the character of his son. Jacob recorded this lifelong observation and, flowing from it, prophesied the ultimate destiny and calling of the tribe of Gad. He predicted that while enemies would pursue them, they would fiercely fight back and pursue those enemies to the very end.

We must learn from the powerful spirit of Gad. For too long, the modern church has allowed itself to be pursued and harassed by the enemy. Today, we need to lay hold of that same resilient spirit of Gad. We must fight back, raid at the enemy's heels, and drive the enemy away completely. For the past fifty years or so, the body of Christ has played a purely defensive game rather than going on the offense. We simply cannot live that way any longer. A true revival is coming. The church of Jesus Christ and his body across the world must take offensive measures. We must pursue the enemy's heels and overcome them entirely. That is the true spirit of Gad, and it is exactly the spirit we need today. The church must rise up to chase down its enemies, refusing to let the enemy continue to bully us and wear us out.

Moses' Prophecy: The Development of the Seed

I have finished the first portion of the prophecy on Gad. I gave you a general understanding of how the characteristics of each of Jacob’s sons were reactions to the complicated situations they were in. Character is developed through the environment and your reaction to the environment you are surrounded by.

The second point I gave you is that Jacob's prophecy toward his sons was first based on his observation of the characteristics of his different sons.

Now let us move into the third section. Moses’ prophecy regarding the tribe of Gad is a further development of the natural characteristics and the spiritual seed that Jacob first mentioned. By the time Moses pronounced his blessing, Gad was no longer just a single individual. They had matured into a full tribe, one of the twelve pillars of Israel, and a mighty army of God.

When Moses blessed Gad, he was no longer speaking over a tiny seed. He was addressing a fully grown tree with branches, charting the development of God’s calling on the tribe’s future. It reveals how God purposefully uses every harsh environment and difficult trial to mold Gad and his descendants. Ultimately, this refining process transforms the tribe so they can become a pearl gate in the New Jerusalem. God will use them to usher many souls, both Jews and Gentiles, into His eternal kingdom. You have to view the entire journey from this eternal perspective.

By the time Moses gives blessing to the tribe of Gad, it is no longer an acorn seed. It has become a tree already. You can see the leaves, the trunk, the branches, and all the details. The characteristic Jacob observed in his son Gad eventually developed into a tree, a calling of God for this entire tribe.

Moses continued to prophesy over Gad with words that help us connect all these pieces together. He declared, "Blessed is he who enlarges Gad." It is a powerful truth. God is actively enlarging you, Gad, through your deepest difficulties. We see this pattern throughout scripture; God enlarged Joseph through profound suffering. Personally, God has expanded my own capacity to such a great extent through the trials I have faced. I do not think I could have developed this kind of endurance any other way. While my natural capacity may not be any greater than yours, my spiritual capacity has been greatly enlarged by navigating these difficult circumstances.

When I first married my wife, there were many other young couples in our church. I watched so many of them easily have one baby, then two, then three. They were completely caught up in the busy rush of family life. But I could not experience that. Instead, I spent ten years praying for at least two hours every single day, often spending my lunch breaks in prayer. Sometimes I prayed up to eight hours a day because I would seek God in the morning, at noon, and through the evening. For ten long years, I prayed and prayed and prayed. I consecrated my life, dedicated myself to His service, repented of all my sins, and made promises to the Lord about my future. I would say, "If You bless me with a child, oh, how wonderful that would be."

During that season, my wife and I spent countless hours arguing, filled with tears and sleepless nights. Eventually, we finally experienced a spiritual breakthrough. Sometime later, I talked with my wife and asked her, "If we had not gone through those ten years of suffering, would we have the spiritual maturity we possess today?" I am certainly not comparing myself to you. You may be far more mature than I am, and perhaps you do not need to walk through that kind of suffering. But back then, I was not mature, either spiritually or psychologically. I was simply not ready to be used by God to fulfill the calling He had on my life. I had to go through that painful process, just like so many people in the biblical record who endured long periods of barrenness before experiencing God's miraculous healing.

I went through this. Eventually my wife and I came to a conclusion. We would not trade it for another way, an easier life, an easier path. Otherwise, we would not have the enlargement of our hearts in terms of knowing the nature of God and loving others. Loving through suffering enlarges you.

Even in physical training, we know the rule: no pain, no gain. My trainer always tells me, "The exact moment you feel like you cannot lift the weight one more time, that is the moment you achieve a breakthrough. That is when you enlarge your muscle and build the muscle memory needed to gain more power." When you want to give up completely, that is the exact time you need to push through a couple more repetitions, because that is where the growth happens.

It is the same when you go through difficult seasons in life. When you are caught in a constantly complicated situation, like being the child who does not share the same mother as the four older kids, facing constant exclusion, bullying, and pressure, God is using that environment to expand your capacity. Gad ultimately received that divine enlargement. He rose up, stood his ground, and fought back.

The Lion of Gad

Moses continued his prophecy over Gad in the next part of this verse, declaring, "Gad crouches like a lion." He crouches to find the perfect opportunity to fight back. His older brothers, the four sons of Leah, may have acted like a proud pack of lions trying to tear him down, but Gad learned to crouch like a lion himself to strike back. Moses then used the vivid phrase, "He tears off arm and scalp." This intense, pictorial language describes the fierce nature of Gad’s warfare against his enemies, or perhaps the early friction against his brothers. Because he has the nature of a lion, he crouches, fights back, and completely dismantles the strength of his adversaries.

The body of Christ today desperately needs to pick up this spirit of Gad. For the last half-century, believers all over the world have been pushed onto the defensive, living in a state of defeat rather than going on the offense. We cannot remain passive. We must lift the banner of God, carry the ark of His presence, and pursue the enemy until the victory is complete. We are standing on the edge of a highly victorious season right now. This powerful mandate is found right in Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse 20.

Choosing the Best Land

Moses continues to say in verse 21, "He chose the best of the land for himself." He wasn’t being humble. He chose the best land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved.

I am not sure if Moses was referring to the land on the east side of the Jordan River that he gave to the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.   Because Moses continued to say, "And he came with the heads of the people. With Israel he executed the justice of the Lord and His judgments for Israel."

If this refers to Gad getting the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River, he promised to come with the heads of the people, or the leaders, or the fighters, with the other Israelites entering into the good land to execute the justice of the Lord, to kill all the Canaanites, and execute the judgment for Israel. It could be true.

We know in 1 Chronicles 5, verses 18 to 26, that all the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh were taken away by the kings of Assyria, instigated by God because they worshiped idols. They failed at one point, as many other Israelites did.

But do not underestimate the characteristics Gad and his tribe possessed. They eventually would fight back.

The Spirit of Gad Today

Today, many of the descendants of the tribes of Jacob remain in a state of defeat. Many of them are still in captivity. Even the small number of Jewish people currently living in the Promised Land have not yet reached the end-time harvest of God. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapters 9 and 11, the ultimate fulfillment of the whole household of Israel being saved has not yet come. We have not reached that final consummation where all the descendants of Israel's tribes are harvested to become the twelve pearl gates of the New Jerusalem. We are simply not there yet. Many remain in spiritual captivity. Because they have rejected Christ, they do not recognize that the Messiah has already come. They remain bound to a certain extent, because true freedom can only be found in Jesus Christ.

But eventually God will mark the twelve, twelve thousand in each tribe, who will not be harmed. And there will be 144,000 standing in the heavenly Zion singing worship to God. In the vision of God's sea, there are also multitudes of people, both Jews and Gentiles, who will sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb together. We are not there yet. Jews are not saved yet. But eventually they will get there because the spirit of Gad is still alive today.

To the best of my ability, this is how I explain the prophecy of Gad. It begins with Jacob observing Gad's unique characteristics and how he reacted to growing up in that incredibly complicated family dynamic. Through these intense circumstances and difficulties, God works to enlarge the capacity of everyone involved. Over time, Gad picked up the spirit of a true fighter. This warrior identity is explicitly highlighted in First Chronicles 5:18, which notes that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men who carried shields, swords, and bows into battle. They are true warriors who know how to fight. They might experience defeat at times, but they will always fight back.

 

 

Conclusion: Fight Back

Jacob's final blessing to his son Gad was very simple, yet profound. Let me read this verse again as a conclusion. He said to his son Gad: "Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels."

In America, the church has experienced intense spiritual opposition, feeling pursued and targeted by modern cultural movements such as the LGBTQ movement. When faith-based business owners faced severe legal consequences and the threat of prison for upholding traditional marriage values, many believers felt deeply alarmed. In response, American patriots and people of faith channeled the resilient spirit of Gad, declaring that they would not let their religious freedom slip away. They chose to stand their ground, actively participated in the political process, and ultimately helped elect Donald Trump as president.

Through his leadership, significant efforts have been made to protect this nation, advocate for freedom in countries like Venezuela and Iran, and defend vulnerable Christians being martyred in Nigeria. None of this is a mere coincidence. This perspective transcends standard politics; it is about recognizing that God is stirring up that same courageous spirit of Gad for our modern times. Where believers have previously lost ground, it is time to recover it. The body of Christ must confidently carry this responsibility, rising up to push back as the enemy attempts to wear the church down.

Closing Remarks

Hopefully, this has been an encouraging hour together, and I truly appreciate you tuning in. Personally, I am also striving to lay hold of that resilient spirit of Gad. There are many times when I feel defeated. When I record a broadcast, I believe the presence of the Holy Spirit is near and that I have a genuine word from God to share, and I long for more people to listen.  I may not have a large platform, yet I truly believe this message is from the Lord, and I need your prayers. I would be so grateful for your help to repost, like, comment, and share this content with your friends. You can support this work by searching for Jairus Bible World Ministry on Google Maps or by looking up Bible Study with Jairus on Apple Podcasts.

I am currently collaborating with American editors to transform these spoken sermons into polished, well-written podcasts and blogs, and we have already completed a brand-new episode. My ultimate hope is to turn all of this revelation from the Holy Spirit into freely accessible podcasts, blog posts, and books.

This takes time and money to accomplish. I work as a translator to support myself and this ministry.  If you feel led to help get these messages out by donating I would be truly grateful.

Bible Study with Jairus

Deuteronomy 33: Moses’ Prophecies to the Twelve Tribes — Joseph: Righteous Fruit From Suffering

Welcome Back

Welcome back to Bible Study with Jairus. It has been a little while since we met last; the holiday season took us out of town for some good family time. But now we are back and returning to our normal schedule. We want to continue our daily Bible study series. We have been working through Deuteronomy, and we hope to finish out Deuteronomy 33. We are also hoping to spend more time on the story of Joseph.

I checked, there is so much in the story of Joseph. We have Jacob’s prophecy for Joseph, and also Moses’ blessing to Joseph. I may eventually get into the full details of Deuteronomy 33 verses 13 through 17 or 18 regarding how Moses blessed Joseph. But before that, I want to continue the thought we began last time. I believe it was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The Life of Joseph and the Life of Benjamin

I mentioned last time that if you don’t have the life of Joseph within you — which represents the freedom in you through the gospel, through knowing the Word of God — then you cannot maintain the freedom outside of you in the land, which is represented by Benjamin. Why do I say that? Because Benjamin is the place where Jerusalem dwells. I talked about the experience of Benjamin; Benjamin is where Jerusalem dwells, where the temple dwells, where the presence of God dwells. In the land of Benjamin, you have the temple and the presence of God.

But when the Israelites fell into idol worship and forsook God, God forsook the temple. Of course God loves the temple. The temple is the presence of God. David wanted to build a temple for God. God told him, “Heaven is my sitting place, my seat, and the earth is my footstool. All of heaven and earth belongs to me. I am too big for your temple. But because you desire to build a temple for me, you deserve my presence. I am granting that wish to you, but not through you. You cannot build a temple for me because your hands have much blood on them, because you are man of war. I will raise someone from your loins, Solomon. He will become a prince of peace. He will build the temple for me and I will dwell among my people. You can come to the temple to worship me, and I will bless you with my presence and many other blessings.”

But eventually, the Israelites fell into idol worship and fell away from God and lost their freedom in the Word of God. In New Testament terms, from a Christian perspective, when you lose your freedom in the gospel, you become a slave of sin. You become a fallen, degraded, perverted, prodigal son. You fall away from the freedom in Christ Jesus, and then you can no longer maintain the outward presence and manifestation of God, which is the New Jerusalem, the temple of God.

So the experience of Joseph represents the freedom within, and the experience of Benjamin represents the freedom without.

The Illustration of Europe

I use the illustration of Europe. Europe was almost fully Christianized. Most of those countries were Christian countries. On the outside, they had the freedom to worship, the freedom to assemble, and the forms of Christian nations. But when the people of Europe lost the essence of the gospel as well as the freedom within through the gospel and the knowledge of the Word of God; eventually they could not maintain the outward appearance of worship, the freedom of worship, and the outward presence of God.

This is not something that only happened to Israel. God allowed Nebuchadnezzar and the Romans to destroy the temple. Of course, God treasured His temple, loved His tabernacle, and loved His presence among His people. In the book of Ezekiel, God showed Ezekiel a vision of His temple, and there were corrupted things within it. And then in that very vision, Ezekiel saw the glory and presence of God depart from the temple. When you cannot maintain the freedom of the gospel and the Word of God within you; when you no longer walk in the freedom that comes from following the law of God; God will not maintain a religious structure on the outside just to make you look good. God would rather abandon a religious institution where there is no longer any presence or movement of the Holy Spirit.

God would rather allow your outward religious freedom and freedom of worship to be destroyed, because you have already lost your freedom within. If you cannot maintain Jerusalem in your heart, the presence of God in your heart, you cannot keep Jerusalem on the outside. I am using figurative language here, an illustration. And I am not only drawing from European history, I am drawing from American history as well, especially the last fifty years.

America’s Fifty Years of Spiritual Decline

We all know the degradation of faith in America and how it has affected the political realm and the morality of society. I have heard people quote the founder Adams, that the Constitution was written on paper, and it was based on a moral people, and a moral people was based on religion. In other words, if we are going to keep the Constitution and live by the principles of the Bible that are built into it, we must have a moral people. When the morality of the American people falls below a certain standard, you can no longer truly follow the Constitution.

I have also heard from Christian scholars on the right that when Jefferson wrote his famous letter about the separation of church and state, he was writing to a Baptist church. He was saying that America would not allow a state-sponsored church, referring to the largest denomination at the time, the United Methodist Church. I want to be clear; I am not an American expert, so please look this up yourself. I am only using this as an illustration. Jefferson was saying the state should not set up a state Christian denomination or a state religion, as the European nations had done. The early settlers had fled persecution from the Catholic church and later from state churches. That is what Jefferson was addressing. But over time, that meaning was twisted to mean that the church cannot have any influence in society, politics, or public affairs.

We have seen the result. Starting in the 1940s and 1950s, with the removal of the Bible from schools and the banning of public prayer, there came a steady degradation of faith in America, a decrease in the Christian population as a proportion of society, and a decline in moral standards.

Religious Freedom Under Threat

Eventually America reached a point where the freedom of worship and religion came under real threat. A Christian couple who owned a cake shop could be sued and face prison simply for not cooperating in making a cake for a homosexual wedding. They were exercising their religious freedom and acting according to their conscience, but the law was twisted to frame it as discrimination. Christians found themselves unable to pray publicly at football games or in stadiums. You face genuine persecution and the danger of losing your religious freedom.

But because a significant portion of Americans are still Bible-believing Christians, not a majority necessarily, but a large number of patriots who believe the Word of God; they have fought back.  

Every wise Christian leader knows this is only a temporary window. If there is no revival to turn the tide of spiritual decline in America; if the morality of the nation is not truly changed, the political effort will not last.  Without a revival coming to America, you will still eventually lose ground. Because, as I said before, if you do not maintain the freedom within, through the knowledge of God and the gospel, you will lose your freedom without. That is certain. I am giving you the example of Europe, the example of America, and I could give more examples from China, Muslim countries, Venezuela, and other parts of the developing world.

Why Dictatorships Exist: William Penn’s Principle

Why do we have dictatorships in China and in so many Muslim countries? I am quoting William Penn’s famous words: if you don’t serve God, you will serve Pharaoh. You will serve a dictatorship. The very reason we have dictatorships in China and so many other countries is because the majority of the people there have not heard the gospel, do not know God, do not have the life of Jesus Christ, and do not have freedom within. That is why they cannot have freedom without. If you look at Christian countries, especially America; why do they have freedom? It is because they have the freedom within. God allows them the experiment of self-governance, because He trusts that, to a degree, they know the Word of God, they know His law, and they will choose good over evil. That is a sign of maturity. America, as part of the body of Christ, is one of the most mature expressions of the body of Christ in the world.

Not only in numbers, with around 67 to 70 percent of the population identifying as Christian in America, compared to only about 6 percent in China, but also in terms of that tradition of faith shaping a people capable of self-governance. Let us set aside the question of quality for a moment and just talk about quantity. If 50 to 70 percent of the population in Iran or any Muslim country were Christians, it would be very difficult for a dictatorship to remain. God would not allow it. The law God has set in the earth would not allow it. If 50 percent of the Chinese population were Christians, I do not believe the dictatorship could last. The very reason people live under darkness and dictatorship is that they do not have freedom in their hearts.

I am Chinese. I know this firsthand. A great many Chinese people have very dark hearts, no morality, no faith. I was once a non-believer myself. I grew up in China. I came to faith after coming to America. I experienced the transforming power of the gospel. I experienced transformation through learning and living in America. I am gaining freedom from my sin and my past. I am gaining freedom of worship outwardly. By coming to America, I not only received the freedom within through the gospel, but I also live in a free nation with religious freedom and freedom of worship, as if I am living in Jerusalem with the temple, and I can still go into the holy temple to worship God. That is two sides of one coin. One side is the experience of Joseph: freedom within. The other side is the experience of Benjamin: a dwelling place of God on earth, freedom of worship expressed outwardly.

But if you cannot maintain your experience of Joseph, the freedom within, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, eventually you will lose the outward manifestation of God’s presence, which is Jerusalem, the holy temple. Throughout the history of Israel, the holy temple was destroyed many times. God allowed it. Jesus Himself said, “Do not talk about this temple; the day is coming when it will be taken away, destroyed, without a single stone left upon another.” Why? Because God will not allow an outward religious appearance to exist without the substance of worship in spirit and in truth, with a repentant heart, a lowly heart, and a humble spirit. God would rather destroy the outward form. God would rather allow European countries to fall into the hands of Muslims. Why? Because they have already lost God in their hearts.

The Never-Changing Principle of God’s Dealings

So, you will be ruled by a dictator or by foreign people. This is the never-changing principle by which God has dealt with the Israelites. If they fall into sin and turn away from worship, God allows other nations to conquer them, chastise them, and bring them low. Then when they call on God in repentance, He saves them. Then they fall into sin again. It is a repeating cycle, and it is the same principle God uses to deal with every nation today.

If a European nation was once a Christian nation that loved God, God blessed them with the manifestation of His presence, with the temple, with freedom, with blessing. But once they lost their internal freedom, God would no longer maintain their freedom without. This is the same principle by which God is dealing with America today. It is the same principle by which He deals with China and Muslim countries. You must have freedom within your heart before you can receive freedom in the land where you live. If you do not maintain the freedom in your heart, you will lose the freedom of your land.

So in America today, we cannot only fight in the political realm. I commend and thank God for what He is doing through this administration and through many Christian leaders in this movement. It is definitely from God. If we cannot bring in revival during this window, we may fall back under a form of dictatorship, because we did not maintain the freedom within our hearts. We did not help American Christians to live free from sin and compromise. We did not transform the trend of spiritual degradation or raise the moral level of society. And it is only when that moral and spiritual foundation is solid that the political system the American founders established can truly function within a sphere of religious freedom, morality, and political liberty.

We Have a Window for Revival — But Not Much Time

We must use this window. We do not have unlimited time to bring revival to America. To do that, we have to help many Christians to live overcoming lives by actually overcoming their sins. So many Christians in America are still living in open sin. If we can deal with this, the church will experience tremendous spiritual growth and be given tremendous power. There are so many American Christians, including Christian leaders, living in open or hidden sin. If we can address this, then surely revival can come.

This is why I am so burdened to share about the experience of Joseph. How can you experience the life of Joseph? How can you experience God’s dealings through discipline and chastening, and then produce the fruit of righteousness? Hebrews 12 talks about why God the Father disciplines us. Just as an earthly father disciplines his children for their good, the heavenly Father disciplines us so that we can become partakers of His holiness. The Apostle Peter also says: do not be surprised if you experience suffering, because God will test your faith through difficulty so that your faith can become more precious than gold refined by fire. And you will be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The writer of Hebrews tells us that God disciplines us so that we can become partakers of His holiness.

The church in America is lacking holiness, and that lack of holiness causes us to lack power, not only the outward power gifts, but the inward authority to reign in life, to stand against the enemy, and to put Satan, scorpions, and snakes under our feet. The church lacks holiness and purity. That is why we lack power. And when the church lacks power, the city remains in darkness.

A Personal Testimony: Leaving the Land of Captivity

I shared about my experience in the local church movement in another broadcast. God used that movement to train me for thirteen years. Then God spoke to me to leave. I could not understand it. I did not know where I was going. Why would God ask me to leave a place where people loved me and where I felt safe? I was full of insecurity. But during that time I was reading about the experience of Jacob, and the Holy Spirit illuminated something I had never noticed before: God only spoke to Jacob and told him to leave the land of Padan Aram, the land where his uncle Laban lived, the land of idol worship, after Joseph was born.

If you read Genesis carefully, when Joseph was born, God spoke to Jacob: it is time to go. But why? Why not after Benjamin? Why not after Reuben or any of the other sons of Jacob? Because Joseph’s life represents a life of peace, a prince of peace through suffering. When you have the life of Joseph within you, you cannot stay in the land of captivity. Let me say that again. If the majority of people in China were Christians, they would not tolerate a dictatorship. If the majority of people in Muslim countries knew Jesus Christ, they would not tolerate the false religion of Islam. When Jacob had the life of Joseph. which represents righteousness through suffering, the fruit of peace through God’s chastening, the very thing Hebrews 12 describes, captivity was no longer appropriate for him.

Hebrews 12 is clear: when God disciplines you, it does not feel joyful but sorrowful. But those who endure this chastisement will produce the fruit of righteousness. During my own seasons of suffering, I always returned to this verse. I knew God was dealing with me so that I could produce that fruit within me. I also thought of Paul’s words in Romans: the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. When you have the peace of God, when you have become, through suffering, this prince of peace, when you experience the fruit of peace and righteousness that the life of Joseph produces, you will reign even in captivity. You will reign right there in Egypt.

Then God will not allow you to stay in captivity any longer, because you have achieved your internal freedom. He will surely give you freedom of worship and freedom in the land. The freedom in the heart leads to freedom in the land. When Jacob experienced the birth of Joseph, God said: no more. That season of captivity is finished. I used Laban and your two wives to humble you. Now you have matured enough to produce Joseph. Go back to the promised land where Jerusalem waits, where Benjamin waits, where the life of Benjamin is waiting for you.

In that moment, as I was wrestling with why God had led me to leave my denomination to begin studying in Pentecostal circles, people in my evangelical world did not understand and people I was close to rejected me. It was very painful, but I received the light from God through Jacob’s story. God only asked Jacob to leave the land of captivity when Joseph was born. And I understood: God was beginning to produce Joseph in me. He was training me through suffering so that, at a certain stage, I would have the fruit of righteousness through suffering.

The Life of Joseph: Suffering and Blessing

The life of Joseph is a life of both suffering and God’s blessing. Yes, God blessed him. Jacob loved him and gave him a coat of many colors. But his life was full of suffering. His brothers hated him, wanted to kill him, threw him into a pit, and then sold him to the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites were the very people who had taunted and laughed at Isaac, those born of the flesh, not of promise. And yet God mentioned in Isaiah 19 that even Ishmael was His tool. God uses everything, even the cruelty of enemies, to work for the good of those who love Him. Joseph loved God. God used the Ishmaelites to bring him to Egypt.

That was not a pleasant journey. Some accounts suggest Joseph was bound in chains, walking or being led by camel all the way from the promised land to the land of captivity, Egypt. I do not think the Ishmaelites were letting him ride comfortably on a camel. His hands were probably tied. What a picture. And yet God had given him dreams and visions of becoming a ruler of the world. He had to go through suffering to reach his destiny. He was brought to Egypt, put into the household of Potiphar, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, thrown into prison, and the Word of the Lord tested him until God’s timing was fulfilled.

When we do not have freedom within our hearts, we eventually lose the freedom in our land. Joseph, in one sense, was not someone who had lost his internal freedom, and yet even he had to walk through the process of becoming. His brothers, on the other hand, had completely lost freedom in their hearts. They were full of hatred and jealousy. They wanted to kill Joseph. Sometimes we suffer not from our own direct sins, but from the consequences of others’ sins surrounding us. Even Joseph, who lived a righteous life, still had to learn to receive the fruit of righteousness through suffering.

Hebrews 12 even makes this point about Jesus: even the Son of God had to learn obedience through what He suffered and was made perfect through it. If Jesus walked that path, then certainly we need to walk it as well. Joseph’s suffering is directly tied to the revelation of Hebrews 12: through suffering, we become partakers of His holiness. Do not think Joseph was simply better than his brothers. We are all fallen human beings. We all need God’s suffering and discipline to carve His righteousness, His nature, and His fruit into our hearts. We have to allow this process.

I think Joseph may have struggled with pride at certain points, perhaps because of the special, partial treatment of his father. Maybe he was proud. I do not know all of Joseph’s sins. But God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Suffering can bring us into humility. I have experienced a great deal of suffering myself, and it has humbled me, though I am still proud. We are all proud. But through this process, Joseph received the fruit of righteousness.

Joseph Receives His Freedom: Salvation Comes to the House of Israel

As the book of Hebrews says, no discipline is joyful at the time but feels sorrowful. Yet those who have been trained by it will receive the fruit of righteousness. When God’s time was right, that fruit had fully ripened in Joseph. Joseph received freedom in his heart. He was not full of hatred. Even when Jacob died and his brothers feared that Joseph would finally take revenge, Joseph said: no. I will take care of you. You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many lives, to save you from famine, extinction, to preserve the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to preserve the line of Judah, through whom one day the seed of righteousness, Jesus Christ, would become the Savior of the world. That was God’s plan. Joseph had come to see it. He knew God had a bigger plan, and his heart was free from bitterness.

When Joseph received that freedom in his heart, salvation came to the whole house of Israel. His brothers were saved. Judah was saved. The genealogy through which Jesus Christ would one day be born was preserved. The mingling of divinity and humanity in the person of Jesus Christ was made possible. The seed of Abraham, which would bring blessing to all nations including the Gentiles, was protected. That is God’s plan. God saved the world through Joseph.

Joseph Reigning in Life Even in Captivity

Coming back to our main topic: Joseph represents the life of reigning in captivity. Yes, he was in captivity in Egypt. The Israelites were in Egypt. But because Joseph was there, living as a testimony to God, they had freedom without. When Joseph was alive, the Israelites were not treated as slaves. They were treated as honored guests. But when the freedom of the gospel, represented by the life of Joseph, was gone, when Joseph died and a new Pharaoh rose who did not know Joseph, then the Israelites lost their freedom and became slaves. The Israelites were not slaves the entire time they were in Egypt. They became slaves when Joseph was no longer recognized. The new king no longer knew the life, the testimony or the story of Joseph.

When you do not know Joseph or his story, or don’t follow the type of Christ that Joseph represents, you do not have freedom in the land. The Pharaoh, the dictator spirit, rises up, instigated by Satan, and persecutes the people of God. You lose your freedom in the land. So today, our fight in China, in Muslim countries, is a fight for the gospel. We fight especially for the Chinese elites. Some have received the gospel, but the majority of Chinese elites do not want the gospel. They want political and religious freedom, which they will never truly have without first having freedom within their hearts.

Prophetic Dreams: China, North Korea, and the Nations

But in a prophetic dream, God showed me something. God brought me into the future. I saw a great tent. Inside this tent were Chinese Communist Party officials and social elites. They were celebrating having received the life of Jesus Christ. It was like the scene when Matthew the tax collector received the Lord and threw a feast, inviting all his tax collector friends. I was led by the Holy Spirit to walk through this great tent and I saw the Chinese social elites, the Communist Party officials, celebrating receiving the life of Christ. The message God was showing me was clear: one day, many leaders, social elites, and political elites in China will receive the gospel. That will help transform Chinese society.

God is encouraging me to preach the gospel to Chinese social elites, which I have done over the past few years through a political movement. That movement encountered difficulties because many people still have hardened hearts toward the gospel. But God showed me clearly that through the gospel and transforming work of the gospel among Chinese social elites; there will eventually come political transformation in China, religious freedom, and a great revival. This has been shown to me clearly through multiple visions and dreams.

We also pray for Muslim countries, the 10-40 window. We pray the gospel can be preached and that revival will transform people’s hearts, which will then change the freedom in those lands. I also want to say something about what America did in Venezuela. If you remove a dictatorship, you also free people. Perhaps the revival will come to Venezuela. I hope so. I pray for it. God is working. It is not coincidence that God is removing dictatorships one by one.

This was also shown to me through another prophetic dream. I was taken into the future, to a North Korean embassy in America. In the dream, the embassy of North Korea in the United States stood right next to the embassy of South Korea.  North and South Korea were united. I met the Lord there. A North Korean military man came to the Lord and apologized: “Sorry, we were delayed.” I don’t know exactly what this means or when it will happen, whether there will be a political coup in North Korea. But God showed me He is working there. He showed me a revival is coming to North Korea. I pray for the suffering believers in North Korea. I pray for a massive revival and transformation in the hearts and minds of the North Korean people through the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We pray for all nations suffering under dictatorship to receive freedom in Jesus Christ, so they can receive freedom in their land. I pray for America, that revival will come, that hidden sins will be overcome, that purity and holiness will return to the church, and that Christians will receive even greater freedom in their hearts according to the full measure of the gospel they already know. Then we can see far greater political transformation and secure political and religious freedom in this land. We also need to pray for Europe, that revival will return among European people, that they will receive the freedom in their hearts again, and that they will regain the freedom of their land.

That is the experience of Joseph versus the experience of Benjamin. Benjamin represents the ability to maintain a religious structure, a structure of freedom of worship, Jerusalem and the temple. But you must couple that with the experience of Joseph: reigning in life through suffering, having the intrinsic, inward freedom of God through the gospel. You cannot maintain the freedom in the land if you lose the freedom in your heart.

A Foretaste of Moses’ Blessing: Enlarge Your Tent

I will come back to the prophetic blessing of Moses in detail next time, but I want to give you a foretaste now. Moses’ blessing to Joseph speaks of enlarging his territory. When you experience the life of Joseph, you experience the enlargement of your tent, the enlargement of your dwelling place, the enlargement of the temple within you. Like Jabez of old, who prayed: “Enlarge my territory and bless whatever my hand does” and God, Jehovah, heard his prayer. When we experience the life of Joseph, we experience the enlargement of our tent.

So, in Moses’ blessing, Joseph receives the blessing of the heavens, the sun, the moon, the earth and everything in it. And he becomes a tool to reach the nations, discipline the nations, and chastise the nations.

Basically, it is a prophetic picture of the church in Philadelphia receiving the iron rod to rule over the nations. That is the calling of America today. That is the calling of Christian nations in this hour. We have to enlarge our tent. We have to enlarge our dwelling place, our temple, the tabernacle of God among us. When you experience the life of Joseph, you experience the enlargement of the kingdom of God within you and through you, and you can access all the blessings of heaven, sun, moon, and earth. According to the book of Ephesians, God the Father has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ. But why do we not have the authority to rule over nations? Why can we not cast out demons? Because we do not yet have the full reality of the kingdom of God through the expansion of the tabernacle within us, through the life of God in Christ Jesus within us. We are not yet living in the full territory God has promised.

Israel actually has a much larger territory promised to it than it currently possesses, but it cannot rule over that territory because the life, maturity, and power of God’s people is not yet mature enough for God to entrust that authority to them. The life of Joseph is the expansion of the kingdom of God within you through the enlargement of the tent, through the enlargement of the dwelling place of God within you. You have the reality of the kingdom of God within you. Just as Jesus told His disciples: when I cast out demons by the power of the Spirit, the kingdom of God has come upon you. Do not say the kingdom is here or there.

The kingdom is within you. The kingdom of God will expand through you. You may not have yet fully experienced the life of Joseph because you are still living in sin. Whether open or hidden, because you have not yet overcome, God’s kingdom cannot fully expand on this earth through you. God is doing this through you, but He must first expand within you.

This is why I am burdened to help Christians mature in their life of faith, so that you can become Joseph in your spiritual experience. You become a conduit, a channel, a tool through which God expands His kingdom, saving people through you, helping churches through you, helping society through you, transforming this world through you. For God to transform the society of America, or whatever country you are in, He has to expand within you first. You become Joseph in your spiritual experience, and then you become Benjamin, a dwelling place of God, His presence radiating outward through your life.

A Call and a Closing Prayer

Next time I will spend more time in the detailed prophecies of Moses toward Joseph, comparing them with the prophecy of Jacob to Joseph, and will show how God revealed to me that America is called to be Joseph today, to be used as the iron rod, as Aaron’s rod, to rule over the nations if we cooperate with God.

I’ve enjoyed this time with you today. I hope you have received something. I want to say humbly that we do not have a large audience or a big platform. But I am sure we have the presence of the Holy Spirit, and that is what matters. If you have found this encouraging, whether you stumbled on this by chance or have been following along, I ask for your help:  share it, repost it, leave a comment. I also invite you to go to Google Maps, search for Jairus Bible Word Ministry, and leave us a review. That helps other people find these teachings. Most people, when they see a Chinese face, think: what can a Chinese person teach us about the Bible? But God has raised me up for this hour. I believe that. We have to break through that first layer of prejudice to get the Word of God out.

I will see you tomorrow, Lord willing. God bless you. I pray that you will have the life of freedom within, that you will overcome everything that is still holding you under the influence of the enemy’s power. Reach out and take it. I pray God gives you the strength to overcome sin through suffering, to gain the fruit of righteousness in your life, so that God can expand His kingdom in you and through you. And peace be with you. Amen.

Bible Study with Jairus

Deuteronomy 33: Moses’ Prophecies to the Twelve Tribes -Joseph: Enlarge Your Tent and Kingdom

America as Joseph: The Horn of the Wild Ox

Welcome to Bible Study with Jairus. We are going to continue our study of Deuteronomy 33, looking at the experience of Joseph and its application to Christians today, and also to nations, especially America. How can the experience of Joseph give us insight into what it means to represent God, to be the horn of the wild ox, to resist and chastise the nations?   America should be like Joseph, used by God to represent Him and to maintain His justice in the world.

You may agree or disagree, but this is the reality: America is the strongest country in the world. Many people, even on the right, do not want America to be the world’s police. They want to focus on their own affairs. But the truth is, everyone knows America is the policeman of the world. That is the calling that comes with being the greatest nation on earth. That is the calling of God. You have to maintain justice in the world, because if you do not, the world falls into chaos.  

If you do not maintain power, like the horn of a wild ox as Moses prophesied over Joseph and as Jacob blessed Joseph, you lose your authority. That authority is the iron rod that Jesus prophesied about in His letters to the seven churches. If the church overcomes, it will receive the iron rod to rule over the nations. That is the calling of the church. That is the calling of man, as established in Genesis 1:26 and as David revealed in Psalm 8: man is created a little lower than the angels, but God gave him authority to rule over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and every crawling thing on earth. Eventually, we will crush Satan under our feet. We will have the victory.

Opening Prayer

I know God has not yet given me a large platform, but let us learn to be faithful in the small things. I am very grateful for the listeners we have across various platforms. It is like a congregation. I appreciate you tuning in to listen to a Chinese man speaking in a non-native accent. We invite the presence of the Holy Spirit. We invite the help of God to be with us, to enter into the richness of the Word of God, so we can experience its transformation.

Dear Father God, we come boldly to Your throne of grace through the blood of Jesus Christ. We thank You for Jesus, for His blood, His sacrifice, and His finished work on the cross, which allows us to come boldly into Your presence. We are seated together with Christ at the right hand of God. We are His body and His members. We consecrate our physical bodies, our minds, our emotions and wills, our tongues and hearts to You as righteous instruments to bring You glory. We consecrate our whole being to You, that You would fill us with Your glory, with the life of Jesus Christ, with the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That anointing breaks every rope and every yoke. We pray that in the power of the Holy Spirit, You would bring us into the experience of Joseph and help us to become overcomers. Then we can gain the authority You prophesied to Joseph, the horn of the wild ox, to gore and rule over the nations in the life of Jesus Christ. We humbly ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit to help us and teach us in this hour. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Experience of Joseph and the Experience of Benjamin

Let’s get into the experience of Joseph. I have been sharing this over and over, and I need to share it again, because the experience of Joseph represents the freedom of the heart, the freedom within you. The experience of Benjamin represents the freedom of worship, freedom of religion, and freedom in the land. If you do not have freedom in your heart, you cannot maintain freedom in the land.

Let’s look at the example of Europe again. Europe was once almost entirely Christianized. But when the people of Europe lost the gospel and lost the freedom of the gospel in their hearts, in their knowledge of God and His Word, they eventually lost the freedom of worship in their land. We saw it plainly during the Paris Olympics, when France openly mocked Christ and taunted the Last Supper. That was certainly from an evil spirit. And that is why you see nations like England and other European countries becoming increasingly Islamized. When you lose your freedom in the heart through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, you lose your freedom in the land.

This is the principle God set in the Old Testament as well. When the Israelites lost their freedom in their hearts and turned to idol worship, they forgot the law of God. And eventually they lost their freedom in the land. Their land was taken, they were carried away as captives, and their temples and priesthood were destroyed. God would rather see the outward religious structure destroyed than allow it to remain as an empty shell. Whether through Nebuchadnezzar or through the Roman armies, God destroyed His own temple again and again. That is the life of Benjamin; Benjamin represents Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is in the land of Benjamin.

Moses’ prophetic blessing to Benjamin represents the freedom in the land. When you have Benjamin, you have freedom in the land. When you have Joseph, you have freedom in the heart. And when you do not have freedom in the heart, you cannot maintain your freedom in the land.

William Penn’s Principle: If You Don’t Serve God, You Serve Pharaoh

I also quoted what William Penn said, the founder of Pennsylvania: when you do not serve God, you serve Pharaoh. That is why the Chinese people have a dictatorship. That is why Venezuela has a dictatorship. That is why Muslim countries have dictatorships. The majority of their people do not have freedom in the gospel and in their hearts. And without freedom within, they cannot have freedom without.

If you do not have the freedom of the gospel in your heart, you will do worse things. Even the dictatorship, in a certain sense, is used by God to control and chastise a people. For example, in China, if you are caught dealing drugs, you face the death penalty immediately. China suffered deeply from the opium wars and the drug crisis brought by outside forces, and they have a fierce hatred of drugs as a result.  Anyone caught dealing drugs, whether foreigner or Chinese, is dealt with immediately. I am not commenting on whether that is humane. My point is that even a dictator can be used by God to enforce a certain measure of justice over a people whose hearts are deeply corrupt.

I can say from my own experience that many people in China have very dark hearts. Sometimes we even joke in Chinese that we cannot live without the Communist Party, and there is some painful truth to that joke, because the hearts of human beings are so corrupt, sometimes it takes a harsh ruler to keep people from doing even worse things. I am not saying there is no hope for the Chinese. There absolutely is hope. But this is the reality of a people without the freedom of the gospel in their hearts.

This was true in the history of Israel as well. The Israelites rejected God and rejected Samuel. They did not want God to rule over them directly. They said: give us a king like the other nations. Samuel was grieved, but God said to him: they are not rejecting you; they are rejecting me. They do not want me to rule over them. But I will warn them: a king will take their sons and daughters, will tax them, and will give them a hard time. The Israelites said: we do not care; we want a king anyway. That is the biblical proof of what William Penn said. If you do not serve God, you will serve Pharaoh. If you reject God as your king, you will get a dictator instead. The best outcome, of course, is a king who is after God’s heart, like David. That is the principle.

So, you must have freedom in your heart to maintain freedom in the land. Why do the Chinese people not have freedom? Because the majority of Chinese people do not have the freedom of the gospel in their hearts. God cannot entrust freedom to people who will use it to destroy themselves and others. But because the knowledge of the gospel has been more prevalent in America, God gave America the opportunity to experiment with self-governance, a right to govern themselves that is almost unique in human history. Every other civilization has had a king, a dictator, or a ruler. America has this freedom because enough of its people have the law of God written in their hearts and have the maturity to choose good over evil.

Jacob, Joseph, and the Journey Out of Captivity

I mentioned my own experience last time and how it parallels Jacob’s experience when I left my previous denomination. God was leading me through a period of trial into a new stage. And I shared that you have to have the life of Joseph within you in order to leave certain seasons of captivity. When Jacob was in the land of his uncle Laban, Laban was a kind of Pharaoh to him in a small but real sense. Jacob was a slave to Laban in a certain way. When you do not have the life of Joseph in you, you are a slave. But when you produce the life of Joseph, you become liberated.

That is why I noticed that God only spoke to Jacob after Joseph was born and told him it was time to leave. The life of Joseph represents a life of suffering that produces a partaker of God’s holiness, an overcomer, a co-king with Christ and ruler on the earth. That is what it represents. And when the Israelites were in Egypt under Joseph’s authority, they were not slaves. They were honored guests of Pharaoh, friends of Joseph. When the land recognized the life and ruling authority of Joseph, the land was free and the Israelites were free.

But when the land no longer recognized the life of Joseph. When a new Pharaoh rose who did not know Joseph, the freedom of worship in Egypt was lost. The entire book of Exodus exists to record Moses going to Pharaoh and saying: let my people go, so they can journey three days into the wilderness to worship God. They lost the freedom of worship in the land of Egypt because the land no longer recognized the life of Joseph. When you lose the life of Joseph, which is the overcoming life in Christ, the life of a co-king who overcomes the world, the flesh, and sin, you will lose your freedom in the land, your freedom of worship, your freedom in the political realm, your freedom in everything.

America was headed down that same path. But we are fighting to save America today. We are trying to use the window God has given us to bring revival to America, to bring the freedom of the gospel into many more hearts, and to keep the freedom of worship in this land. And then we need America to gore the nations like the horn of the wild ox, to gore Venezuela, China, Russia, and all the dictatorships, so that the gospel can be preached among the nations and worldwide revival can come. This is what is happening now. This is what God is doing through America, through this administration, through the political changes in this country, and even through saving Trump from an assassin’s bullet. God is preparing Joseph in America spiritually, to gore the nations so the gospel can go out and bring in a worldwide revival.

The Bones of Joseph: Hope for America and Europe

If you do not recognize the life of Joseph, you will lose the freedom in the land. But even though the land of Egypt lost its freedom of worship, Joseph’s bones were still there. Joseph knew this would happen. He told his descendants: you must promise me to carry my bones out of Egypt into the promised land, to the cave of Machpelah where my forefathers are buried, where God appeared to Abraham under the oak tree. I must go there with my remains. Bones represent resurrection, because not a single bone of Jesus Christ was broken. When Ezekiel prophesied over the dry bones, they came alive and became a great army for God. When a dead man’s body was thrown into Elisha’s tomb and touched his bones, the man was resurrected.

I am full of hope for America. I am full of hope for Europe. I spent a year studying in London and received the gospel in England, and I carry a burden for revival in Europe. I know Europe has been declining. I know America has been declining. But the bone is still there. The prayers of the forefathers who dedicated Europe and America to the one true God are still there. Their consecration is still there. The life of Joseph is still hidden in the bone. You have to bring the bone of Joseph, the resurrection life of Jesus Christ, into the wilderness journey so you can worship God freely again. That is the whole point of Exodus: to bring the bones of Joseph, the resurrection life of Christ, into a new wilderness journey, so the people of God can regain their freedom of worship and their freedom in the land.

Today, we have to fight in America to bring revival, to bring the resurrection life back to people’s lives, so that Christians can overcome sin. That is the most basic thing. So many American Christians are living in open or hidden sin. Let us not even talk about hidden sin; so many are living in open sin. But we can overcome sin through the life of Christ. We are more than conquerors through Him. The resurrection bone is there. We have to resurrect the bone of Joseph, the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. It is in our spirit. We have to come out of whatever land of captivity is holding us, whether it is sin entangling us, or the world pulling us down, as mentioned in Hebrews 12.

We must walk this journey according to the example of that great cloud of witnesses described in Hebrews 11. We must become partakers of His holiness, as Hebrews 12 calls us to be. Hebrews 11 gives us the testimony of those who have gone before. Hebrews 12 tells us to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles, and to run with endurance the race set before us. It tells us that God the Father disciplines us, just as an earthly father disciplines his children, so that we can become partakers of His holiness. When God is disciplining us, it does not feel joyful; it feels sorrowful. But those who go through this exercise will receive the fruit of righteousness.

Joseph represents that very life, the fruit of righteousness through suffering, by becoming a partaker of God’s holiness. The apostle Peter says the same: do not be surprised if you experience trials and troubles, because God will test your faith, and your faith will emerge more pure than gold refined in fire. And you will be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The apostle Paul also says: through many sufferings and trials we enter into the kingdom of God. If you want to experience the life of Joseph, the life that becomes co-king with Christ and represents God to rule over the nations with the horns of the wild ox, you have to become a partaker of God’s holiness through suffering.

No one in America wants to talk about suffering. People want to hear about the gospel of financial blessing and prosperity. But you cannot gain holiness without suffering. This is clearly taught throughout the Bible. We have the life of Christ. We have the bones of Joseph buried across America and Europe. I have visited the tombs of saints, the overcomers of past generations. Their testimony, the resurrection life of Jesus Christ working through them. It is all still there. But we have to resurrect it. We have to bring the bones of Joseph back into our wilderness journey through our three-day struggle to worship God, and regain the freedom in the land by first regaining the freedom in our hearts. We must overcome sin. We must overcome the world. We must overcome our enemy.

The Pattern of the Judges: A Constant Cycle

The very reason I keep coming back to this, and the very reason we cannot overcome our enemy spiritually or politically, is that we have not yet overcome our sin spiritually. God showed me this clearly: Jacob could only get out from under his Pharaoh, his uncle Laban, after the birth of Joseph. And the Israelites could only be saved from famine and from the enemy’s schemes to destroy them when Joseph ruled over Egypt. The Israelites were honored guests only as long as the life and story of Joseph was recognized. When it was no longer recognized, they lost their freedom and their freedom of worship.

This is a constant cycle, just like the book of Judges. The people worship idols, God disciplines them and raises up a foreign nation to chastise them. Then the Israelites repent and cry out for help, and God raises up a judge to deliver them. Then they fall into idol worship again, and God delivers them to the enemy again. Then they repent and cry out again, and God raises another judge. The entire book of Judges describes this same repeating cycle.

This principle is the same today. Trump is a judge in this hour. God is using him. He is not perfect. Samson was not perfect. David was not perfect. God is using a judge in this hour to deliver His people from oppression. The judge is not God. But if we do not take this window of opportunity to bring in revival in America, if the people of God fall back into spiritual idolatry, God will surely deliver us to the hands of the enemy again. That enemy could be the Democrats, it could be an influx of ideology, it could be Islam, it could be communism, it could be anyone. The problem is always in our own hearts: will we worship the idol or not?

The Ministry of Moses: Resurrecting the Life of Joseph

God showed me that Jacob experienced deliverance after the birth of Joseph. And Joseph brought emancipation and deliverance to God’s people. Even the bones of Joseph, carried out by Moses, eventually resurrected the people’s previous experience of freedom of worship. In other words, the ministry of Moses was to resurrect and reproduce the ministry of Joseph. Joseph had died, but his bones were still alive. Moses was called by God to resurrect the experience of the people of God for a new generation. That is what revival is. We need revival because we have lost our influence in the land. The ministry of Moses was to resurrect the ministry of Joseph and carry the bones forward, because the bones represent the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. Not a single bone of Christ can be broken. He will always resurrect.

We fail. We fall. But God will use His resurrection life in Jesus Christ to empower us, to bring us out of captivity, and to restore our freedom of worship in the world. So with that background, let us quickly look at what Moses blessed Joseph with. Deuteronomy 33, verses 13 through 17, can be organized into four sections: first, the blessing of heaven; second, the blessing on and in the earth; third, the blessing of God who dwells in the burning bush; and fourth, receiving the horn of the wild ox, which is the authority from God to gore and rule over the nations. These are the four structures of Moses’ prophecy and blessing to Joseph. Let me read the Word of God and walk through it, because the Word speaks for itself.

Moses’ Blessing to Joseph: The Four Structures

First, Moses speaks to Joseph: “Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above.” Heaven, heaven, heaven. Because the tent and the kingdom, the experience of Joseph, was enlarged to connect heaven and earth. His blessing reaches beyond heaven, into eternity. So he can, in spirit, become a co-king with Christ. He can apply all the riches God has blessed us with in Jesus Christ, as Paul describes in Ephesians: God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. But why can we not take hold of those blessings, use them, and apply them? Because our kingdom, our territory, our tent has not yet been enlarged enough to reach both heaven and earth. The blessing of Joseph reaches to heaven.

Moses continues: “And with the deep that crouches beneath, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the burning bush.” His blessing reaches the everlasting hills near Jerusalem, not only on this earth but in heaven, beyond time and space. Then Moses says: “May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. He is like a firstborn bull; he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

So Joseph received the blessing from eternity, from the everlasting hills, the third heaven. He received the blessing of the first heaven: the sun, the moon, and the mountains. He received every blessing in the earth, through the earth, and on the earth. He received the blessing as the firstborn and became the prince among his brothers. And he received the horn of the wild ox. He could represent Egypt, represent Pharaoh, or rather represent God, to rule over the entire earth.

America should be doing exactly this. Whether you agree or not, by removing the dictatorship from Venezuela, America may be freeing those people. The gospel may be preached there more boldly. Christians there may be emboldened to share the gospel and bring revival, knowing that this nation, this administration, supports Christians. That is the function of the horn of the wild ox, to gore the nations.

Jacob’s Blessing in Genesis 49: The Same Pattern

This structure is very similar to Genesis 49, when Jacob prophesied over Joseph. The same pattern appears. Let me read Jacob’s blessing to Joseph in Genesis 49 beginning at verse 22. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring. His branches run over the wall.” This is the pictorial language of a person living in the fullness of God’s life, a victorious life that produces abundant fruit for God. But of course, the enemy will attack you. Verse 23 says: “The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely.” Whenever you have a calling in your life, Satan will attack you. You will go through suffering. But the God of Jacob will help you.

Verse 24 begins to describe how God helped Joseph: “Yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel, by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills.”

Again we see the everlasting hills mentioned. The blessing of Joseph is beyond heaven and earth. The territory, the enlargement of the tent and the kingdom influence of Joseph, reaches beyond heaven and earth. “May they be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.” He is the prince among his brothers. He became the leader. He became the overcomer who represents God and represents the life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament sense, to rule over the nations, because he has the horns of a wild ox.

I have been to Yellowstone Park and seen the horns of the wild bison. And if you have watched wildlife footage from Africa, you know that the horns of a bull can kill a lion. Today, we desperately need America to become a Joseph spiritually, to gore the nations and resist those who are resisting God. We need to pray for America to bring in revival. We need to pray for Christians in America to overcome their sins. If Christians can do this, the maturity and authority God will entrust to the American churches will grow tremendously. We can bring revival and help spread the gospel to other nations around the world.

I know China will experience this, because God has shown me. But we are not there yet. Not because God does not want it. He does. But so many people do not recognize what God is doing and do not cooperate with Him. We need to pray for China to experience transformation. And we need to pray for America not to compromise with China, but to be used by God as the horn of the wild ox to gore China. In some ways we already are, but God may desire much more. He wants to change the heart of China, to bring freedom of worship there, and to bring the body of Christ in China to a higher level of maturity.

And God showed me that when China experiences this great transformation, political change and revival together, it will have a profound effect on countries like North Korea and Japan, bringing Christian revival there. Then that revival will spread westward through Muslim countries and eventually bring revival to Jerusalem. Perhaps God will return at that time. I know it will take a long time, but remember, America: you are called to be Joseph.

A Call to Remember and a Closing Prayer

Remember, American Christians: if you are living in sin today, if you have lost the freedom in your heart and the freedom in your land and in your family, remember that the bone of Joseph is still there. We need the resurrection and the ministry of Joseph to bring about a great exodus through the ministry of Moses. Once more: if you do not experience the freedom in your heart, as represented by the life of Joseph, you cannot maintain the freedom in the land, as represented by the life of Benjamin. You will lose your freedom of worship. You will lose your temple and your priesthood. You will lose everything. But we have the seed of the gospel’s work within us. We must overcome. We must bring the people of God out from under the tyranny of every Pharaoh, whether in America, Venezuela, or China, and into the wilderness journey. Three days to worship God freely. To regain the freedom of worship. I pray for revival in all the world. Amen.

Revival is not an event that happens on a campus somewhere. Revival starts from one person, from you, from me. When we repent of our sins and receive the resurrection life of Jesus Christ, we regain our freedom in our hearts. Then we regain our spiritual influence and can draw others into Christ. When everyone in the church is vitalized and resurrected in the life of Jesus Christ, the church will have revival. And then the nation will have revival. It does not work the other way around. Revival does not just fall from the sky. We love the fire of God, but revival starts with you and me, today, from overcoming sin and every weakness, from now onward, reclaiming the life of Christ and recovering what we have lost in previous spiritual battles.

Thank you for tuning in. Please comment, repost, or share it with your friends if you found it encouraging. And please go to Google, search for Jairus Bible Word Ministry, and leave us a review so we can reach more people. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lord willing.

Deuteronomy 33: Moses' Prophecies to the 12 Tribes

Rejoice, Issachar, in Your Tents

Recap: Zebulun and the Ministry of the Apostle

Welcome to Bible study with Jairus. We are going to study Deuteronomy 33 again, looking at the blessing and prophecy Moses spoke over Issachar. Yesterday I talked about the experience and application of Zebulun as the apostle, the sent out one. We looked at Zebulun's character, how he grew up, and how his destiny was predestined by God to bring people, both Gentile and Jewish, to God, to bring the worship of justice up to the mountain of God. That was the experience of Zebulun, and how God determined and predestined that Jesus would begin his ministry in the land of Zebulun. This was a people who were looked down on in the earlier days, but God would bring the great light there. That's also how God called Peter from there to become one of the greatest apostles. The way I bring that into the application for a modern Christian experience is this: all of God's work starts with a humble beginning, and God often hides the greatest revival inside a very humble disguise.

Today we are going to talk about the experience of Issachar, and how his character was shaped. We’ll look at how his father saw him as a person of quietness before God, and how that character was used and transformed by God so that he could hear God's voice, know God's timing, and become a prophet for God among his people.

We will look at how the prophet Silas and the apostle Paul worked together to build the foundation of the early Church. This powerful New Testament pairing is actually mirrored in Moses' ancient prophecy concerning Zebulun and Issachar. In this dynamic, Zebulun represents the modern apostle, while Issachar represents the modern prophet.

Together, these ministries work in harmony to bring glory to God. They call people to the holy mountain to offer right sacrifices, fulfilling the patterns hinted at in Moses’ prophecy. By drawing from the abundance of the sea, representing the Gentiles, and the hidden treasures of the sand, representing the Jews, they gather all of God's chosen people into His kingdom. Finally, we will discuss the character of a prophet and how prophetic gifts should function in today's church. By learning to balance the prophetic and apostolic gifts, we can unlock a more powerful working of the ministry of Jesus Christ in this New Testament age.

Opening Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you, to the throne of grace, in the name of Jesus Christ, through his precious blood. We come boldly to the throne of your grace to receive mercy, grace, and timely help. We acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is the same today as in the past. We recognize that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We recognize that the God of eternity is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What you revealed through Moses in the Old Testament is the same in principle as what you revealed to the apostle Paul in the New Testament. We ask for the cleansing of our members, our tongues, our ears, and our hearts. Circumcise our hearts. Apply your precious blood to our ears, and apply the anointing of the Holy Spirit to our ears and our hearts. Remove every veil, and give us a humble heart to listen to you speaking through the Holy Spirit. We humbly ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit to come and teach us, to bring us into the depths of the word of God, into the innermost desire of the heart of God, and into the love of Jesus Christ, which is the church. Let us learn from the Old Testament and the New Testament, from Moses, from Paul, from Jacob, and from Issachar, the lessons you taught them, so that we can better build up the body of Christ today. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, and we give glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Issachar: A Man Who Understood the Times

I already gave a very brief introduction, but I want to repeat it a little, so you have a better understanding. Basically, we are talking about the story of Issachar, who represents the gift of prophecy, because 1 Chronicles 12:32 says Issachar is a people who had an understanding of the times, so that they knew what Israel ought to do, with two hundred chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. In other words, they knew what to do. That's very important. This verse is often quoted as proof that Issachar was a tribe who understood prophetic timing and the revelation of God. We have prophetic gifts and we have people in the church today who can hear God's voice.

The prophetic gift is often coupled with the gift of apostleship. The two are meant to work closely together, because in Ephesians the apostle Paul mentions the five great gifts Christ gave the church: first apostle, second prophet, then evangelist, pastor, and teacher. Those are the five major gifts in the body of Christ. Among the first two are the gift of apostleship and the gift of prophecy, and they have to work together.

Paul also mentions clearly that the New Testament church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. He was not referring to an Old Testament structure. He was referring to the church, which is, of course, a New Testament reality, not an Old Testament one. The church in the New Testament is built on the foundation of apostle and prophet.

I want to bring in the story of the conflict between Barnabas and the apostle Paul, and also the way the prophet Silas and the apostle Paul worked together, to illustrate how God built the New Testament church on the foundation of apostleship and prophecy. After that, I will come back to Deuteronomy 33:18-19, where Moses’ uses prophesies over Zebulun and Issachar, as types to point to the same spiritual principle: Zebulun is a type of the apostle, and Issachar is a type of the prophet.

Even in the Old Testament, in order to carry out God's work of bringing all peoples from all nations, both Jew and Gentile, up to the mountain of God to offer right sacrifices, you needed Zebulun, who represents the apostle, or even the evangelist, rejoicing in his going out, working together with Issachar, who represents the prophet, rejoicing in his tents.  They work together to bring God's people back to God.

 

Paul, Barnabas, and Silas

Let's start with the apostle Paul, Barnabas, and Silas. Why do I bring this up? Many people know the story of the conflict between Barnabas and the apostle Paul. Barnabas is the one who introduced Paul to the disciples, back when Paul experienced his radical transformation. Paul wanted to become friends with, and have fellowship with, the believers and apostles in Jerusalem, but nobody would receive him. Only Barnabas received him. Scripture clearly records this in the book of Acts.

Barnabas was crucial in bringing the apostle Paul into his destiny. When Paul was led into the wilderness for a season of waiting on God, it was Barnabas who eventually went to where Paul was staying and brought him back onto the stage. I believe Paul was staying in a place called Tarsus.

The book of Acts says that it was Barnabas who went to Tarsus to bring Paul back into ministry, and the disciples finally accepted him. Barnabas was the instrument used by God to establish Paul as an apostle. I believe it's in Acts 13, when the teachers and prophets were fasting and fellowshipping together, that the Holy Spirit spoke to them and told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul to do the work of the Lord. That was Barnabas and Paul’s calling and confirmation of the apostleship.

Later, Saul became Paul, and God used Barnabas and Paul as a pair of apostles. They were both apostles, because in Acts 13, the Holy Spirit spoke to the teachers and the prophets while they were fasting and praying together, telling them to set apart Barnabas and Saul, who later became Paul, to do the work of the Lord.

They began their ministry together as apostles, but later they got into an argument. The argument was about whether they should bring Mark along on their journey, since Mark had left them partway through the first one. Paul did not want to bring him, and Barnabas insisted on bringing him. Eventually they split up.

From that point on, Scripture never mentions Barnabas’s accomplishments again, even though God certainly used him to bring the apostle Paul into the ministry to become the leading apostolic disciple. Many people read this as simply a personnel issue, a disagreement over whether to bring Mark along. But it was actually much deeper than that. I've talked about this before in my study of the book of Acts.

Before this incident happened, Scripture mentions Silas for the first time. If you read the book of Acts, before the argument between Paul and Barnabas, Scripture mentions Silas. Scripture says that Silas and another brother were prophets. They knew the word of God, and they carried a word of prophecy from God.

They were sent to the church in Jerusalem, and they gave prophecy and encouragement to the believers there. The believers were encouraged, and Silas and the other prophet were praised among the brothers. Not only were they prophets, they were men of integrity, and they were praised among the believers.

After they finished their task, the disciples sent them off in peace. But the book of Acts clearly records that the other prophet left but Silas felt he should stay.

I don't know if you remember this detail, but before the argument between Barnabas and Paul happened, God had already prepared Silas to stay in Jerusalem. Silas felt he should stay, though he didn't fully know why. In the next chapter, the split between Barnabas and the apostle Paul takes place.

After that, Scripture never mentions Barnabas again, but it does record that Paul selected Silas. Then they went on their journey to preach the gospel. Later we read the story when Paul and Silas were in prison, singing praises to God, and an earthquake shook the prison. That's what happened afterward. So we have to understand that the conflict between Barnabas and the apostle Paul went beyond a simple matter of who was best suited to travel with them.

It wasn't just about one person. It was about how God would build the foundation of the New Testament church, because according to the apostle Paul, the foundation of the New Testament church has to be built on the gifts of the apostle and the prophet. Scripture never once mentions Barnabas as a prophet. Scripture mentions him as an apostle. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, but Scripture never calls him a prophet. So, in God's design, the apostle Paul needed to work with a prophet in order to build up the foundation of the New Testament church. Who was that prophet God was preparing? It was Silas.

Before the argument happened, God had already brought Silas into Jerusalem, and Silas and his companion finished their task there. They had a good testimony, and their words of prophecy encouraged the believers there. The other prophet had already left, since the brothers sent him off with a blessing, but Silas felt he should stay. If you don't believe it, go back and read the book of Acts. It clearly happened before the conflict between Barnabas and the apostle Paul.

God was preparing to bring Silas into companionship, into partnership with the apostle Paul, not Mark. In a sense, Paul was following the leading of the Holy Spirit, because he understood, as an apostle, that he needed to work with a prophet. That prophet, chosen by the Holy Spirit, was Silas, in order to build up the foundation of the church. This isn't to say Barnabas wasn't good. Barnabas was a good man according to Scripture, but in a sense his season of ministry had passed.

Barnabas, John the Baptist, and the Land of Zebulun

Barnabas represented the previous stage of God's work, preparing the way for the ministry of the apostle Paul. His ministry was similar to that of John the Baptist, who ushered in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, once the time for the ministry of Jesus was ready, John the Baptist was killed, and Jesus withdrew to Galilee after John's death and began his ministry as an apostle.

Jesus is the greatest apostle. As we explored yesterday, the land of Zebulun was predestined by God to raise up both the ministry of Jesus and the apostolic ministry of Peter. For a season, God allowed a humble, overlooked people to come from Zebulun, just as Isaiah prophesied in chapter 9. Yet, in that very same chapter, Isaiah prophesied that a child would be born to us.

God's grandest work is always hidden inside a humble beginning. The ultimate ministry of Jesus and the great apostolic foundation of Peter both emerged from the land of Zebulun. That is the essence of apostleship. Ultimately, God determined that this apostolic work, later carried out by the apostle Paul, must be paired with the work of a prophet. While Jesus Christ holds all authority within Himself as both apostle and prophet, He models this beautiful partnership for us.

Everyone else must be paired with a companion. This is the principle of the body, because God does not give all the gifts to any single person. Even the apostle Paul did not possess every spiritual gift. He still needed a partner who carried the prophetic gift, and God provided Silas. His design for building the New Testament church was to bring together the work of apostleship, represented by Paul, and the gift of prophecy, represented by Silas.

 

After the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas took place, the Holy Spirit recorded through Luke that Paul selected Silas. This was entirely part of God's strategic design. Silas had previously come to Jerusalem, finished his assignment there, and earned a good testimony while encouraging the brothers. The Book of Acts records that the believers sent the prophets off with expectations for them to return home. However, Scripture notes that only Silas felt a distinct prompting to stay behind. This was the direct leading of the Holy Spirit, who was preparing Silas to step into the role Barnabas left behind. By working alongside the apostle Paul, Silas helped build the early Church on the foundational partnership of apostle and prophet, exactly as Paul described in his letters.

Why Apostle and Prophet Must Work Together

Why is it so important for apostleship and prophecy to work together? The apostle is like the head of God's building project. He knows the overall design, but he may not be especially prophetic. He needs someone strongly prophetic, like Silas, who can receive a fresh revelation from God at any moment. The apostle represents the law in the Old Testament sense, presenting the character of God, the life of God, and the principle of God through the word of God. The apostles wrote what became the New Testament writings, and the Old Testament law gives us the principled guidance of God. But the prophet receives a living, spoken word from God, a constant, updated, moment by moment revelation that leads us in each new situation.

I always say the structure of the Bible falls into two categories: the character and principle of God, revealed through the law, and the leading of God, revealed through the prophets. That's the overall structure in the Old Testament. You either know the principle of God, as revealed through Moses, or you know the leading of God, as revealed through the prophets. God's principle never changes, but God's leading is constantly changing. You cannot turn God's leading from a previous movement into a fixed ritual or a fixed document, or you will lose the leading of God for this present hour. At the same time, you cannot violate the principle of God without truly knowing the nature of God.

The general function of apostleship is to help the people of God know the principle and nature of God through the word of God. The general function of the prophet is to receive a living word from God, a constant leading that speaks into each different hour. God may give one person a certain leading and another person a different leading, because God's leading is constantly changing depending on the situation.

In the structure of the New Testament church, you have to be tuned in to the principle of God and also tuned in to God’s leading. You cannot violate the principle of God in building a church, and you cannot disobey His leading either, or things will fall into confusion. That's God's design: to pair the work of apostleship, which helps people know God in his nature, with the prophetic voice of God, which brings fresh vision. Without vision, the people perish. The apostle draws the blueprint of God's work, but the prophet leads step by step to finish the building.

Zebulun and Issachar in Moses' Blessing

This same fundamental principle is hinted at and revealed in the prophecy Moses gave regarding the brothers Zebulun and Issachar. I've mentioned before why Zebulun represents the ministry of apostleship. First, Zebulun is the place where the ministry of Jesus began. Who else can compare to that? Zebulun is also the place where Peter’s ministry began. I'm not sure exactly where Tarsus is located; it might be within the region of Zebulun. If that's true, then Paul's ministry may also have started there, though I'd have to investigate that further.

As explained earlier, God predestined Zebulun to be temporarily overlooked. Later, a great light would be revealed to its people. This region is where Jesus began his ministry. After John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus withdrew from the religious center of Jerusalem. He moved into the despised region of Zebulun and Naphtali near the Sea of Galilee. This area was once called Galilee of the Gentiles.

The ministries of Jesus Christ and the apostle Peter represent two of God's greatest movements. Both began in a place of humble disregard. This humble origin defines the ministry of Zebulun, which represents the ministry of apostleship.

This history provides a convincing argument. No other works compare to the ministries of Jesus and Peter. Yet, both started from Zebulun. Furthermore, Moses' prophecy commands Zebulun to go out with joy and rejoice in their journey

When you go out to start your ministry, to become an evangelist, to become an apostle, you should be full of joy, because you will be working together with Issachar, who stays in the tent like a prophet, praying, interceding, hearing God's voice in quietness and waiting. Issachar is told to rejoice in staying in his tent. He is not the one going out. He is not the apostle. He is the prophet. He didn't do what the apostle Paul did, but he did something the apostle Paul could not do, which is to hear God's voice in a particular way.

I'm not saying the apostle Paul couldn't hear God's voice. He did hear God's voice. Jesus stood by his side, and he had dreams and visions. But the gift of prophecy, the prophetic gift, was much stronger in Silas than in the apostle Paul. Scripture never calls Paul a prophet, but Scripture clearly calls Silas a prophet.

The prophetic gift, the prophetic ministry, is represented by Issachar. As I mentioned, 1 Chronicles 12:32 describes Issachar as having an understanding of the times, knowing what Israel ought to do. They were a prophetic people. And Issachar stayed in the tent. Why? I'll explain this through the prophecy Jacob gave over Issachar a little later, but for now, understand that Zebulun and Issachar worked together.

Together they bring about God's finished work. This is revealed in Moses' blessing over Zebulun and Issachar in Deuteronomy 33:19. “For they shall call peoples to their mountain, and there they offer right sacrifices.” Peoples here does not mean only the Jewish people, but people among the Gentiles as well. I mentioned this from the book of Isaiah, that in the last days, when the Gentiles hear that the Messiah has become king in Zion, they will take hold of the garments of the Jewish people among the nations and say, please bring us to worship your king.

Eventually the Jews will become priests, bringing the Gentiles into the worship of God. Together, Zebulun and Issachar call people to their mountain, which is Jerusalem, Zion, to worship, to offer right sacrifices. And, as I mentioned, they also draw from the abundance of the sea.

This is part of Moses' blessing over both Zebulun and Issachar. I've explained that the sea represents the Gentile world, because Jesus clearly describes, in his parable of the end of the age, a net cast into the sea, gathering every kind of sea creature. The good will be kept and the bad thrown away. In the same way, Jesus says that at the end of the age, the angels will gather both the good and the bad, keeping the good and burning the bad. He was speaking about the harvest at the end of the age.

So, the abundance of the sea refers to the treasure of people, both Jew and Gentile, but especially the Gentiles that Jesus Christ died for. And, of course, the hidden treasures of the sand, in Moses' blessing over both Zebulun and Issachar, refer to the Jews, because the Lord clearly told Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars in the heavens and the sand by the sea.

That is God's calling, and God's principle of pairing, of bringing apostleship and prophecy to work together. This is revealed not only in the New Testament, where the apostle Paul says the New Testament church is built on the foundation of apostle and prophet, but also in the prophecy Moses gave over Zebulun and Issachar. They are prophesied together, as a pair. Zebulun rejoices as he goes out, and Issachar rejoices in his tent, and together they call people to their mountain, they offer right sacrifices, and they draw from the abundance of the sea and the hidden treasures of the sand.

Both the Old Testament and New Testament stories point to the same principle: God's design is to bring apostleship together with prophecy, in order to build up the body of Christ, and to fulfill the work of God, bringing both Jews and Gentiles into the kingdom of God. As I mentioned, the apostle carries the general blueprint, the overall structure of God's design. In a sense, he's like a chief executive, holding the overall blueprint of God's work. That's his responsibility, to make sure the building of God is not deviated from God's design. But he may not have the time, or the gift, to finish every room, because each room is different, and each design is different. You need a prophetic gift to receive God's constant illumination in every matter, regarding every person.

The Danger of Losing Either Gift

Today, in many, many traditional churches, the gifts of prophecy are looked down on. Eventually, to the point where the church becomes legalistic and rigid, controlled by doctrine, by man, and by tradition, they no longer have the fresh vision, the fresh word, that comes through the prophetic gift. If you despise the prophetic gift in the church, you will lose vision, and you will perish. On the other hand, if you lean only on the prophetic gift without the firm foundation of apostleship, without truly knowing the word of God, the people of God will also perish, this time for lack of knowledge. They become captive because of a lack of knowledge.

In Hosea 4:6, scripture tells us that God's people are destroyed or taken captive because they lack knowledge. You will perish if you lack the knowledge of God. This essential knowledge comes through apostolic teaching, the law of God, and the Word of God. It is the general structure and principle of God laid out in scripture. This truth is found in the Old Testament through Moses and in the New Testament through the apostles' writings. Without it, you do not know God or His principles.

Furthermore, Proverbs 29:18 explains that when God's people lack vision, they run wild and are cast off. These represent two distinct aspects of God's work. You need vision to keep you from wandering off course. You also need the knowledge of God through apostolic teaching to prevent you from being taken captive.

This is why God designed the New Testament church to be built on the foundation of apostle and prophet. The apostle helps you understand the nature of God and gain the knowledge of God, the principle of God. The prophet helps you receive a vision of God so you don't go astray.

If you don't have the vision of God, like the Israelites during the time of the judges, who simply did whatever seemed right in their own eyes, you'll have no vision at all. In today's New Testament church, a lot of congregations are deeply committed to studying the word of God, but they despise the gift of prophecy, so they lack vision. Eventually the dogmatic teaching, the tradition of men, the religious tradition, blinds their hearts.

Other churches are open to the prophetic gifts, but they don't have a firm foundation in the understanding of the word of God, so they go astray, deceived by evil spirits. This has happened repeatedly in the history of American Christianity. In the 1970s, there was a prophetic movement predicting the return of the Lord Jesus in 1979. People waited for the Lord's coming on a mountain, or became preoccupied with which day the Lord would come, or which day God would send a great earthquake to sink California into the ocean. That's really what happened in the prophetic movement in the United States. Many people believed the prophecy that God would send an earthquake to sink California into the ocean. So, they lost their balance. That covers my first section. I wanted to give you a picture, through the story of the apostle Paul and Silas, and also through the pairing of Zebulun and Issachar, of how God designed apostle and prophet to work together.

When they work together, they not only know the nature of God and the overall blueprint of God's building, they also know what to do in each specific case, because you need a prophet to hear from God, to know what God desires in each different situation.  Now, in the second section, I want to talk about the character of a prophet.

The Character of a Prophet

When I first started learning about prophetic gifts, in the modern prophetic movement, I came from a Local Church Movement that placed a strong emphasis on the teaching gift. Everyone was encouraged to become a teacher, to teach, to speak for God. I was very appreciative of that, because that's where I learned the teaching gift. But after thirteen years there, God led me into a more prophetic movement in 2015. I received a strong baptism of the Holy Spirit, and afterward I began to have prophetic dreams and visions into the spiritual world.

I was eager to learn about the prophetic gifts, so I listened to a lot of teaching on the subject. One prophetic teacher, speaking from his own experience, said that prophetic people are often quiet, sometimes socially awkward. Basically, you're not naturally a people person, not like those called to be evangelists, who are welcome everywhere they go and can talk with anybody. Evangelists are like that. But people called to the prophetic tend to be more introverted, quiet, and socially awkward. They tend to spend more time alone, praying to God, waiting on the Lord, listening for his voice.

I don't know if that resonates with you, but I believe it's true. Issachar had this same characteristic, and his father observed it and recorded it in Genesis 49:14-15. When Jacob was prophesying over his twelve sons, he recognized each one's character, and how God would deal with them in the future. Here is what he observed about Issachar. In verses 14-15 of Genesis 49, he says this regarding Issachar. “Issachar is a strong donkey.” He's strong. A donkey can be stubborn at times, but doesn't talk much, and simply works hard, “crouching between the sheepfolds.” We know that sheepfolds often represent the people of God. The apostle Paul mentions that the law kept Israel within a kind of sheepfold, and in the New Testament we continue to use the image of the sheepfold to represent the church, the people of God. So Issachar was like a strong donkey. He was strong, but not especially violent.

He could be stubborn, but not in a violent way. He wasn't like a wolf that harms the sheepfold, the way Jacob describes Benjamin. Jacob calls Benjamin a wolf, remember? And Issachar wasn't a lion, like Judah, the lion of the tribe of Judah. He also wasn't cunning like a snake.

He was not a snake, a lion, or a wolf. He was considered a donkey, and a donkey could be stubborn, but it could also be quiet, patiently bearing whatever burden was placed on it. That's how Jacob observed Issachar's character, as a donkey.

Jacob continues to describe what he sees in Issachar's character. In verse 15 of Genesis 49, Jacob says that Issachar saw that a resting place was good. That means Issachar was a person of quietness, most likely an introvert. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” If you want to be a prophet, if you want to hear God's word, and you cannot be quiet before God, I don't think you'll be able to hear God's voice clearly.

Even one of the greatest prophets, Elijah, did not hear God's voice in the thunder or the storm, but in a still small voice. If you want to hear God's voice, you have to practice quietness before God, and wait in his presence. This characteristic is certainly revealed in Issachar's life. As Jacob mentions in verse 15, he saw that a resting place was good.

He was a quiet person, resting. He was resting in the sheepfolds among the people of God, crouching there, and the land was pleasant to him. He was enjoying the land God had given him. He bowed his shoulder to bear the load. He was submissive, willing to do hard work, willing to become a servant at forced labor. In China, we often use donkeys to do a lot of the labor. I grew up in a rural area, and I observed donkeys a lot. Sometimes a donkey gets cranky, especially when it sees a horse, but most of the time a donkey is hardworking, without complaint.

It carries a certain characteristic. We often say in Chinese that you serve like a donkey, but sometimes a donkey gets cranky. Still, the majority of the time, a donkey is hardworking, resting, and meek. That's the character trait Jacob observed in his son Issachar. In other words, when God formed Issachar in Leah’s womb, God was forming him to become a prophet one day.

His tribe would become a prophetic tribe, as I mentioned from 1 Chronicles 12:32. They are described as a prophetic tribe. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul reminds us that we are not all ears, we are not all eyes, we are not all mouths, and we should not despise one another. We should work together to bring glory to each other and to the body of Christ, to the building up of God's temple.

How Issachar Was Born

How did Issachar become such a person? Let's look at how he was born. As I mentioned yesterday, Rachel was struggling to have a child. Reuben found mandrakes in the wheat field, and Rachel wanted some of them. Leah was not happy about that.

I mentioned that mandrakes were probably very hard to find, and according to some legend, they were believed to have a medicinal effect that could help with Rachel's barrenness. They were rare. So, Leah's response was, “Is it not enough that you have taken my husband, that you would also take my son's mandrakes?” Rachel agreed.

Leah essentially rented Jacob for the price of the mandrakes. When Jacob came back from the field, Leah told him he had to sleep with her that night, because she had hired him with her son's mandrakes. Genesis 30:17-18 records that God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant to my husband.” This is why she named him Issachar. Issachar means wages, or reward. This is a fitting picture of the price Jesus Christ would pay to buy us back, because the wages of sin is death. Issachar is also, in a small way, a type of Christ, just as Jesus is described by Isaiah as one led like a sheep to the shearers without complaint. That, too, is a picture of Jesus Christ.

Closing Thoughts

I'll finish this section here. The concluding thought is this: today, God still desires to build up his church by pairing the ministry of the apostle with the ministry of the prophet. This principle is revealed in the story of the conflict between Barnabas and the apostle Paul. It wasn't that God didn't like Mark. No, Mark is never described in Scripture as either a prophet or an apostle.

The Holy Spirit clearly identified Silas as a prophet. God wanted to advance His work into a new stage by pairing Paul's apostleship with Silas's prophetic ministry. This partnership directly led to the prison miracle. As they prayed and worshiped, God sent an earthquake and opened the prison gates. Sometimes, it takes a prophetic presence to bring about that kind of miracle.

An apostle can certainly operate alone, but the power multiplies when apostleship and prophecy work together. This synergy appears in both testaments. In the Old Testament, Moses prophesied over Zebulun. This region represents the emergence of the apostolic gift, as both Jesus and Peter began their ministries there. When those going out cooperate with those staying in the tents, God's Great Commission is fulfilled. Together, they bring all people to the mountain of right sacrifice, drawing from the abundance of the sea and the hidden treasures of the sand. God designed this union of apostleship and prophecy to fulfill His economy, because only Jesus is perfect on His own.

He is both prophet and apostle at once, but God desires that we, in the body of Christ, work with one another. If you carry the gift of apostleship, or the gift of teaching, you should not despise the gift of prophecy. You should humble yourself to listen to other people's prophetic words. And if you are a prophet, don't assume that everything you need is revealed to you directly. You have to learn from apostleship, from teachers, to learn the principle of God.

Eventually, this comes into balance, into the kind of fruit we see in the book of Acts, when the teachers and the prophets, one strong in doctrine, one strong in revelation, came together to fast, and God brought forth great apostles. I hope this has helped us better understand Moses' prophecy here. It's a little deep, but I hope you got something out of it.  Please help us by liking, forwarding, commenting, or reposting this teaching, and you're welcome to leave us a Google review on our Jairus Bible World Ministry Google Map listing. Thank you for tuning in, see you next time.

Bible Study with Jairus

Deuteronomy 33:26-29: There Is None Like God, O Jeshurun

Introduction: Moses' Final Blessing

Today we come to the last part of Deuteronomy 33, which is Moses' final blessing to Jeshurun. Jeshurun is a name for Jacob, for the Israelites. It means God's upright ones, God's upright person, the righteous. Moses called the Israelites Jeshurun when he finished his prophecies regarding the twelve tribes of Israel.

We have already seen how Jacob's prophecy was the foundation and the seed, given to each tribe according to the characteristics Jacob observed in his children. He then proclaimed their prophetic future with the help of the Holy Spirit. Now, character may not seem directly related to your future, but we always say your character determines your fate. How does a person form their character? God created each person in a certain way, but it is a mixture of God's creation and pre-selection, the damage of sin working through your family and environment, and your own way of reacting. Those three things cause you to form a certain character.

Then your character shapes your perception. Everybody perceives the same situation differently. Simeon perceived his environment and chose to harbor hate toward Joseph and wanted to kill him. He thought the way to solve his problem was to get rid of Joseph. But Joseph perceived the same environment differently. He said, you meant evil, but God meant good. Your perception of God, of Satan, of yourself forms the foundation of your mind. Your mind determines your behavior. If you continue a certain behavior, it becomes a pattern. The pattern becomes your character. And your character determines your fate. It is not coincidence but a series of linked events and choices.

Based on this foundation, Moses developed his prophecies over the twelve tribes even further. And at the very end, Moses prophesied and blessed all of Israel as a whole. The message was: I have already given you individual blessings, but I know you are going to have a hard time, because you are going to forsake God and forsake His law. When I was alive, you still rebelled and stiffened your necks. When I die, you are going to fall into idol worship. And when you do, God is going to punish you.

But even that discipline cannot take away the love of God. Just as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If God gave up His only begotten Son, will He spare anything else? No. The purpose of chastisement and discipline is always growth in life, to know the nature of God, to have fellowship with His holiness, just as Hebrews 12 describes. God will discipline Israel, and He will discipline us, but nothing can separate us from His love.

Part One: A Recap of Jacob's Prophecies Over the Twelve Tribes

I want to give a brief recap of what we have studied in Moses' prophecies over the twelve tribes of Israel, because this is the crucial foundation for the closing message. The first part of this recap is Jacob's prophecy toward each son, which was the seed. Then Moses' prophecy developed from there. Let me walk through them one by one.

Reuben: The Snare of Lust

Reuben fornicated and defiled his father’s bed by sleeping with Bilhah. Why did this happen? Why Bilhah? Did she seduce Reuben, or did Reuben seduce her, or did they come together mutually? In Chinese we have a saying when dry wood meets fire. When a man and a woman are both filled with fleshly desire, they come together like dry firewood meeting a flame. They are going to burn. I explained in a previous session that Bilhah was likely a surrogate mother. She was given to Jacob by Rachel to produce children, and Rachel clearly said the children would sit on her own lap and be called her sons. So, Dan and Naphtali were probably taken from Bilhah and raised by Rachel.

Think about that situation from Bilhah's perspective. I know many single mothers, and they are remarkable, busy women. If Bilhah had two children around her all the time, would she really have the time or emotional space for a man like Reuben? Yesterday I went to Washington, D.C. for an appointment and had to cut it short to drive an hour and a half back home to pick up my daughter from school. I had to cancel the person I was meeting with. He understood completely and said it reminded him of the same season in his own life. And I only have one child. After four o'clock every day, my schedule revolves around pickups and activities. If you have two children, you are even busier. And in those ancient times there were no piano lessons or tutoring programs, but feeding and caring for two children still consumed enormous time and energy.

So, Bilhah was probably not very busy and very isolated. Jacob likely did not spend much time with her. She was put into a very difficult position. And Satan used that human tragedy, that loneliness and vulnerability, to create an opening. Whether Reuben seduced Bilhah, or she seduced him, or they came together mutually, the Chinese idiom describes it well: dry firewood meeting fire. When you go to a barbecue today, you need gasoline to get the flames going. The picture is clear. Everything in that environment, every difficulty and every tragedy, is part of God's plan to form us into mature sons. God is hidden behind every situation. You have to see the flaming fire behind every bush. Everything that happened to Reuben was not by coincidence. It was all working within the three-part structure: God's hidden plan, Satan's strategy to deceive and destroy, and the human reaction, either through sin or through vision.

The whole Bible operates within this three-part framework. Everything is about God and His nature and His leading, about Satan and his origin and his fall and his strategies in the past, present and future, and about man, created in God's image, given authority, losing that authority through sin, being saved by God, regaining identity, and gaining the final victory. Every situation in life must be examined through these three lenses. What is God's plan? What is Satan doing? And what is my own reaction?

God's plan in the family of Jacob was clear: He wanted to produce the genealogy of Christ through Jacob's descendants. But in the very beginning of the Bible, God never specified which son He would use. Only much later did the Bible reveal, through Micah and other prophets, that from the tribe of Judah would come the Ruler, Jesus Christ. And I want to say again what I have said before: God never said He hated Reuben. He said He hated Esau, but He never said that about Reuben. Reuben's loss was entirely his own fault. He lost not only his earthly blessing as the firstborn but also the heavenly calling to be in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. That is an enormous loss.

There is a saying I heard somewhere, and I am not sure who to give credit to: if you truly know God, you will see the flaming fire in every bush. But if you do not have eyes to see God at work, you will only see the bush, even when the fire is burning right there. In other words, every single day we should be having encounters with the living God. God speaks to us through the Bible, through creation, through birds and animals, through our neighbors, our spouses, our pastors, through all the difficult situations of life. God is constantly speaking. The only question is, do you have ears to hear? Do you have eyes to see behind the human surface, and even behind the activity of the second heaven where Satan deceives and destroys, all the way into the third heaven where God's hidden desire is revealed? You have to be able to see through all three layers.

Joseph could see through all three layers. That is why he could say to his brothers: you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. He could see human wickedness, Satanic strategy, and God's overruling plan all at once. Reuben could not see through those layers. He only reacted with his flesh and his lust toward his situation. And I want to be direct here: that is how men make their biggest mistakes. They stop thinking about anything else and just react to the immediate desire. Hormones, lust, the impulse of the moment. And in Reuben's case, there was also an element of hatred: he resented that his mother Leah was being put to shame, that he and his brothers were being neglected. So he may have used Bilhah not only to satisfy his lust but to humiliate his father in return for the humiliation he felt his mother had suffered. Lust was the surface reason, but inward there was also hatred and the reaction to a sense of being neglected.

Both the lust and the hatred were used by Satan to defile the bed of Jacob. And as a result, Reuben lost his earthly blessing as firstborn and his heavenly blessing of becoming an ancestor of Jesus Christ. That is a lot to lose. I sometimes think about meeting Reuben in heaven one day. What would you even say to him? Reuben might say, yes, I have deep regrets, but God found a way to redeem even me. My name is still on one of the gates of the New Jerusalem. What do you say to that? What can any of us say? Glory to God. Thank you for your grace. Amen.

Jacob summarized Reuben's character as full of lust. He said, you were born when I was at the height of my strength. You were supposed to be my firstborn, the excellence of my power. But your lust became your undoing. You could not control yourself. That is the mistake so many men make today. If you ask Christians what their greatest regret is, many will say: if only I could have controlled myself when I was young, so many of my current problems would not exist. Lust is a bondage for human beings, for men especially. Though it affects women and relationships in all directions, if you were to survey ten men, nine of them would probably say: if I could have controlled my lower nature, I would have avoided so much damage in my life. Even Christian ministers have been disqualified for moral failures, some involving the most vulnerable. Lust, when given room to grow, can take down the mightiest spiritual leaders.

Simeon and Levi: The Snare of Rage

Simeon and Levi were characterized by Jacob as men of fierce rage. In Chinese we have a phrase, lu nu, which means road rage. You know the feeling: someone cuts you off in traffic and you cannot control the anger that rises up. I drove to California a few months ago. I had not been back in about twenty years, and I was surprised by what I saw. I was driving at the speed limit, not even slowly, and a person just could not control his rage. He cut me off so aggressively that he almost hit me. So many tragedies happen because of uncontrolled anger. You end up in a fight. Someone gets killed. If you could ask people who are in prison today for homicide, the majority would say: if I could have controlled my anger in that one moment, I would not be here.

Simeon and Levi killed people as easily as you would swat an insect. They cut off the tendons and ligaments of oxen. Jacob said, I will scatter you throughout Israel. They could not contain their rage. Of course, Simeon was eventually transformed as well, becoming one of the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem. And Levi distanced himself from Simeon and was later transformed in a remarkable way. His fierceness, when it was redirected by God toward righteous zeal, became something powerful. We see it at Sinai when the Levites stood against even their own family members for the sake of God. Their ferocity did not disappear; it was redeemed and put to holy use. So, the prophecy of Jacob over each son was based on his direct observation of that son's character.

Judah: Repentance and the Genealogy of Christ

Then we come to Judah. Imagine being Judah. Two of his sons, Er and Onan, were killed directly by God. This is not something God does often. In the New Testament, there was Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit and died. Uzzah touched the Ark of God and was struck down. The two sons of Aaron who offered strange fire were consumed. Korah and his company who rebelled against Moses were swallowed alive by the earth. God does not kill people frequently or casually. He says plainly in the Old Testament that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked; He would rather they repent. But He clearly states in His Word that He killed Er and Onan. Both of Judah's sons.

Then Judah's wife also died. And Judah went down toward Moab, moving away from the promised land, falling into a compromised state. He wanted to satisfy his desires, and he was ensnared by Tamar in disguise. And out of that morally complicated situation, the genealogy of Christ was preserved. There is a Chinese saying: you carefully plant a flower and it dies, but a willow tree you never intended to plant grows and flourishes. Judah did not set out to produce the line of Christ. It happened out of his failure, his repentance, and God's sovereign purpose working through all of it.

The key character quality I identified in Judah is repentance. Moses wrote in his blessing: Oh Lord, hear the voice of Judah. But how could God hear the voice of Judah if Judah had not cried out in repentance? One of the Chinese Bible translations renders this verse beautifully: Oh Lord, bend down your ear and hear the cries of Judah. That means God had to lower His ear almost all the way down from heaven just to catch the cry of this broken, repentant man. That image of God leaning down to listen is deeply moving. Judah cried out, and because he had a heart of true repentance, God blessed him.

Witness Lee, one of the founders of the Local Church Movement in which I came to faith, taught something that stayed with me: whenever repentance meets God's forgiveness, a building of God is produced. He pointed to David and Bathsheba as the example. David sinned grievously, taking Uriah's wife. Their first child died. But David repented, writing Psalm 51 with its cry for a clean heart and a renewed spirit. He came before God with what he called a broken and contrite spirit, which God will not despise. And God forgave him and blessed the union of David and Bathsheba again, and out of that union came Solomon, the builder of the temple. Repentance plus forgiveness equals the building of God.

If I apply that equation to Judah, it looks like this: the repentance of Judah plus the faithfulness of God equals the producing of the genealogy of Christ. And if I apply it even further, to us today, it goes like this: your repentance, plus God bending down His ear to hear you, plus His forgiveness, equals the Word becoming flesh in your heart. The Word became flesh two thousand years ago in the person of Jesus Christ. But the Word also needs to become flesh in your heart today, to live there as a spiritual life that must grow. When you are born again, you are not immediately mature. You have the baby life of Jesus within you. That life is real, it is the life of Christ, but it is in its beginning stage. You have to grow. You have to be formed. Just as every newborn must grow into adulthood, the life of Christ in you must grow into the fullness of a mature son of God.

Judah’s repentance, plus God bending down to hear the cry, equals the birth of Jesus Christ, whether in flesh physically the first time two thousand years ago, or as a repeated act in your heart today. Judah's character was described by Jacob as milk and wine, as the one from whom the scepter would not depart, through whom the King, the Shiloh, the prophesied Jesus Christ would come. And Judah also became a mediator between his father Jacob and his youngest brother Benjamin. It was Judah who offered himself as surety, saying: if Benjamin is harmed, let it be on me. That willingness to take the place of another is a type of Christ. It was that offer, that act of self-giving from Judah, that finally convinced Jacob to let Benjamin go to Egypt, which then set the stage for the fulfillment of God's entire plan through Joseph.

Judah did not begin as a man of noble character. I mentioned in a previous study on Judah that his scepter, his authority, was lost. The scepter, the ring, the belt, all the symbols of authority and kingship represent what was given to man through Adam and what we lost. Adam lost it. Judah lost it when he chased after Tamar thinking she was a prostitute. He literally handed over his ring and his staff, the very symbols of his authority, to a woman at the roadside. But what came of that encounter, through repentance and God's redemption, he got it back. That is why Jacob prophesied that the scepter would not depart from Judah again.

Dan and Naphtali: Two Brothers, Two Responses to the Same Wound

After the four sons of Leah, Rachel could not conceive, so she gave her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. I believe Dan was characterized as a snake sitting in the road, biting the horse's heel and throwing the rider, because he was wounded and twisted by his upbringing. Rachel said she would raise Bilhah's children on her own knees and call them her own sons. So Dan was likely taken from Bilhah and raised by Rachel. He probably believed Rachel was his mother.

But then when Rachel had her own biological son, Joseph, everything changed. Suddenly Dan discovered he was not truly Rachel's son. He felt abandoned, neglected, betrayed, fooled. The whole world seemed to have turned against him. And the four sons of Leah, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, were their own tight group, born of one mother. They were like four young lions who ruled the family territory together. Dan, the son of a maidservant, was an outsider trying to find his place.

I can imagine the kind of conflict that would have erupted. Maybe Dan got into a fight with the sons of Leah. Maybe they taunted him: you are the son of a maid, not Rachel's real son. How dare you act like you are one of us? He defended Rachel, and they threw it back in his face. I once interviewed an American woman who had adopted a Chinese girl. They had a wonderful relationship for years. But when the girl reached her teenage years, she suddenly cried out at her mother in public: you are not my mom! And she went through an intense and painful period of trying to find her biological parents. She eventually traveled to China, spending significant money, trying to trace her origin. All the orphanage had was her name and her birthday, because she had been abandoned on a bridge. They never found her birth parents. The trauma, the emotion, the identity crisis of growing up as a Chinese-American orphan adopted into an American family: it is intense and not easy. Many adoptees need to know where they came from and why they were given up. They have to hold onto hope that even if their birth mother could not keep them, she still loved them.

If Dan went through something similar, if he found out his real mother was Bilhah and not Rachel, and especially after Joseph arrived and Rachel poured all her love into her own biological son, Dan would have felt cast off and betrayed on every side. The world hates me, so I will hate the world. I will hide in the road like a snake. I will bite the heel of the horse and throw the rider. I will try to hurt everyone who passes by. That is Dan's character: not evil for the sake of evil, but a wounded person lashing out from a place of profound rejection.

Naphtali went through the same experience as his brother, born of the same mother, raised in the same household, experiencing the same rejection. But he watched what Dan became and said: “I do not want to be like that. I went through this too, but I am not going down that road.”  Either you follow the destructive pattern of those around you, or you go the opposite direction. Naphtali chose the opposite.

Naphtali was described by Jacob as a swift deer let loose, who gives beautiful words. I see his character as someone who experienced the deep joy of forgiveness. When you choose forgiveness instead of bitterness, when you release what was done to you, something breaks free inside. I experienced this myself. Before I came to faith in Jesus, I could not forgive a relative who had deeply hurt me. After I received Jesus, I wrote that person a letter of forgiveness. I poured out love toward them. And what I felt afterward was exactly like a deer suddenly let loose, free and full of a joy I could not contain. Some translations of Naphtali's blessing say he gives beautiful words, glad tidings, blessing words, not just fawns but blessing from the mouth. When you are filled with forgiveness, you become full of glad tidings for everyone around you.

Gad and Asher: Fighter and Peacemaker

At that point, Leah decided she was not going to be left behind. She gave her own maidservant Zilpah to Jacob, and Zilpah bore Gad and Asher. Now Gad belonged to the tribe of Leah in a general sense, but he was not born from Leah herself. So, he probably experienced a kind of discrimination within his own tribe. The family of Jacob was like a family with a Republican side and a Democratic side, all living together and fighting constantly. When I was working as a reporter in Los Angeles, I interviewed a Democrat who told me Republicans are selfish, do not care about immigrants, have no love. Then I interviewed a Republican who shot back: why don't you give healthcare to everyone in the world? You are a hypocrite. They fight. Every country has its left and right. Every family has its factions. Jacob’s family had the party of Rachel and the party of Leah, and even within those parties there were further divisions between the sons of the wives and the sons of the maidservants.

Gad belonged to Leah's side by association but was not one of Leah's own sons. So, there were tensions from multiple directions. Jacob described Gad's character as someone who would be raided by raiders but would raid at their heels in the end. Gad is the fighter who gets knocked down and gets back up swinging. He does not stay defeated. I am not certain exactly what battles Gad had with his brothers, but based on the household dynamics, he must have fought on multiple fronts. And Moses developed that further in his blessing.

Asher was described by Jacob as producing royal delicacies, food worthy of a king's table. Moses developed Asher's calling much further into something beautiful: a ministry of reconciliation. Asher is the most blessed among his brothers. Every brother loves Asher. His food is dipped in oil. His sandals are made of iron and bronze. And Moses says his days will be like his strength. I explained in detail in a previous teaching on Asher's blessing: when the brothers dwell together in unity, when the dew of Hermon falls, when the holy oil pours from Aaron's head down through his beard and down to the hem of his garments, Asher is the feet. The anointing of the Holy Spirit fills the entire person all the way from the top of the head to the very bottom of the feet. When Asher's feet are dipped in oil, it means the unity of the Holy Spirit, the unity in Christ Jesus, the unity of brothers, has saturated this person from head to foot. Asher represents the ministry of reconciliation, the person so pure and so blessed that the brotherhood gathers around him in unity.

How can your feet be dipped in oil? The oil has to flow all the way down and pool there. Andrew Murray, the great South African preacher from a couple of centuries ago, asked why there is so much disunity among denominations and so little unity among the people of God. His answer was that we lack the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He compared the Holy Spirit's outpouring to a rising tide. When the water level is low, every rocky shoreline separates this bay from that bay, this pool from that pool. Each body of water has its own fish, its own people, its own work of God. But when the tide of the Holy Spirit rises, the way a tsunami raises everything, all those separating rocks and shorelines disappear beneath the flood. Every separated group is reunited by the water covering everything. Habakkuk said the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. The work among the twelve tribes of Israel is not finished. The work among the body of Christ is not finished. We are all works in progress. We all need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We all need the growth of life in Jesus Christ.

I should not forget to mention Issachar and Zebulun, because God remembered Leah and gave her two more sons, and also a daughter, Dinah. Issachar was described by Jacob as a strong donkey crouching between its burdens, someone who found rest was good and the land pleasant, and who bent his shoulder to carry the load. Moses' blessing says he will rejoice in his tents. The character I see in Issachar is the stillness of a prophet. You have to be still and quiet before God to hear His voice. The donkey is content to rest and to carry. Then Zebulun was described by Jacob as one who would dwell at the shore of the sea and become a haven for ships. Moses said he would go out rejoicing. And I brought in Isaiah 9, which prophesied that the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, though held in contempt for a time, would in the latter days see a great light, a people sitting in darkness would see a great light dawn upon them.

This was fulfilled when Matthew 4 records that after Jesus heard of John the Baptist's beheading, He withdrew from Jerusalem into Galilee, into the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. The religious center despised Galilee. They said: no prophet comes out of Galilee. What good thing can come from there? And that attitude is still with us today in different forms. What great word can come from a Chinese person? People judge books by their covers. But God has always raised up the greatest movements from the most despised places and the most unlikely people. I compare Issachar and Zebulun to the prophet and the apostle working together to build the foundation of the New Testament church. In Moses’ words, calling people to worship God on the mountain and bringing in the harvest from the sea of the Gentiles and from the sand of the Jewish nation.

Joseph and Benjamin: The Greatest Promise Requires the Greatest Trial

Then we come to the sons of Rachel. When God finally remembered Rachel and opened her womb, the greatest promise came alongside the greatest battle. Joseph was one of the greatest instruments God ever used, and the preparation for that calling required one of the greatest trials any human being has ever endured. Joseph is not an exception to this principle. Anyone who is called to be greatly used by God must go through a proportionally deep process of preparation. I went through ten years of what felt like spiritual barrenness, with countless prayers that seemed to go unanswered. If your calling is among the greatest, your battles and trials will be among the fiercest. That is not a punishment. It is preparation.

When Joseph was born, everything changed for Jacob. God spoke to him: it is time to leave Padan Aram, the land where Laban is your captor, your Pharaoh. You have experienced the life of Joseph being formed within your household. Now you can leave captivity. Joseph’s life represents the freedom that comes through the gospel, through Jesus Christ, through God. When you have that life, you can leave whatever is holding you captive, whether it is represented by Egypt, or Padan Aram, or Pharaoh, or Laban. And you can go toward Jerusalem, where you will produce Benjamin, because Benjamin is born on the way to Jerusalem and Jerusalem is in the land of Benjamin. Benjamin represents freedom in the land, the outward freedom of worship.

I have said this again and again: if you do not have freedom in your heart, you cannot maintain freedom in the land. William Penn said it: if you do not serve God, you will serve Pharaoh. That is why the Chinese serve a dictator. That is why the Muslim world serves dictators. That is why Europe is losing its freedom. That is why America has known freedom: because a significant portion of its people have had the freedom of the gospel in their hearts. When that inner freedom erodes, the outer freedom will follow.

Part Two: Why Moses Closes with These Words

That is the first part of the recap, the characters of the twelve sons and the development of Moses' prophecy from Jacob's foundation. Now we come to the second part: why does Moses close with these particular words after finishing his prophecy over all twelve tribes?

Moses says: there is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy! So Israel lived in safety. Jacob lived alone in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.

To understand why Moses says this now, we have to bring in Romans 8. When you hear this interpretation of Romans 8, you will see the perfect connection with Moses' closing words.

Romans 7 and 8: The Problem and the Answer

Paul's experience in Romans 7 is that he cannot overcome the sin living in his flesh. He knows what is right, he wants to do what is right, but he keeps doing what he hates. He discovers he is free from the law of sin and death through the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. But this freedom does not come automatically. You still have to set your mind on the things of the Spirit in order to experience life and peace. If you set your mind on the flesh, you have death. The problem is that believers tend to set their minds on the flesh. Like Reuben, like all the tribes of Israel, like modern Christians, we drift back toward the flesh. Rage and lust are among the two greatest reasons men commit crimes, break up their families, and ruin their testimony. If you asked ten men in any church what their greatest ongoing struggle is, most of them would name one of those two things.

So the people of God, whether ancient Israel or the church today, keep setting their minds on the things of the flesh rather than the things of the Spirit. They do not understand God's calling to bring many sons into glory, which is what Romans 8 is building toward. All creation is groaning and yearning to see the sons of God revealed, because when the sons of God come into their full inheritance and glory, all creation will be released from the bondage it has been under since the fall. But we do not care about that. We are occupied with the temporary pleasures and the immediate sins of the flesh. We do not care what creation is waiting for. We do not care what God's eternal plan is. Even with the Holy Spirit living within us, we resist Him. Galatians 5 says the flesh and the Spirit are in direct opposition. The Holy Spirit wants to bring you to conviction, repentance, and transformation. But your flesh says no, I am not doing this. Even after receiving Jesus, even as believers, we resist the Holy Spirit's leading. I have done it many times myself. I feel ashamed to say it, but I have deeply experienced resisting the Holy Spirit. Receiving Jesus into your heart is one step. But the Holy Spirit wants to bring you into further growth from that point forward, and our flesh resists that growth.

Paul says: do not quench the Holy Spirit. But we do quench Him. He is in us but unhappy, like a fire that has been smothered. So, Romans 8 continues by describing what happens next: the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words, too deep for human language, but not too deep for God.

The Conversation Within the Trinity: A Revelation

When I received the revelation of this passage, I understood it something like this. When we are not setting our minds on the things of God, when we are living in fleshly sin and resisting the Holy Spirit's leading, the Holy Spirit goes before the Father and speaks. He says something like: Father, what are we going to do with this person? I have spoken to him again and again. He keeps quenching me. He keeps rebelling against my leading. I have warned him many times, and he just does it anyway. He cannot seem to overcome his sin. What are you going to do?

The Father says: well, we are going to need to arrange some discipline. Let some difficulty come his way. Let his circumstances speak to him in a way he cannot ignore. Let someone close to him confront him, or let something go wrong that gets his attention. I am not describing God as an angry punisher. I mean this the way Hebrews 12 describes it: as a loving Father disciplining His children for their good. I can give you a small personal example. The Holy Spirit once very strongly told me not to do something, not to carry a heavy load of packaged grass. I was doing it out stubbornness. The Holy Spirit strongly told me “no”. I went ahead anyway because I was stubborn. I hurt my lower back. I have a lot of experiences like this. I am not proud to share them, but the principle is real. God arranges circumstances to discipline us when we will not listen to the Spirit.

Then Jesus Christ, our Advocate, our Lawyer, speaks on our behalf. He says: Father, do not do more than he can bear. You love him. If you press too hard, he will not be able to hold up under it. Do it precisely. Give him the lesson, but do not break him. And the Father agrees: we will not break you. We will give you what you need, but we will give you grace alongside it. There is a Chinese saying: the ear of the grain will not break the stem. If you have seen rice or heavy grain growing in a field, the grain ear can be very heavy, but the healthy stem does not break under it. A good plant holds the weight. That is what God does with us. He loads us with trials calibrated to our capacity. The difficulty will not break you, because breaking you was never the purpose. The purpose is the fruit of righteousness.

So out of the Holy Spirit's unspeakable groanings, God the Father arranges the discipline, and Jesus Christ is always pleading and strengthening you through it. You will experience suffering. That is what Romans 8 is describing when it talks about continuous suffering in this present age. And then, as if in direct response to the danger that suffering will make us doubt God's love, Paul writes the great conclusion: no, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Once you have suffered, once someone you prayed for died, once God did not heal you or deliver you the way you asked, the temptation is to think: does God really love me? Paul addresses this directly. He says: do not doubt the love of God. If God gave His own Son for you, will He spare anything else? He will give you all things. But you have to grow to the level of maturity where God can trust you with those things. You cannot receive everything automatically. You have to grow into it.

And so the dynamic is this: your flesh resists the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit intercedes with the Father, the Father arranges discipline, Jesus pleads for you and strengthens you through the trial, and the result is growth. The result is maturity. The result is the fruit of righteousness. And in the end, Paul says with full confidence: all things work together for good for those who love God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not death, not life, not angels, not rulers, not things present, not things to come, not height, not depth, not anything in all creation. That is the absolute final word.

Moses' Closing Words to Israel: The Same Message

This is exactly what Moses is saying to Israel in these final verses of Deuteronomy 33. Moses is about to die in chapter 34. He has finished blessing each tribe. And now he speaks to the whole nation with his last words. He essentially says: I know you. I know what you are going to do. When I was alive, you still rebelled. When I die, you are going to do even worse. God's severe discipline is waiting for you. There are centuries of it ahead. But do not lose heart. Do not ever forget who God is, and do not ever forget who you are. You are Jeshurun. You are the upright ones. That is what God calls you, even knowing everything you are about to do. You are called to be a holy nation, a treasured people, a light to the world. You are His testimony. And there is no one like your God. He rides through the heavens to help you.

I want to share something from a prophetic experience I was given. I was taken into heaven in a prophetic revelation.  I saw Jesus and we chatted briefly.  There was a woman serving there, helping newcomers understand what they were experiencing. It was like a welcome center of heaven and people who came to heaven will go through this door to heaven. They see Jesus first. After meeting with Jesus, we were ushered into this welcome center. My spirit was allowed to be there and observe for what felt like a couple of hours, asking questions. At one point, I caught a glimpse of something moving at tremendous speed in the background. I was told it was the Father. He was riding on something, and He passed so quickly that I only saw a blur, like smoke. I did not see His face or form. I saw Jesus face to face in that experience, but the Father passed too quickly for me to take in. I was deeply impressed and also a little disappointed that I had not seen more.

The woman who was serving there told me something important. She said that God does not need a vehicle to travel. God Himself moves with infinite speed. But whenever God travels, His vehicle always follows Him. It is the opposite of us: we have to go where the vehicle takes us. God moves first, and the vehicle follows. I do not know whether the vehicle is carried by the four living creatures or what exactly it is. I only saw something like smoke. That was that fast. And the Bible clearly speaks of God riding His cherubim, riding through the heavens, in many places throughout Scripture.

When you are in the middle of a desperate situation, praying and feeling like God is far away and moving slowly, the truth is He is faster than light. God can hear your prayer, make His decision, and be at your side in what feels like an instant. A thought, a cry, a desperate reaching out, and God is already there. I once saw a video of a woman standing on a beach who wrote the name of God in the sand in her own language and asked, is there a God? The wave came in and stopped at the edge of that writing. Then she wrote the word God, and the water immediately rushed over that place. It was a small and quiet miracle, but the message was clear: God heard the question of a heart reaching out and responded in that very moment. When you are saved, He rides through the heavens to help you. I was given a couple of experiences like that.

Moses continues: the eternal God is your dwelling place. This means that despite everything, despite your rebellion, your idolatry, your failure to set your mind on the things of the Spirit, the eternal God is still your home. You have to overcome the tendency of your flesh toward idol worship because the eternal God is your dwelling place. And underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrusts out the enemy before you. Your idols are nothing. Israel will live in safety. Jacob will dwell alone in a land of grain and wine, and the heavens will drop down dew. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? The shield of your help and the sword of your triumph. Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs. As David said in Psalm 110: my Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Israel will receive the final victory.

Conclusion: Do Not Lose Heart

Moses' final word to the whole tribe of Jacob is this: you are going to go through severe trial and discipline. It may last for a very long time. But do not, do not ever forget who God is. Do not forget who you are. And God will eventually bring you back and bring you the victory over your enemies.

This is the same message as Romans 8. The problem, for ancient Israel and for us today, is immaturity. We do not set our minds on the things of the Spirit. We pursue the things of the flesh. We commit spiritual fornication. We go after idols whether they are the literal idols of ancient Israel or the idols of money, status, lust, and rage that occupy our minds today. So, we need discipline. The Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son work together to bring that discipline, and to hold us through it, and to bring us out the other side as overcomers. Eventually God's purpose will be fulfilled. Eventually you will become an overcomer. Eventually many sons will enter into the glory of God and all of creation will be released from the bondage it has been groaning under since the fall. That is what Romans 8 promises and that is exactly what Moses was pointing to.

The fundamental issue is that we are not yet mature enough. The Israelites were babies spiritually. They could not consistently follow the law. They even had a veil over their hearts. So they needed discipline. And during that discipline, do not lose heart. Do not lose heart about who God is. Do not lose heart about who you are. And do not ever, ever doubt the love of God in Christ Jesus.

That is all for today. I hope you received something. Tomorrow we will hopefully finish Deuteronomy 34, the last chapter. Then we will seek God's leading about whether to move into Joshua or something else. Thank you for tuning in. Please pray for this ministry.  Share this teaching, comment, and repost it. And please write us a Google review by searching Jairus Bible World Ministries on Google Maps. Thank you very much. God bless you.

Bible Study With Jairus – Deuteronomy 26:12–15

When Love Becomes the Law: Caring for God’s Presence and God’s People

 

Deuteronomy 26:12–15 (ESV)

12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled,
13 then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
14 I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me.
15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

When Moses spoke these words, God’s chosen people were standing right on the edge of a land flowing with milk and honey. Moses understood the nature of the human heart and how easy it would be to forget God’s blessings once the people were surrounded with the comforts of the Promised Land. Chapter after chapter, he repeats the law to the people, not just as a set of instructions or rules, but as a merciful warning against drifting into cycles of rebellion and sin. And right at the end of this powerful warning, he summarizes the law with two key commands that will help God’s people love God and their neighbor.

Deuteronomy 26:12–15 as a “Turning Point”

The book of Deuteronomy is often misunderstood as a book of merely laws and regulations. But Moses shaped it with great care. He built the book with a clear center, framed by what comes before and what comes after. The book of Deuteronomy contains a long section of warning sandwiched between two words of blessing. Just like a sandwich has a piece of meat in between two pieces of bread, Moses begins his final discourse with a word of encouragement in the first few chapters, then warns the people not to abandon the law of God, and ends the book by blessing the people and giving prophetic promises.

Moses begins by reminding the people of their journey through the wilderness and the lessons they learned there, especially the lesson of faith. When God first promised the land of Canaan, the first generation failed to enter. Not because the land was impossible, but because they did not believe. Only Joshua and Caleb trusted that God would give them victory. Moses was aware of their faith and the lessons they learned from their parent’s failure in the wilderness. That was the first piece of bread.

In the middle of the book, Moses patiently repeats and reinforces God’s law. He warns the second generation not to forget the Lord once they enter the land of abundance. Moses reiterates all the laws and the wonders of God and warns the Israelites to follow the law.

Deuteronomy 26:12-15 comes at the very end of the long middle section of the book. It is placed at the end of the long warning, right before Moses begins to bless the people. This passage plays a pivotal role in Moses’s discourse. In this passage, he summarizes the law the same way Jesus did in Matthew 22:37-39. In essence, he tells the people to love God and love their neighbors.

• Love God. When Moses commanded the people to take care of the Levites, he was in essence commanding them to demonstrate their love for God. The Levites took care of the presence of God and helped the people communicate with Him. So taking care of the Levites was the same as showing love to God. Giving a tenth of your possessions to the Levites, or to the church in today’s terminology, is a clear sign that you love God.
• Love people. Taking care of the widow and the sojourner is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself.

After this admonition, Deuteronomy begins a section of blessings and curses, showing the consequences of obedience and disobedience. He ends the book by speaking blessing over the tribes of Israel, the final piece of bread in the “sandwich.”

Blessing: Promise After Repentance

In the book of Judges, God’s people did not trust God or obey him. They neglected the entire law. They did not love their neighbors as themselves or take care of the Levites. Instead, they lived according to their own selfish desires. Their society fell into chaos.

During this time period, Naomi and her family left the land of Israel and no longer cared for the Levites. In the land of Moab, Naomi’s husband and two sons died as a consequence for their sins. If Naomi and her husband had not abandoned their duty to take care of the Levites and to love God with their whole hearts, they would not have lost these three men from their household.

As a consequence of their sin, Naomi was now a widow and a sojourner. But then she repented. She no longer wanted people to call her Naomi, which meant “sweetness,” but to call her Mara, which meant “bitterness.” She acknowledged that the Almighty made her life bitter.

Ruth suffered from the consequences of the sins of her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law. But she chose to go along with Naomi in repentance.

The laws in Deuteronomy 26 were specifically designed for a person like Ruth, both a widow and a sojourner. When Ruth arrives in the land of Israel, Boaz obeys these commands. He takes care of Ruth and Naomi, who are widows and sojourners. Because of his obedience, he becomes the ancestor of King David, who becomes the ancestor of the Messiah.

Similarly, if we take care of the widows and the sojourners today, Jesus Christ will be born in their hearts. The word of God will be embodied and made flesh in their personal lives. Such a wonderful picture of salvation!

The story of Ruth and Boaz is a wonderful picture of restoration. It reminds us that redemption is possible, even after disobedience. Even if God’s people disobeyed his commands given in Deuteronomy, and were cursed for their disobedience, God still invited them to repent. When they turned back to him God would restore them in his loving kindness.

Boaz demonstrated love for God and people. The law was fully fulfilled in his life, and he ushered in the era of kingship (1 Samuel).

Two Wilderness Lessons: Faith and Obedience

Before Israel could inherit the promise, they had to learn what the promise required. Through many trials and tests, God taught them the importance of faith and obedience.

Faith

The first generation heard God’s promise, but they responded to the spies’ fearful report with fear of their own. They fixed their eyes on the giants in the land instead of trusting the God who had brought them out of Egypt. The promise was real and it never changed. All it required was faith to be received.

Their unbelief angered the Lord, and that generation wandered in the wilderness for forty years until it passed away.

The second generation begins to respond differently. When they face opposition, they do not remain in unbelief. They turn toward God in prayer. Their posture shifts. They begin to seek the Lord instead of shrinking back. They have learned, at least in part, that promise and faith are intertwined; that God’s promise becomes inheritance only when it is met with trust.

Obedience

The second wilderness lesson is obedience. However, rather than obeying, the people of Israel often respond with rebellion. As soon as Israel enters the land of Canaan, this pattern of rebellion begins to surface and it continues across generations. Scripture is clear: unbelief rarely stands alone. It is often joined to rebellion.

We see this clearly in the life of King Saul. When Saul rebelled against the Lord, the prophet Samuel confronted him with sobering words: “Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23). Rebellion is not just stubborn disobedience. It is a turning of the heart away from God, replacing trust with self-reliance.

The writer of Hebrews echoes this warning when reflecting on Israel’s wilderness failure. They did not fall because God’s promise failed, but because of two intertwined sins: unbelief and rebellion. They would not trust God, and they would not submit to Him. Together, unbelief hardened their hearts, and rebellion sealed their fate.

Scripture consistently links rebellion with idolatry because whatever replaces trust in God eventually claims the heart’s allegiance. This is why Israel’s story becomes so painful after they enter the land. They do not fully remove the idolatrous nations in the land. What remains unconquered does not disappear or stay neutral. It becomes a snare. The idolatry that Israel tolerated eventually began to shape them, and their rebellion left unaddressed turned their hearts away from the Lord.

Despite the disobedience of God’s people, God mercifully raised up priests to guard worship, kings to lead in obedience, and prophets to call the people back whenever the cycle began again.

God’s Three Pillars:

Priesthood: the presence of God

God’s original intention began with the priesthood. He desired a people who lived near His presence, governed by priests who worshiped, obeyed, and shared responsibility.

God’s presence in the Old Testament was never just symbolic. It was real and overwhelming. Fire, cloud, and voice revealed His holiness. At Mount Sinai, the people were frightened. They asked Moses to speak to God on their behalf, because they knew they were not yet ready to stand fully before such holiness. The distance didn’t exist because God was unwilling to be close. It existed because the people were not yet ready. Sin made direct closeness unsafe, so God, in mercy, provided a priesthood to help them learn what it meant to live near a holy God.

But this distance was never God’s final design. God was preparing a people who could live near His presence without fear, without the mediation of priesthood. As Peter later writes, God’s intention was always a royal priesthood. His desire was never that a few would approach Him on behalf of many, but that all His people would be transformed so that they could enter His presence. Because of Christ’s work on the cross, we no longer need a human high priest to stand between God and the people. With Jesus as our High Priest, human leaders no longer mediate between us and God. Instead, they shepherd, teach, and guide people into direct fellowship with the Lord.

Today, we as believers are called to live as priests. We can have daily fellowship with God, offer our lives as living sacrifices, and carry His presence into our ordinary, everyday lives.

In the Old Testament, a strong priesthood centered God in the life of the nation. It anchored their lives in worship and obedience. But when that priestly center weakened, self-rule began to rise, and authority slowly detached from submission to God. They slowly drifted away from him, one neglectful action at a time. Before long, people began living by what feels right instead of what is true.

When Israel cared for the Levites, they were putting God first. When the Levites were honored and supported, worship stayed strong. And when worship stayed strong, people remembered who God was and who they were as a people. But when the Levites were neglected, worship weakened. And when worship weakened, remembrance slowly faded.

When the priesthood was strong, Israel did not need centralized political power. God Himself was their King. But when God’s people neglected the priesthood, the people demanded a human king to lead them.

Similarly, when believers neglect their priestly calling and rely on others to stand between them and God, spiritual life begins to weaken. Even then, God remains merciful. He raises human leaders to guide, teach, and exercise authority. Today, we often refer to these leaders as pastors or elders. In the Old Testament, this same dynamic gave rise to the second pillar: kingship.

Kingship: Responsibility and Authority

Kingship provided structure, responsibility, and protection when personal devotion alone was not enough. Kingship emerged when self-rule increased and direct submission to God weakened. It was God’s way of providing structure and protection when the people could no longer govern themselves through shared devotion and worship. Yet this authority was never meant to replace priesthood. It existed to serve priesthood, not overshadow it. The purpose of kingship was to guide the people back toward maturity, helping them rediscover obedience, humility, and closeness to God.

When authority is healthy, it points people back to God rather than positioning itself in God’s place. In this way, leadership becomes a gift of mercy, not control. It helps the body grow until the people themselves are once again anchored in God, living not through borrowed faith, but through a restored, personal walk with Him.

Like a full moon that reflects the light of the sun, kingship was intended to reflect the loving authority of God to the people. The moon provides light and stability to God’s people.

Kingship still matters today. In the New Testament, believers are called co-kings with Christ. That doesn’t mean domination. It means responsibility. Authority exercised under submission to God. Every believer carries kingship within their own sphere, at home, at work, in culture, and in community.

When the priesthood is strong, daily fellowship with God anchors both people and leadership. But when that priestly life fades, kingship begins to falter. And when leadership falters, influence quietly slips away. Culture never remains empty; it always fills the vacuum. Scripture shows us that kingship can be righteous or corrupt. The same is true today. We can reflect God’s light like a lamp on a stand, or hide it and allow darkness to spread.

Kingship isn’t about power. It’s about stewardship. It exists to serve the priesthood, protect people, and point hearts back to God. When exercised rightly, it stabilizes a people and prepares the way for restoration.

Kingship fails when it forgets the priesthood and it succeeds when it serves it.

Prophetic Witness: Light in Dark Times

Prophetic witness is the last pillar in God’s pattern because it functions as a correction. That means prophetic witness is a necessity. It emerges when order has broken down and truth must be spoken clearly again.

In the Old Testament, whenever prophets appear, they reveal the spiritual state of the nation. Their voices signal that something has broken and needs to be restored.

Prophecy is God’s mercy at work when the priesthood has faded and leadership has failed. It is the voice that interrupts decline and invites return.

When a king reflects God well, he provides stability and clarity to the nation, like a bright full moon reflecting the sun and lighting up the midnight landscape. On a clear night with a bright full moon, you don’t see many stars. The moon’s light fills the sky. But on a dark night, when the moon is hidden or dim, the stars suddenly become visible. Similarly, when kingship fails, God raises up stars (prophets) to shine in the darkness. The darker the night, the brighter the stars appear.

King Ahab is a clear example. He was one of Israel’s worst kings. Instead of reflecting God’s authority, he led the nation into spiritual darkness. And in that darkness, God raised up one of the brightest prophetic voices in Scripture: Elijah. Elijah didn’t appear because times were good. He appeared because they were dangerously dark. Imagine living in Ahab’s time without Elijah. That gives us a sense of how serious the failure of leadership had become.

In modern history this pattern is evident in Germany. Before Nazi Germany rose to power, Germany was widely considered a Christian nation. Yet many believers failed to exercise moral and spiritual responsibility. Kingship, leadership, influence, and accountability had collapsed. And into that darkness, God raised a prophetic voice in Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Like John the Baptist, he didn’t perform miracles, but he spoke truth. He warned the church that tolerating injustice would eventually lead to its own destruction.

Paul teaches that the prophetic voice belongs to the whole church, not just a few. Prophecy is not fortune-telling, but truth-telling. Peter reminds us that Scripture is the surest prophetic word, and its message is always Jesus. The Apostle John says that the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. That means every believer can exercise a prophetic gift in everyday life. We speak light into darkness. We awaken hope where hearts have grown weary. Sometimes prophecy sounds as simple as truth spoken in love. Sometimes it is a reminder that God has not abandoned His people. It is the courage to say what needs to be said when others choose silence.

God puts light in the mouths of His people, refusing to let darkness have the final word.

The Law Fulfilled in Love

We often treat Deuteronomy as a book of laws. But at its core, it is a heart-forming book about remembrance.

Deuteronomy 26:12–15 is where everything finally comes together. After all the repeated warnings and instructions, Moses brings Israel back to what matters most. The law was designed to reveal love as its center.

The Levite was set apart because he had no land, inheritance, or any independent means of provision. His portion was the Lord Himself. Caring for the Levite was not charity. It was the covenant of love made visible.

To care for the Levite was to honor God’s presence among His people. The Levites represented worship, teaching, and the daily life of faith. When they were cared for, worship remained strong. And when worship was healthy, the people thrived in their identity. They remembered who God was, and they remembered who they were. Loving God meant guarding the place where faith was formed.

But covenant love did not stop there. To care for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow was to love your neighbor in practical, everyday ways. These were people without protection, power, or security. In a land built on family lines and land ownership, they had no safety net. God deliberately placed them at the center of Israel’s obedience to reveal His heart.

How a people treated the vulnerable showed whether they truly understood grace. Love for God was never meant to remain at the altar. It was always meant to spill into daily life, shaping how His people treated those most easily overlooked.

Later Jesus summarized the entire law so simply: love God, and love your neighbor. Everything else flows from that center.

What’s striking is what comes next. After obedience comes prayer. The people say, “I have not forgotten. I have obeyed.” This isn’t self-praise. It’s alignment. They’re saying, “God, Your priorities are my priorities.”

And from that place, they ask for blessing. “Look down… and bless.”

Blessing flows from alignment. When God’s presence is honored and the vulnerable are cared for, the land becomes more than productive. It becomes reflective of God’s heart.

Deuteronomy 26:12–15 reminds us that obedience was never meant to replace relationship. The law exists to protect love. Love for God. Love for neighbor. And when love is restored, blessing naturally follows.

That’s the heart of the law. And it still is.

 

Reflective Questions

• What does “guarding God’s presence” look like in my ordinary, daily life?

• What small areas of neglect have slowly weakened my spiritual attentiveness?
• Where has comfort dulled my remembrance of God’s faithfulness?

• Where has God entrusted me with light that I have kept hidden?

• Who are the “easily overlooked” people in my life right now?

• What would it look like for me to “tend the lamp” again this week?

Closing Prayer

 

Heavenly Father,

Today, I bring before you a heart that has grown hard through neglect and quiet rebellion.
I submit it again to Your Word and to the call to love my neighbor.

Forgive me for the silence where truth should have been spoken.
Forgive me for the moments I chose distance over love,
and for the times I refused to remain rooted in Your way.

Awaken in me my first love,
the love that surrenders everything,
the love that stays faithful,
the love that reflects Your own.

Let that love breathe life into the places I have neglected.
Restore what has been left unattended.
Teach me again how to tend the lamp you entrusted to me.

I return to You.
I choose love again.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Deuteronomy 33: Moses' Prophecies to the Twelve Tribes

Dan, the Lion's Cub Springing Out of Bashan

Welcome and Opening Prayer

Welcome back to Bible study with Jairus. We continue our study of Deuteronomy 33, Moses' prophecy concerning the tribe of Dan. We will look at Moses' words alongside Jacob's earlier prophecy about Dan, and consider what God's salvation looked like in Dan's story. I pray the Holy Spirit gives us understanding. Let's start with prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you humbly. We need your help. We need the Holy Spirit to bring us into the experience of Dan, into his prophecy, and to show us how sinners like Dan can receive your transformation and salvation, until we become a pearl gate in the New Jerusalem. We ask Jesus Christ to cleanse us with his precious blood. We ask the Holy Spirit to anoint us with oil. We ask the Heavenly Father to bless this hour. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

The Story of Rachel, Bilhah, and Dan's Birth

According to Genesis 30, Leah had already given birth to four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, before her womb closed for a time. Rachel, meanwhile, could not conceive, and it grieved her deeply. She told Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die,” and Jacob grew angry with her, since the matter was not his to decide.

So, Rachel gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, that she might bear children on Rachel's behalf. When the first son was born, Rachel named him Dan, saying, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Her humiliation, in other words, had been removed. Later Bilhah bore a second son, Naphtali, of whom we will speak another time. Rachel said of him, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”

The rivalry between Rachel and Leah, and the pain, neglect, and strife that surrounded it, formed the environment these children grew up in. It is worth pausing here, because our character is often woven together with our fate.

Character Shapes Fate

Why do we spend time examining the character of each of Jacob's sons? Because God created each of us with a unique nature, yet how we respond to our environment, especially a difficult one, shapes who we become. Joseph is the clearest example. He suffered as much as any of his brothers, yet he understood his suffering completely differently than they understood theirs. He knew his brothers meant him harm, but that God meant it for good. He could see God's purpose behind human sin and failure.

His brothers, especially Simeon, could not see past their immediate trials. They decided Joseph was the problem, and that killing him would solve it. God made us free agents with free will, and the way we interpret the world we are given, the lens we choose to look through, shapes our character and our future. Had Joseph not chosen to see God's hand at work, he would surely have taken revenge on his brothers after their father died. He did not, because he understood that God's will stood behind even the sinful behavior of the people around him.

Being born into a complicated, painful family often bends a person's understanding of the world, sometimes into a mindset that Satan can use to build a stronghold within them. Hatred works that way. With that in mind, let me offer some imagination about why Reuben may have slept with Bilhah and defiled his father's bed.

Imagining Dan's Early Environment

Neglect and a kind of functional divorce can leave a wife bitter, but having children nearby often gives comfort. When I worked as a reporter in Los Angeles, there was a neighborhood we nicknamed “Second Wife Village.” Many corrupt officials from China bought expensive homes in America for their second or third wives, women who were, in effect, mistresses supported by stolen money. These men would visit occasionally, but their children largely grew up without a father's presence. If you are aware of the Chinese community in Lost Angeles, you understand what I’m talking about.

Even so, many of these women managed to build a life around their children. A woman can often bear the absence of a husband if she has a child, sometimes more than one, to pour her love into. But take the child away from her, and that becomes far harder to bear.

With that in mind, consider Genesis 30 again. When Rachel proposed giving Bilhah to Jacob, she made the terms plain: Bilhah could bear the child, but the child would belong to Rachel, would sit on Rachel's knee as her own. In effect, Rachel took Dan, and later Naphtali, away from Bilhah, since both boys were named by Rachel, not their birth mother.

I spent ten years without children before finally having what felt like a miracle child, and during that time I met many people connected to fertility clinics and heard many stories about surrogates. Sometimes a surrogate carries another couple's child for nine months and grows attached, and separating from that baby is agonizing. Bilhah's case was harder still. These were her own children by blood, yet by agreement they would never truly be hers.

If Bilhah had been allowed to raise her own two sons herself, she may well have had no need to seek comfort elsewhere. Instead, it is possible that grief, neglect, and unmet longing left her vulnerable, and that both she and Reuben were exploited by this vulnerability to defile Jacob's bed. Many single mothers manage well when they can pour their love into their children. But take the children away, and the loss becomes unbearable. There are many single mothers in America that love and care for their kids. That, I believe, was Bilhah's experience: two sons taken from her because, by agreement, they belonged to Rachel.

Growing Up Among Four Older Brothers

Seen this way, Dan was the firstborn son in Jacob's household outside of Leah's own children. I mentioned yesterday that Leah's first four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, arrived almost as a single pride of young lions ready to conquer the world. I do not know exactly how Dan fit into that group, but I suspect it was not easy. Perhaps this offers some insight into how Dan grew up: how he responded to a difficult family situation, how his character was shaped, how he later fell, and how God eventually worked salvation through him, all of which Jacob seems to have observed and folded into his prophecy.

Character Traits and the Seed of Prophecy

The character traits Jacob observed in his sons became the seed of the prophetic blessings he gave them. Take Issachar, for example. Jacob saw in him the quiet patience of a donkey, and prophesied accordingly. Moses later built on that seed, blessing Issachar to rejoice in his tents alongside Zebulun, one carrying an apostolic calling and the other a prophetic one, together drawing Jew and Gentile alike to the mountain of God.

First Chronicles 12 even records that the men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do. You can see how a single observed trait develops, generation after generation, into a fuller calling. God spoke over Zebulun not only through Jacob's blessing and Moses' prophecy, but also through Isaiah in chapter 9, who foretold that Galilee, once a place of contempt, would become the very region from which the ministries of Jesus and Peter emerged. Contempt and humiliation, in other words, can become the starting point for God's greatest work.

The same pattern of development shows up in Dan's story. I have already offered a picture of the environment Dan may have grown up in, based on Genesis 30 and common human experience. Now let's turn to Jacob's prophecy itself, and ask the Holy Spirit for further light.

 

Jacob's Prophecy: Dan Will Provide Justice (Genesis 49:16-17)

Jacob said, “Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.” This is vivid, mysterious, prophetic language, and it deserves some unpacking.

Why would Jacob say Dan will provide justice for his people? I believe Jacob's blessings, in every case, were rooted first in what he observed in his sons growing up within a large, complicated, and often painful family, itself a small picture of the wider human world: a field of sin, neglect, hatred, and misunderstanding. Yet without anyone fully seeing it, God was already preparing, out of this difficult and sinful family dynamic, a seed of salvation. Eventually a Savior would come from the tribe of Jacob to save the world, and all twelve tribes would one day experience God's transforming power and become the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem.

I doubt anyone living in Old Testament times, or even most Jewish people today, holds this full revelation, that the twelve tribes will one day become the twelve pearl gates of New Jerusalem, gates through which both Jew and Gentile enter the mountain of God to worship him. Jacob may have grasped part of this. He was a prophetic man who had encountered God many times, through the suffering of his life, the tension of four wives, twelve sons, and one daughter, and the long process of maturing through pain. By the end of his life he could bless even Pharaoh, the greatest ruler of his day, and speak prophetic promises over his own sons. So in some measure, Jacob may have understood that humanity's temporary suffering leads, in God's hands, toward eternal salvation.

The Nature of True Justice

Justice is always tied to injustice; wherever there is a cry for justice, an injustice has already occurred. I imagine that as Leah's four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, were growing up, they did not always act righteously toward their younger brothers. There may well have been bullying. And wherever injustice exists, a need for justice follows.

We see the same pattern in American history: real injustice was done to Native Americans, and African Americans. Nobody honestly denies this. But where do we find true justice? Consider a case that made headlines: an African American man was reported to have said, after killing a white woman from Ukraine, that he had “killed another white girl.” That is not justice. That is injustice compounding injustice. True justice is never found simply in harming the person, or the group, that once caused harm. Even given a long history of injustice done to African Americans, killing a woman simply because she is white, without even knowing her nationality or her story, is not justice. It is revenge.

Here is the key distinction: injustice creates a genuine need for justice, but true justice never comes from revenge or hatred. It comes only from the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ and God our creator.

Given this pattern, it seems likely that Dan grew up experiencing real injustice himself. Perhaps he was taken from his mother, Bilhah, as I described earlier. Perhaps he was mistreated by his older brothers. Out of that kind of wound, a person typically responds in one of two ways: by seeking revenge, which seems to have been Simeon's path, or by becoming someone God uses, imperfectly, as an instrument of justice on behalf of others, as we later see in Dan's descendant Samson.

Dan Among the Twelve Tribes

Jacob continues by naming Dan as one of the tribes of Israel, which carries its own quiet mystery (Genesis 49:16). In Revelation, among the 144,000 sealed from the twelve tribes, Dan is notably absent. Many scholars believe Dan was cut off from that number. And yet in the end, Dan still appears among the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem. Somehow, mysteriously, Dan is preserved even after apparently being cut off. What happened to Dan in childhood, and what he had to pass through afterward, both seem bound up with this eventual salvation, brought about through Jacob's prayer over him and, no doubt, others.

The Viper by the Road (Genesis 49:17)

Jacob's language here is a prophetic picture: Dan as a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, striking at the horse's heels so its rider falls backward. Picture Dan struggling against his four older brothers, perhaps riding ahead on horseback while Dan, smaller and pushed to the margins, waited by the road like a snake, ready to trip them up. Perhaps his brothers once chased him on horseback, only to be outwitted by him in the end. Whatever the precise memory behind the image, it likely reflects how Jacob observed Dan dealing with his brothers inside that difficult family.

Dan's Later History: The Danites and the Idols of Micah

History bears this pattern out. Dan's tribe would later lose the land originally allotted to them, wander in search of new territory, and, according to the book of Judges, forcibly take a priest and idols from Micah's household, killing many people along the way. The tribe of Dan gained a reputation for ferocity. When Micah's household pursued them to recover what had been stolen, Dan's answer was blunt: we are fierce people, we show no mercy, do not push us further or we may kill you and no one will ever know.

That same characteristic, biting like a viper, seems to have been present even in Dan's early dealings with his own brothers, and it eventually spread into open harm against his own kinsmen, God's own people. Dan's tribe did not simply lose their land. They also became, in the north, a leading center of idol worship, home to one of the golden calves that drew Israelites from as far away as Dan itself to bow before an image instead of God. Given the whole of this story, it becomes clear that Dan experienced, and caused, a great fall. That is precisely the condition that calls for salvation.

From Injustice to True Justice: The Cross

After describing Dan's character and his calling to bring justice for God's people, not through revenge or hatred toward his own brothers, Jacob's prophecy touches something universal. Whether we are white, black, Asian, or any other background, we are all part of one humanity, all made in the image of God. Our real fight is not against flesh and blood but against the ruling authorities of darkness, as Paul writes. Yet however we were raised, and whatever injustice we may have suffered, whether as an African American in America today or as Dan among his brothers, the first instinct, born of human failure, limited understanding, and a poor grasp of God's wisdom in suffering, is to answer injustice with more injustice: to seek revenge. I believe that was Dan's temptation as well. In a sense, his prophetic calling, to bring justice for God's people as one of Israel's tribes, was meant to redirect that very impulse.

I am an immigrant, and as an Asian and Chinese American I have experienced discrimination too. But the way we pursue God's justice cannot be by creating fleshly injustice against those who wronged us. Every sinner starts out this way, believing the sword is the answer. That is why Peter drew his sword, and why Jesus told him to put it away: those who live by the sword die by the sword. True justice comes only through the justice of God, made visible when Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross. There, the justice of God was fully satisfied, and because of it, our sins can be forgiven. The deepest injustice ever committed against a human being, what was done to Jesus Christ, became the very means by which God's justice and our reconciliation were accomplished. He bore all our sin and injustice. Apart from that, God could not reconcile with us, because the wages of sin is death. But Christ accomplished our redemption and became, in himself, the righteousness and justice of God.

So, the calling on Dan, to bring justice to God's people, was never a calling to create more injustice. Yet that is exactly the mistake Dan seems to have made. Even Moses, called to lead Israel out of Egypt, could not do so by killing an Egyptian, and when he tried, his own people rejected him, saying, “Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” The injustice done to us can only be redeemed through the justice of God found in Christ. That is a hard lesson to learn.

Jacob's Cry for Salvation (Genesis 49:18)

This realization seems to be what brings about the one truly unique moment in this part of Jacob's prophecy. Unlike his words over any other son, Jacob suddenly cries out: “Lord, I long for your salvation. I look for your deliverance.” I do not know whether Jacob glimpsed the person of Jesus Christ before his incarnation, though Jesus himself said that Abraham rejoiced to see his day, and Paul writes that the spiritual Rock, who is Christ, accompanied Israel through the wilderness. Whether or not Jacob saw Christ directly, in this moment he clearly acknowledged, through all the suffering, sin, strife, and hatred surrounding him, and through humanity's habit of answering injustice with more injustice, that he needed a Savior.

This is really the trajectory of the entire Old Testament. The law and the prophets, Paul tells us, find their conclusion in Christ. Long before that fulfillment came, people sensed it and cried out from the heart, “Lord, I need your deliverance.” That itself is a prophetic declaration, a foreshadowing of the dead being called to minister justice. We are all, in that sense, dead in our need, and yet Paul reminds us that one day we will judge angels. Our true enemy was never each other, not black against white, not Jew against Gentile, not Joseph against his brothers, but the fallen spiritual powers who deceived Adam and have deceived humanity ever since. When we finally grasp that we are the body of Christ, many sons among many sons, we will enter into the glory that will be revealed when Christ himself is revealed, and all creation, groaning under corruption, will finally be set free, as Paul describes in Romans 8.

Every person eventually reaches a point, as Paul confesses in Romans 7, where they say, “I am a wretched man; I need a Savior.” Dan's experience, his calling to minister justice, and his tendency to pursue it through more injustice, were all seen by his father Jacob, who prophesied that Dan, above all, needed deliverance. That impulse toward revenge was never going to accomplish what God intended.

Moses' Prophecy: The Lion's Cub from Bashan (Deuteronomy 33:22)

This brings us to Moses' own prophecy, given here in a single striking sentence: “Dan is a lion's cub, springing out of Bashan.” Bashan was ruled by King Og, a place associated with a demonized people, made in God's image yet given over as tools of evil, who refused every chance to repent. God eventually used Israel to bring judgment on them and establish justice in that land, since they had rebelled against him and allied themselves with evil.

Yet out of that very place, Bashan, Moses prophesies that Dan will spring forth like a lion's cub: a picture of the mature body of Christ, of the many sons of God coming into the fullness of their calling, victorious and reigning as co-heirs with Christ. This lion's cub is a young king, destined to represent the body of Christ in judging the fallen powers. Bashan itself stands as a picture of a fallen earth full of fallen people, over whom God nonetheless brings justice through his own people, just as the Canaanites represented the wider world of demonic influence that God will ultimately judge through his church, the victorious overcomers who carry his justice into an unjust world.

That is the meaning of the lion's cub springing out of Bashan. It tells us that Dan, though seemingly cut off, will be restored among the tribes of Israel and stand as one of the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem, bringing justice at last to an unjust world.

 

 

Closing Thoughts

Today, we as the church, as God's people, are called to carry that same justice into our own unjust world. But the way we carry it is never through revenge or through inflicting fleshly injustice on those who have wronged us. It is through becoming, like Dan, a lion's cub springing out of Bashan: co-heirs with Christ who will one day represent God, as many mature sons, in judging the fallen powers, even as we ourselves are brought into his eternal kingdom and glory.

I hope this gives you a little more insight into this prophetic picture. I will see you next time. Thank you for joining us.

Bible Study with Jairus

Deuteronomy 33: Moses' Prophecies to the Twelve Tribes

Asher: Let His Feet Be Bathed in Oil (Verses 24-25)

 

Introduction: From Jacob's Observation to Moses' Blessing

Welcome back to Bible study with Jairus. Today we are going to look at the prophecy concerning Jacob's son Asher, both the blessing Jacob spoke over him and the blessing Moses later spoke over him. Jacob said that Asher's food would be rich, and that he would provide delicacies fit for a king. That blessing was rooted in something Jacob had observed firsthand: Asher's life was marked by being a peacemaker, by bringing good food to the table, and by serving others with a generous, hospitable spirit.

Moses took that same observation and developed it even further. In his blessing, Moses declared that Asher would be the most blessed of all the sons, favored by his brothers above the rest. He would be the peacemaker, embodying what the Apostle Paul later calls the bond of peace in Colossians 3, the peace of Christ ruling in the heart, the bond that holds us together as one body.

We are meant to live together in unity as brothers and sisters in God's family. As the psalmist says, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. But the honest truth about Jacob's family is that unity was not the norm. It was a household full of strife. Yet God's calling for his people was never strife; God's calling was to bring unity out of struggle and conflict. In time, God blessed the unity of his people, just as Psalm 133 describes: blessed are those who dwell together in unity, for it is like the precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robe. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forevermore. In other words, the outward picture is beautiful, but underneath there was real tension between the tribes. Still, God's calling was always to bring them into unity.

When God's children walk in unity, they receive a blessing from on high, pictured by that oil flowing from the head of Aaron, down through his beard, down to his garments, and finally to his feet. In his prophetic blessing over Asher, Moses built on Jacob's earlier observation of Asher as a peacemaker, someone who cooked good food and brought delicacies fit for a king, much like a mother in the home whose cooking becomes an act of peacemaking. We see a similar pattern with Stephen in the book of Acts. When strife arose among the believers because the widows were being overlooked and were not receiving food, the apostles set apart Stephen and several others who were full of the Holy Spirit to handle that need. Through their service, they became peacemakers, and the word of God grew because unity was restored.

Those who supply food, whether physically or spiritually, often become peacemakers in this way. Stephen was a peacemaker. In the same spirit, Moses developed Jacob's prophecy of Asher as the one who brings food to the table, calling him the most blessed among his brothers. We know that Joseph held a unique place among his brothers and received a remarkable blessing of his own. But why does Moses call Asher the most blessed and the most favored of all his brothers? Because Asher's ministry, fundamentally, was the ministry of a peacemaker. When a peacemaker dwells among God's people, when brothers live together in unity, that oneness releases great power for God's people. Both the Old and New Testaments echo this truth. There is an old saying, using a Chinese illustration, that a single chopstick is easily broken, but when chopsticks are bound together, they cannot be easily broken. One can put a thousand to flight, but two can put ten thousand to flight. The power of unity is immense.

Unity, Reconciliation, and the Power of the Spirit

This is the power of reconciliation, and it is the ministry pictured in Asher. The power of unity, built on the bond of love in Christ Jesus, whether among the tribes of the Old Testament or within the church today, becomes a powerful weapon in the hands of God's people. Out of unity comes blessing from on high. Out of unity comes a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In both Testaments, the ministry of Asher is the ministry of the peacemaker, the bond of love and peace that produces unity. Once that unity is established on the firm foundation of Christ's revelation, even Jesus' own teaching reflects it: he told Peter that we should forgive our brother seventy times seven. He also told Peter that he was a rock, but it was the revelation Peter spoke, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, that became the true rock and foundation of the church, and the foundation of its unity. A church built on this foundation, built on this ground of oneness in Jesus Christ, is one against which the gates of Hades shall not prevail.

So, with the ministry of Asher, building on the prophecy Jacob gave through his observation of his son's character, Moses developed this into a fuller blessing. Most blessed of sons is Asher, Moses says. Let him be favored by his brothers. That means everyone loved Asher; he was the most favored among his brothers. And further, let his feet be bathed in oil. This recalls the picture from Psalm 133, where oil was poured on the head of Aaron the priest and flowed down to his beard, then to his robe, and finally saturated him all the way to his feet. The poetic image of Asher's feet dipped in oil shows that he carried the ministry of reconciliation and unity so completely that, from head to toe, he was saturated with it. He was accepted by every one of his brothers, even amid so much strife elsewhere in the family. His was a ministry of unity and of consolation. Out of this ministry, the tribes of Israel would become one great army of God.

That is why Moses continues, saying that the bolts of Asher's gate would be iron and bronze, so that no enemy could break through, and that his strength would equal his days. Think about the situation in America today. There is a rise of antisemitism, and some say we can support the Israeli people but must never criticize the Israeli government, while others say we must understand the strategy of the enemy: if Satan can break the bond between the nation of Israel and Christians, he can far more easily move against all Judeo-Christian, Bible-believing people of God. So, we must be careful, and we must seek balance. Yes, criticism of a government's policies is legitimate, and yes, we should continue to pray for the salvation of the Jewish people, who are not yet saved. But we must understand the strategy of the enemy and work toward unity between Jewish people and Gentile Christians, especially here in America. We cannot allow that bond to be severed.

Let us go further still. Imagine if all Christians, whatever their tradition (high church or low church, this denomination or that, Protestant or Catholic), all Bible-believing, Jesus-believing Christians, dwelt together in unity. Can you imagine the power of God we would receive, the blessing from on high, the beauty of a church about which Jesus said the gates of Hades shall not prevail? Just as Moses described, when God's people walk in unity, their gates have bolts of iron and bronze, and they are full of power. Their days are full of strength, whatever number of days they are given, just as it was said of Caleb. They are full of strength and full of power, able to overcome the kingdom of darkness through unity. This is the revelation we are considering today regarding the ministry of Asher.

Colossians 3 and the Call to Unity in the Church

I want to return to Psalm 133 and also bring in Colossians 3. I will say more about this passage later, but here the Apostle Paul addresses the strife present among the members of his church and exhorts them toward unity. In Colossians 3:12-15, he writes, put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Just as there was strife and hatred among the children of Jacob in that dysfunctional family, a picture of the brokenness of this world, there has also been strife within the church of God, whether in Corinth or in Colossae. But Paul reminds them: remember who you are. You are God's chosen ones. In Colossians 3:12, the Jewish people are described as God's chosen, called to be a holy nation; strife or not, that calling remains. Likewise, we as Christians are chosen, holy, and beloved. There may be strife in the church, but we must remember that the ministry of Jesus Christ is reconciliation.

Paul encourages believers to put on, as one would put on clothing, compassion, kindness, love, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another when there is a complaint, just as the Lord has forgiven us, so we must forgive. And above all these, he says, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace, and be thankful. This is a beautiful illustration from Paul about the unity of the church. We experience strife, but we are called to put on the compassion and oneness of God, and above all, his love, that we might walk in this unity in Jesus Christ, in harmony.

This is a fitting picture for the Old Testament Israelites and for the ministry of Asher. Asher's ministry is a type of reconciliation and unity, for the reasons already given: he was known as someone who put food on the table, food that was good, even fit to be called a king's delicacy. Jacob first observed this, but Moses' prophecy went further, describing Asher as the most favored and most blessed among all his brothers. Everyone loved Asher. And his feet would be dipped in oil, a continuous picture of the blessing of oil flowing on the heads of brothers dwelling together in unity. When you dwell together in unity, you gain the power to stand against your enemy. Your gate has bolts of iron and bronze, and your strength matches your days.

That concludes the introduction to today's revelation. From here, we will move into the first section, returning to a principle we have outlined before

The Twelve Tribes: A Story Still Unfolding

In this first section, I want to reiterate something the Holy Spirit has shown us about God's dealings with the twelve tribes. Each of the twelve sons of Israel carries a unique story of salvation, a story of turning from sin and being transformed by the life of God into a living stone of the New Jerusalem. As I have said before, their stories are not yet finished, even in the New Testament. They remain a work in progress. The tribe of Dan offers a clear example. In Revelation, when the angel marks 144,000 from the twelve tribes on their foreheads to protect them from harm, Dan is conspicuously absent from that list. It seems likely that Dan went through some particularly difficult trial. Yet eventually, Dan is restored and appears again as one of the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem.

Even from the story of Dan alone, we see that the work of Jesus Christ in this tribe was not yet finished, because the New Jerusalem is still being built, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, founded on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. In the end, there are twelve pearl gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes, and twelve foundation stones bearing the names of the twelve apostles.

As Gentile believers, we too are precious stones, though we were once made only of dirt, full of impurity. Yet through trial, that impurity is refined into something unique: a distinct kind of stone, shaped by our particular struggles, each one becoming a singular expression of God's glory. In the same way, each tribe of Israel is being transformed into one of the twelve pearl gates of the New Jerusalem. Eventually, in the cornerstone of Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, living stones from the Old and New Testaments alike, are being built together into a spiritual temple. As the Apostle Peter says, we are all part of a royal priesthood, called by God.

So, the transformation of the twelve tribes of Israel is not finished; it is still underway. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 9 through 11 that when the full number of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved. The work of God in the twelve tribes is not complete. It may be temporarily paused, much like an app running quietly in the background on your phone, but God is still at work. Many of the promises given to the tribes of Israel remain unfulfilled. At least ten of the tribes effectively disappeared from history, scattered among the nations, yet they will be called back to Israel one day.

So what is the work God is doing among the twelve tribes? Beyond making them the pearl gates of the New Jerusalem, God is bringing them into unity, and bringing Jews and Gentile believers together into one building, the New Jerusalem. But the present reality is that there is no unity yet; there is strife. And that strife runs all the way back to the constant struggles within Jacob's own family, which was, in every sense, a dysfunctional household: one father, four wives, twelve sons, and one daughter.

Two Rival Camps: Leah and Rachel

Within that family, there were at least two rival camps. The first was the camp of Leah, who had four sons of her own: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. I have described them before as something like a gang of four, four lions on the prowl, determined to conquer the world. Leah's camp also included sons born to her maidservant Zilpah, who, though not born of Leah directly, were still counted as part of Leah's tribe.

On the other side was the camp of Rachel, the wife Jacob loved most but who, for a long time, could not have children. Eventually she received sons through her maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. I have imagined, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, that Dan and Naphtali had a difficult childhood, raised in some sense apart from their birth mother, sitting on Rachel's knees as she gave them their names, belonging fully to her in that legal and emotional sense. Perhaps, in moments of conflict, when they fought for their place beside Rachel, Reuben, Levi, Simeon, and Judah taunted them, telling them they were the sons of a maidservant, not true sons of Rachel, accusing them of overstepping, of not truly belonging.

Dan may have received Rachel's affection for a season, but he surely lost that special place once Joseph was born; I doubt Rachel had much attention left for Dan after that. And so Dan became twisted, in a sense dehumanized in Jacob's eyes, often described almost as a serpent. I have described Dan's character as someone hardened by hatred, looking for ways to wound others, shaped by injustice into a desire for revenge. Jacob's prayer over Dan reflects this: 'I wait for your salvation, O Lord.' Jacob understood that injustice had indeed been done to Dan, but also understood that injustice cannot be answered with more injustice, that violence cannot be met with more violence, that the wound must instead be met with deliverance.

Naphtali, by contrast, seems to have learned a different lesson from the same family pain. Consider an illustration from recent history: Donald Trump has said he never drank alcohol, smoked, or used drugs, not because he claims to be perfect, but because his brother died from alcoholism, and that loss shaped him deeply. He raised his own son, Barron, the same way: no drugs, no smoking, no drinking, and excellence in school. When your sibling has gone through something devastating, you either follow the same path, or you choose, deliberately, to become the opposite.

I once watched a documentary about an African American man who had killed someone and was serving time in prison. In the interview, he explained how he ended up there: his older brother had been a respected gang member on the street, someone he idolized as a kind of hero. When his brother was killed, he wanted revenge, and he followed in his brother's footsteps, eventually becoming a gang member himself, and ultimately killing someone else to prove he, too, could be the one in charge. That is one example, drawn from real human experience, of how grief and admiration for a sibling can lead someone further into the same destructive pattern. Donald Trump's story is the opposite example: his brother's death from alcoholism led him in the entirely opposite direction. It is something we see in many dysfunctional families. Some children repeat the pattern, continuing cycles of dysfunction or divorce. Others determine, often painfully, to break the cycle, to turn the curse in their family into something different.

In a similar way, Naphtali, watching what hatred and constant family strife had done to those around him, chose forgiveness instead. I have described Naphtali's calling as something like the ministry of the gospel itself: receiving forgiveness, receiving the joy of salvation through forgiveness. I have shared before how my own heart was once full of hatred before I came to Christ, as though a snake were biting me from within, full of poison. But when I received Jesus Christ, that hatred was released, and I was set free, free like a doe, like a mother deer leaping for joy, full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The Wisdom of Balance Amid Struggle

We see this pattern of two opposing camps in many places. In America, there is a left and a right, blue and red. In every human society, there are at least two competing factions, locked in ongoing struggle. In China, during the Cultural Revolution, there was a left and a right, with a leader, sometimes a dictatorship, sometimes even a king, working to balance these struggles and to maintain order between them. I am not describing this in a purely negative light; this kind of balancing is, in its own way, a form of wisdom. God works in a similar manner, not through deception or manipulation, but through wisdom.

So in the ongoing struggle within Jacob's family, God intervened. When Jacob loved Rachel and Leah felt unloved, God stepped in. Seeing that Leah was unloved, God blessed her with children, four sons in succession. Each time she gave birth, she rejoiced: 'I have a son, Reuben.' 'Now I have another, Simeon.' 'I have Levi; now my husband will be united to me.' 'I have Judah; now I will praise the Lord.' Rachel, meanwhile, was not at peace. We see in this story the struggle between two sisters playing out in real time. Rachel had Jacob's love, but no child, while Leah had children but felt unloved. Early in Genesis 30, Rachel finally cried out to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I will die!' That is a striking, desperate plea. The tension between the two sisters had become fierce and dramatic. Jacob, understandably frustrated, responded, 'Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?'

At this point, Rachel devised a plan, perhaps a human idea, but one God allowed to unfold. She gave her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob, so that Bilhah's children would, in effect, be counted as Rachel's own. 'Then I will win this struggle with my sister,' she seems to reason. 'She has four sons and boasts of it every day. I will have sons too.' Bilhah bore two sons, Dan and Naphtali, whose characters I have already described. As I have mentioned often, Jacob's prophetic blessings over his sons were rooted in his observation of their character, observations later confirmed and expanded through prophetic anointing. He is steady, like a donkey that bears heavy loads, quiet by nature, eventually becoming attentive to God's voice because he learned to be still.

When Dan was born, Rachel rejoiced, declaring in Genesis 30 that God had judged her, that he had heard her voice and given her a son. Even though she had not borne the child herself, God had stepped in through her maidservant, and she recognized his hand in it. When Bilhah bore a second son, Naphtali, Rachel declared that in her struggle with her sister, she had won. She had only two sons compared to Leah's four, but she held the favor of Jacob, while Leah, despite her four sons, still lacked it. It was, in a sense, an even contest.

At this point, the rivalry intensified further. Leah, seeing what Rachel had done, said, in effect, 'You came up with this idea? I never thought of it, but I can do it too.' She gave her own maidservant Zilpah to Jacob, and Zilpah bore Gad and, later, Asher, the very son we are focused on today. Gad was the first son born outside of Leah herself, though he remained counted within her tribe; he may well have endured some teasing or rivalry from Leah's other sons. Jacob observed of Gad that he would be attacked, but would turn and attack his attackers at the heel.

When Asher was born, the struggle between the two camps, we might playfully call them Democrats and Republicans, though every culture has its own version of left and right, was still ongoing. But the calling that emerges through Gad and especially through Asher points beyond that struggle entirely. Within the tensions of differing opinions among the tribes, Gad's particular calling, through hardship and struggle, was to produce a kind of unity rooted in the unique ministry of Jesus: the ministry of reconciliation.

Without Jesus, there is no true reconciliation. When the Jewish people do not yet receive Jesus, there can be no full reconciliation with the Palestinian people, because the Palestinian people likewise lack peace apart from Jesus Christ. If both Jewish people and Palestinians were to receive the ministry of reconciliation found in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, they would become one body in him. The very fact that strife persists between Jewish and Gentile peoples, between Israelis and Palestinians, testifies that neither side has yet fully received the light of God found in the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. God allows struggle and strife to occur, but his calling does not end there. It calls us higher, calls us to be built together into one body in Christ through the ministry of reconciliation found in Jesus. That is precisely the ministry pictured in Asher.

Mandrakes, Rivalry, and the Hidden Hand of God

The family rivalry continued. Rachel, growing desperate, saw that Leah's son Reuben had found mandrakes in the field, and she pleaded for some, believing, as some traditions suggest, that mandrakes had properties that might help with fertility. Mandrakes were likely rare, not something one could simply find again easily. Leah, understandably, was indignant: 'You have already taken my husband; now you want my son's mandrakes as well?' The tension between the sisters was so intense that even something as small as a plant became a flashpoint. Rachel, desperate enough, agreed to trade a night with Jacob for the mandrakes.

So, for a season, perhaps as long as three years, Leah regained access to Jacob. When Jacob came in from the field, Leah went out to meet him and said, in effect, 'You must sleep with me tonight, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.' God again stepped in to maintain balance: Leah conceived again, bearing Issachar, and the following year, Zebulun. Counting carefully, this period likely spanned at least three years, since only one child could be born each year. Even if Jacob was not constantly with Leah during this time, she clearly had ongoing access to him across this span.

Meanwhile, God stepped in again on Rachel's behalf. Once Leah's season of bearing children had ended, the narrative shifts to highlight God's hidden purpose at work through all of this human striving. Without this struggle, Leah would not have borne so many children, and without those children, we would not have the foundation for the twelve pearl gates of the New Jerusalem. Just as Joseph later understood, looking back on his own suffering, that his brothers had meant evil toward him but God had meant it for good, we must learn to see God's divine purpose at work behind human suffering and struggle. God is good. God was using even painful circumstances to produce overcomers, people who would ultimately rule alongside him and bring salvation to entire nations, whether the Jewish people or the people of Egypt.

Through the rivalry of Rachel and Leah, God produced the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem. Think of it like the work of a builder. The book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham, when he received the promise, was looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. As God shapes the living material for that city, the gates of the New Jerusalem, he allowed the suffering and strife between Jacob, Leah, and Rachel to take place, so that he might shape the very material he would later use to build the New Jerusalem.

I am reminded of a quote often attributed to Martin Luther, comparing human suffering to letters set backward on a printing press. In that moment, the letters appear reversed and meaningless. But when the printing is finished and you turn the page over, you find a beautiful poem of God’s creation. In the midst of suffering and strife, we rarely perceive God's purpose. But when the process reaches its completion, we will see the beautiful design God has woven through human suffering, through strife, through struggle, through pain, ultimately producing the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem. Without the twelve stones, there are no twelve gates. Without the struggle of Rachel and Leah, perhaps neither would have had children at all; and we see something similar today, where many simply choose not to have children. Yet God uses even human suffering to accomplish his wonderful work.

The Birth of Joseph, the Birth of Benjamin

Eventually, when Leah had borne all the children she would bear, God remembered Rachel, and she gave birth to Joseph. Joseph was a single son, yet so significant that Satan stirred up at least ten of his brothers in an attempt to harm him. We know that Reuben and Judah made some effort, in varying degrees, to protect him, but Scripture is largely silent about the other brothers. Most likely, they simply remained silent witnesses, much as Christians today often do. We hear of evil things happening and choose to look away. We hear of a Nigerian Christian murdered for their faith, and we stay silent, telling ourselves it is not our concern, that no one is paying attention to Africa anyway. We hear of a Chinese Christian killed for their faith, and again we stay silent, telling ourselves no one cares about China. This same posture, I am better off staying quiet, I do not want to provoke Simeon, he might kill me too, has played out across human history, beginning right here in the family of Jacob.

In this ongoing family struggle, Rachel had another son, Joseph. The birth of Joseph likely came at a real cost to Dan and Naphtali, who probably lost much of whatever attention and affection they had once received. Later, Benjamin was born, a birth marked by deep sorrow, as Rachel died giving birth to him. By this point, however, Jacob had already come to understand God's larger work taking shape within his family through all of this struggle. He recognized Benjamin as the final son of this particular family configuration, and somehow understood, prophetically, that Benjamin would eventually represent the dwelling place of God, the New Jerusalem, where the temple would stand. As the son of Jacob's right hand, Benjamin would point toward the consummation of God's work among the Jewish people, ultimately bringing in both the earthly temple and the heavenly New Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of God and humanity together.

By the time Benjamin was born, Jacob had already grasped the shape of God's work among the twelve tribes, and that understanding shaped how he prophesied over his sons. Of Asher, he said, in essence, 'You make good food, just as I do; I cook a fine stew, and when my brother came home hungry, I fed him well. You, too, make good food, even delicacies fit for a king.' Throughout all the struggle and strife recorded across the Old and New Testaments, Scripture never records Asher doing anything wrong or harmful. Asher's role was, fundamentally, a mystery of reconciliation. He made good food. He made people happy. He made his father Jacob happy, and very likely made his brothers happy as well. He could prepare food fit for a king's table, in other words, he had a gift for making nearly everyone around him content.

Asher's Full Blessing in Moses' Prophecy

Moses continued to develop this picture, declaring that Asher was the most blessed of Jacob's twelve sons, the most favored by all his brothers. He would be like Aaron, bringing unity, carrying the blessing of God that comes like the dew of Hermon, like the anointing poured from on high, flowing from the head down through the beard, down to the robe, and finally to the feet, until his whole being was saturated with the oil of God, the oneness of the one Spirit. His ministry was a ministry of oneness, a ministry of reconciliation. All his brothers loved him; he was the most favored among them, and no one held anything against him, because he humbled himself, brought food to the table, made even the king's table glad, and served everyone around him with genuine humility.

This is exactly the picture Paul gives us in Colossians 3: you are God's people, his chosen ones, holy and beloved. Put on a compassionate heart, kindness, humility, and patience, bearing with one another in love. If you have a complaint against another, forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. And above all this, put on love, the bond that holds everything together in perfect harmony, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you are called to that peace. In this kind of unity, this ministry of reconciliation pictured so beautifully in Asher, the twelve tribes find their oneness. When brothers finally dwell together in unity, the blessing of God flows from on high. Their gates are made of iron and bronze; no enemy can break through them. Their strength matches their days; they are full of mighty power, full of the power of God, able to overcome every enemy. That is where Moses' prophecy regarding Asher comes to its conclusion.

It is worth remembering that Moses' blessings to the twelve tribes are not arranged in the order of their birth. Rather, they are arranged according to a kind of spiritual consummation, culminating in the ministry of unity represented by Asher: the ministry of loving one's brothers and sisters, the ministry of being beloved by every member of one's tribe, the ministry that brings God's people into unity and, ultimately, enables them to overcome their enemies. This is, fittingly, where Moses' prophecy comes to rest, because Moses built upon Jacob's earlier prophecy and developed each tribe's unique calling more fully. The twelve tribes of Jacob's family were, throughout their long history, marked by struggle, by deep and constant hatred, by violence between brothers severe enough that the tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out entirely at one point in the book of Judges. There were even wars between the northern and southern kingdoms, conflicts that extended far beyond the original rivalry among Jacob's twelve sons.

And yet, can we say that the twelve tribes of Israel are, in the end, one people, one chosen people of God, one body? Yes, we can. In the same way, the church today, Catholic or Protestant, high church or low church, whatever the denomination, is called to be one. We are holy. We are chosen. We are meant to be one unit, to receive the ministry of reconciliation found in Jesus Christ. Jews and Palestinians alike are called to receive Jesus Christ, to be reconciled to God and reconciled to one another. There is no reconciliation possible outside the ministry of Jesus Christ. This is the ministry of Asher.

The blessing of Moses over the twelve sons of Israel ends, fittingly, with the blessing of Asher: the ministry of unity, the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of blessing from on high, the one loved by all his brothers, called the most blessed among them all. Everyone loves Asher, and his feet are bathed with oil, saturated with the oil of God's unity, the same oil that flows from the head of Aaron, down through his beard, down through his garment, and finally to his feet, saturating the whole person and making the many into one body. Jews and Gentiles, in the same way, are meant to become one body of Christ, built together into the New Jerusalem.

The Spiritual Rock and the One Body in Christ

This transforming work for the Jewish people was already present in seed form in the Old Testament. Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to see his day. When David wrote, 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet,' Jesus used this very passage to challenge the Pharisees, pointing out that while the Messiah is indeed a descendant of David, David himself called him Lord. Even Moses, the Apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians, was accompanied by the spiritual rock that followed Israel through the wilderness, and that rock was Christ. All of Israel passed through the same cloud and through the same sea, and all were baptized into one body through that same Spirit. We, too, are one body in Christ. Amen.

I have to say, this is a revelation I had not considered quite this way before today. I believe this is something the Holy Spirit brought to light as we studied together, this picture of Asher's quiet, personal ministry. His father observed him simply bringing food to the table, making good food, bringing joy to his family, able to prepare a delicacy fit for a king. He made everyone around him happy, even bringing joy to a king's table. Everyone loved Asher. And Moses, building on that, declared him the most blessed among all his brothers, beloved by all, and full of the oil that represents unity, the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of oneness. Out of that unity comes blessing from on high, and from that blessing comes a gate the enemy cannot overtake, bolts of iron and bronze, strength equal to one's days, full of power, full of might, able to overcome the enemy for God's purposes.

I am grateful for what the Holy Spirit has shown us today through this fresh look at the ministry of Asher. I did not anticipate this revelation before we began; it came as we studied together, and I give all glory for it to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Thank you for joining us today. If this teaching has been meaningful to you, please consider sharing it, leaving a comment, or writing a review for Jairus Bible World Ministry on Google Maps; it genuinely helps more people find this teaching. We continue to work through real obstacles and unfamiliarity to get this word out, but I believe the presence and revelation of the Holy Spirit has truly been with us today. Thank you, and I hope to see you again, the Lord willing, next Monday.

Bible Study with Jarius – Deuteronomy 33:6
Let Reuben Live: A Study of Pride, Loss, and Redemption

“Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.” – Deuteronomy 33:6

 

Why Reuben Matters

Moses proclaims prophetic blessing over the twelve tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 33. These blessings are not sentimental farewells. They are spiritual verdicts, prayers, and revelations that expose both human failure and divine mercy.

Each tribe carries a distinct story. Each reveals a different way humanity falls, and a different way God saves. Together, the twelve tribes form a complete testimony of redemption — how sinners are confronted, judged, humbled, and ultimately restored by grace.

Today, we turn to Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

Reuben is not often preached as a hero. His story is uncomfortable and forces us to look honestly at pride, self-deception, and the devastating cost of unchecked desire. But it also reveals something powerful: God’s refusal to abandon a fallen son.

Many believers may see themselves in Reuben. We fail in the same ways time and time again. But let us turn to the story and look into the light of hope found there.

Knowing God’s Nature, Not Just His Acts

Before we examine Reuben’s failure, we must understand a foundational principle of this study: Knowing God’s nature is essential to spiritual stability.

Many believers know what God does, but do not truly know who God is. They know His miracles, His commandments, His blessings — but not His heart.

Many believers know what God does, but far fewer know who God is.

When we only know God’s actions, faith easily becomes rule-following. Religion and practice replace relationship and love. Obedience becomes external rather than internal. This is how idol worship begins, even inside the church.

Knowing God’s nature protects us from falling and reveals His principles. It guards us from pride and from falling into religious legalism. When we know Him in this way, we gain a deeper and fuller understanding of how God views sin, repentance, judgment, and grace.

Without that knowing, even sincere believers can slip into religious legalism or idol worship. We may think we are serving God, while actually serving our own pride, our own standards, or our own image of righteousness.

This is why Scripture consistently calls God’s people not just to obey, but to know Him.

Knowing ourselves and our sinful nature is the next big thing. We must understand our fallen human nature. Knowing God and knowing ourselves are the keys to understand the prophetic word toward the twelve tribes by Jacob and Moses. In both of their prophecies, Jacob and Moses pinpoint the goodness of God and individual characteristics, even failures of each tribe. But their fates do not stop there. These prophetic words also point to their redemption of their future. There are three pillars to understand the prophecies regarding the twelve tribes of Israel: God’s goodness, our fallen nature, and God’s redemption. Only through these lenses, can we understand their prophetic futures.

A Warning from the Pharisees

Consider this familiar scene from the Gospels that illustrates the danger of legalism.

When a sinful woman washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, the Pharisees were offended. According to the law, she was unclean. According to their religious standards, she should have been rejected. The Pharisees knew the law. They knew the rules. From their perspective, this woman was unworthy. Their judgment was based on external behavior and religious standards.

Jesus, however, revealed the heart of God. He did not excuse sin, but He recognized repentance, humility, and love. Where the Pharisees saw a violation, Jesus saw a transformed heart. This moment exposes a dangerous truth: You can follow religious rules and still be completely blind to grace.

It is possible to defend religious correctness while actively resisting God’s grace. Without knowing God’s heart, even sincere believers can oppose the very work God is doing. In the case of the Pharisees, they missed the heart of God, and they did not know their own fallen nature. Hence they also missed the prophetic future of this woman. When an amateur sees a gold mine, he only sees dirt. When a professional miner sees it, he discovers gold.

When the Pharisees saw only a sinful woman, Jesus saw the prophetic future of a beautiful member of the body of Christ. The Pharisees only saw the dirt, but Jesus saw the gold. Jesus saw a bride without any wrinkle and a royal priesthood. Our perspectives about God’s heart, our fallen nature, and God’s redemption plan determine if we understand any prophecies. Prophecy is about the future; it may require us to see through the dirt of the past (and even the present) to find the gold of the future.

Pride: The Veil Over the Heart

At the root of Reuben’s story is pride. Pride convinces us that we see clearly when we do not. It places a veil over the heart, making us think that self-examination is unnecessary. Pride is what causes us to feel offended rather than repentant when we are corrected. We consistently think that we are really “not that bad” and devise all kinds of excuses to ignore the seriousness of the harm we cause because of our bad choices and selfish sin.

Pride blinds us to God’s heart and His principles of righteousness and truth. When pride governs the heart:

• We excuse our sin
  • We underestimate its consequences
  • We resist accountability
  • We confuse confidence with righteousness

Pride does not merely lead to failure. It hardens the heart against repentance. This is the spiritual environment in which Reuben fell.

Pride is a false identity; it cannot handle negligence and humiliation. Thus pride leads to hatred. Reuben’s story and my homeland’s story of pride are similar. China was proud. The Chinese name for China literally means “Central Kingdom” and Japan was always associated with the word “small” in the Chinese history. China proudly called herself “Big China” and called Japan “Small Japan.” This concept lingers even today. My Japanese student in China told me a story. She did not recognize a huge Chinese spring onion as spring onion, so she asked a Chinese chef “What is this?” The Chinese chef proudly said, “This is BIG SPRINGONION, you don’t have this big spring onion in your small Japan, do you?”

Pride is a way China tries to disguise the humiliation of almost being conquered by this small Japan. Pride is what lingers today, with the blessing of yesterday.

Why was Reuben full of pride? Because he was the first born? Or because he was the son of the first wife of his father? He may have thought he was entitled to everything. Maybe the pride, negligence, and humiliation from Jacob and Rachel toward Leah, Reuben, and his brothers caused them to harbor inner hatred in their hearts. He may have been resentful to his father.

Bilhah, the maid of Rachel was also neglected by Jacob. Her two sons were taken away by Rachel. Satan utilized their hatred to commit the sins against Jacob. On the surface it was lust that caused their sin, but in their hearts it was hatred due to negligence and humiliation.

Pride is a façade; it is a false identity. Our real identity should be in the Son of God. I believe ancient China worshipped the one true God, but she has fallen to idol worship. This is why God allows humiliation to come upon her.

Humiliation can lead to hatred, but it also leads to humbling. China still uses national pride to control and mobilize Chinese people. Whenever there is a crisis for the government, they utilize Japan as a threat and pass humiliation. They claim that only their leadership united the Chinese people to defeat Japan. But this narrative of "defeating Japan" under Communist Party guidance is built on a false foundation — a false identity.

China must turn to find God and become a Christian nation—a nation with a true identity.

Pride is not unique to a specific group of people. It is a human sin in its nature. It does not only happen in countries without knowledge of the Gospel like China, it also happens to countries that have historically had Christian roots. Today the greatest danger for the Christian West is pride. This is a false identity. We linger in the pride of yesterday’s familiarity with God, but we forget the intimacy with God that we need today. Our true identity in Christ will make us humble before God and become more closely united with him. This will protect us from falling away from any entitlement as Reuben who lost his birthright even though he was the firstborn.

Reuben the Firstborn

Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn son. By birthright, he stood first in authority, inheritance, and responsibility. The firstborn was meant to carry a spiritual symbol of leadership and priestly authority.

Yet Reuben committed a grave sin. He defiled his father’s bed (Genesis 49:4, 1 Chronicles 5:1 ESV), violating covenant order and moral boundaries. This was not a private mistake. It was a spiritual rebellion.

As a result, Reuben lost what could not be recovered by human effort:

• His birthright
  • His authority
  • His inheritance
  • His place in the lineage of Jesus Christ

Jacob’s words in Genesis 49 over Reuben are severe. Scripture does not minimize the cost of sin.

“Sinning” is synonymous with “being lost in identity.” We sin when we forget our identity as children of God. The moment that the prodigal son in Luke 15 lost his identity, he sinned. The moment he realized he was the son of his father and that his father was rich, he stopped sinning.

Sinning is a coping mechanism for those who have lost their identity. Just like using drugs, alcohol, and being addicted to pornography is a coping mechanism to ease pain, sinning is a temporary coping mechanism for those who are lost. Reuben lost his identity! Losing his birthright is just a picture of the fact that he lost his identity.

There is no sin in the first three chapters of the Bible in Genesis or in the last three chapters of the Bible in Revelation. Sin is only temporary in time and there is no sin in eternity. We are on a journey where sin is present with us. But just because sin is temporary does not mean it does not have consequences, even huge consequences.

Consequences Written into History

Reuben’s failure echoed through generations: His tribe became small. His influence diminished. His legacy was marked by instability.

Most significantly, Reuben lost the heavenly blessing of becoming part of Christ’s genealogy. The firstborn position passed to his brother, Joseph. “His birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son” (1 Chronicles 5:1b ESV).

This is a sobering reminder: Grace does not eliminate consequences. God forgives, but sin still causes irreversible damage. Yet the damage is not the end of the story.

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 ESV). It is true for us today and it was true for Reuben then.

Moses’ Prayer: Let Reuben Live

When Moses blesses the tribes in Deuteronomy 33:6 (ESV), he speaks a short but powerful prayer: “Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.”

This prayer reveals the heart of God beyond the judgment of the law. Reuben deserved total annihilation, but Moses asks that God, in His mercy, would let him live and limit his punishment.

Notice that the consequence remains. Moses does not ask God to restore Reuben’s birthright. He does not reverse history. Instead, he intercedes for mercy on Reuben’s behalf.

Generations later, something remarkable happens. Reuben’s descendants do not remain passive. They search their hearts. They repent. They rise up to fight alongside the other tribes for God’s kingdom. And their story shifts from failure to faithfulness.

In the final vision we find in Scripture, Reuben is not missing. His name is included on the pearly gates of New Jerusalem. “And on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed” (Revelation 21:12 ESV).

How can humiliation bring forth real humility? How does a curse become blessing? It takes time to realize and it requires God’s illumination. God not only works through words, but also through circumstances. That is called the discipline of the Holy Spirit. God will allow you to go through troubles until you come to repentance. It takes time and it also takes another life. It is the life of Christ, and it is the life of a pearl.

From Sinful Son to Pearly Gate

A pearl is formed through irritation and injury. What begins as a damaging wound becomes something beautiful through patience and transformation. Reuben’s story follows this pattern.

What began as disgrace becomes an entrance into glory.

This reveals a deep truth about salvation: God does not merely forgive sinners. He transforms them into gateways of grace for others.

Imagine Reuben talking with his brothers on the pearly gates of New Jerusalem. Reuben says, “I thought I was the firstborn and that I should receive all the attention. But both me and my mom were neglected. Negligence caused me to harbor hate toward my father and my aunt Rachel. I defiled the bed of my father with Bihah. I lost my earthly blessing, and I missed the opportunity to become an ancestor of Christ. God would not have deprived me of this blessing if I had not sinned.” Simeon says, “My heart was full of hatred toward Joseph, and I thought the way to solve my problem was to go rid of Joseph. I lost that blessing too.” Levi says, “I blindly followed Simeon, I killed many people. I lost the blessing too.” Judah says, “I also lost my identity by leaving the land of Judah. I got lost in the land of Moab and my wife and two sons died. It is God’s chastisement to me. I would’ve never made it into the genealogy of Christ without Tamar. She is more righteous than I.” Reuben says finally, “Brothers, thank God! We are all here now and our names are all written on the pearl gates of New Jerusalem. God is good. What Satan meant for evil, God used for good. He used our pain to transform us while Satan tried to use it to demonize us. Finally, God has won! We are transformed to the living stone of God’s temple. Praise God!”

Failure Does Not Define You

Reuben’s story speaks directly to believers who carry shame: Failure is not your identity. Sin is serious. Consequences are real. But repentance and grace open a future that the law and judgment alone would close. Salvation is not determined by human theology or religious reputation. It is judged by God, who sees the heart. Through Christ, sinners become sons. Broken stories become testimonies. Loss becomes purpose.

I am a living illustration of this truth. When I came to London to study, I encountered the Gospel on the street. I heard people were mimicking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in a play and the word of the Gospel pierced my heart. I realized I was a total failure. I was broke and had no money to finish my schooling. I was sinful to betray those who loved me. An English sister, Emma, told me about Jesus and asked me to receive him. She prayed for me, “I pray a group of loving Christians will surround you in America.” I came to America and almost became homeless. But God answered Emma’s prayer to send a group of Christians to help me.

I was saved through the Gospel because others acted as pearl gates in my life — believers who carried the message of salvation and opened a way for grace to enter. I testified to my parents, and they were baptized in the name of Jesus. I became the pearl gate to bring them into New Jerusalem.

This is the calling of the church. This is also the calling of the Jews in the end time as God says in the time of restoration, all the Gentles will grab the clothes of Jews to beg them to bring them to worship God in Zion (Zechariah 8:22-23). We are not saved merely for ourselves. We are shaped to become entrances through which others may encounter Christ.

A Call to Share the Word

If this message has touched your heart, I invite you to partner in spreading the gospel.

Please consider leaving a Google review for Jarius Bible Word Ministry. Like, comment, forward, and share this message so that it may reach others.

The platform may be small. Language may feel limited. But the Holy Spirit is not limited.

Let all those like Rueben, all who have fallen into the snare of sin and death, rise again through the grace of God to live anew for truth and righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us be the gates through which others are led into the heavenly kingdom.

 

Devotional Reflection

Reuben confronts us with uncomfortable honesty. Pride blinds. Sin destroys. You will face consequences. This is a truth that applies to all of us, no matter the sin. Pride is a presumption of who we are not, and it is a false identity. Sin is a coping mechanism and an acronym for losing your identity.

Yet grace persists. Jesus Christ is the oyster and we are the pearls. Though his wounds and ours, we will become the gate of God’s city. Sinners can come in if they repent and the king of the earth will bring forth the glory to the city (Revelation 21:24).

If you are carrying regret, ask the Holy Spirit what He may be redeeming through it. Loss is not always the end. Sometimes it is the beginning of transformation.

Reflection Questions

1. Where might pride be preventing honest self-examination in your life?
2. What consequences of past choices are you still carrying?
3. How does Moses’ prayer for Reuben reshape your understanding of grace?
4. In what ways could God be transforming your failure into a doorway for others?
5. What would it mean for you to live as a “pearl gate” of salvation today?

Bible Study with Jairus - Deuteronomy 24:10–18

LAWS ABOUT JUSTICE TOWARD THE OPPRESSED

Scripture Reading

“When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets, for he is poor and counts on it, lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.

Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I command you to do this.”

Deuteronomy 24:10–18 ESV

Introduction

Today’s passage discusses justice for the fatherless, the widow, the poor, and the immigrant. Before we dive into this topic, I want to connect this passage to the current situation in America.

Today, the American church is deeply divided in their attitude toward immigrants. Some Christians quote this passage and others to show that we should be loving towards immigrants and other neighbors. This is clearly taught in the Bible. But other Christians argue that Satan can use our false sympathy to welcome many immigrants whose beliefs are not in line with Christian values. These Christians argue that if we are not aware of Satan’s schemes, our nation may eventually become like Europe, heavily influenced by Islam. This division among Christians contributes to the political and cultural division in society at large.

As Christians, how should we interpret this passage in Deuteronomy? I am hoping to interpret it from the perspective of the three pillars of the Bible: Priesthood, Law and Prophets. I pray that this understanding will help us to maneuver the difficult situation in the world today.

Three Essential Pillars for Understanding Old Testament Truth

Some years ago, a survey revealed that many people do not read the Bible simply because they do not understand it. This statement is supported by a common Chinese saying: “Those who have the privilege of reading the Old Testament often never make it past Exodus, and those who read the New Testament rarely go beyond Romans.” After Exodus, readers encounter laws, rituals, and regulations that feel dense and difficult. Similarly, in the New Testament, after Romans, the depth of doctrine can appear overwhelming and complex.

If Chinese Christians, who are some of the most hardworking Bible readers in the world, still struggle with these passages, how much more do many Americans struggle! This is understandable. The Bible is not a book that can be rightly understood without the help of the Holy Spirit and proper instruction. As you read this article, I pray that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things (see John 14:26).

To help us understand this passage in Deuteronomy, I want to share three pillars that are essential for understanding the Old Testament and, by extension, the whole Bible.

If you asked me to summarize the entire Old Testament, I would say three things: Priesthood, Law, and Prophets.

1. The largest portion of the Old Testament describes the priests and the temple they served. The priests not only took care of the temple of God and maintained the dwelling place for the presence of God, but also helped the poor, the weak, and the sojourners. In the New Testament, Peter says that we as believers are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).
2. Another large portion of the Old Testament describes the law given by Moses. The law reflected the nature of God, who cares deeply for those who are weak and deprived. In the New Testament, Paul says that the law has been written on our hearts as the law of spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).
3. Another significant portion of the Old Testament contains the writings and stories of prophets. The ministry of the prophets was to help the people of God find His will in each unique situation. God specifically said that he would decide each case individually, not allowing a child to die for the sins of their fathers or vice versa. The prophets helped bring this individualized, situational wisdom to the people. Like the prophets of old, New Testament believers are anointed by the Holy Spirit, who guides us (1 John 2:27).

Understanding these three pillars will help us understand the Old Testament, specifically the passages we are reading today. When we encounter a passage, it is very helpful to ask three questions to better understand it.

• Priests: How can we fulfill our priestly duty by helping this person with their needs and bringing them closer to him?
• Law: How is God’s nature shown by this passage? How can we help this person understand the nature of God?
• Prophets: What is the unique situation here and how is God leading the person?

We will examine the Deuteronomy passage using these three aspects. Understanding our present-day priestly ministry, awareness of God’s nature, and attentiveness to God’s leading will help us to not only grasp the meaning of this passage but also apply it to our everyday experience.

Note: You may wonder why we are not including the kings in this summary. Please understand that the kingship was set up when the Israelites failed to function as priests to God. The book of 1 Peter uses the words “royal priesthood,” indicating that priesthood and kingship have been reunited as one in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:9). So we are treating them as one entity.

The Priesthood

First, we must understand the important role of priests. One of the roles of the priests in the Old Testament was to take care of the temple, perform the sacrifices, and assist with worship. They maintained the house of God, the dwelling place for God’s presence. Today, the body of Christ, the church, is also the temple of God on earth (Ephesians 2:21-22). Our individual bodies are also described as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Bible says that sinning against our body is sinning against the Lord, since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, if we are joined with a prostitute, we are one body with the prostitute, but if we are joined with the Lord, we are one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17). Our holiness and unity are important. We must take care of the unity of Christ’s body and the purity of our individual bodies.

In order to remain holy, and tend to the presence of God among us, we must fulfill our priestly duty to deal with sin. In the Old Testament, sin was atoned for through the blood of animals, which covered their sin. In the New Testament, the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin. However, we must also confess and turn from our sin and live holy lives so we can be a pure dwelling place for God’s Spirit. We must first be clean and holy ourselves so we can become mediators on behalf of others. 

However, many Christians in America today are not fulfilling their priestly duties. They are living in sinful habits and are unaware of the presence of God. They not only experience personal moral failures, but also mistreat the weak, the poor, the widow, and the sojourner, which is considered sin in the eyes of God. When individual Christians neglect their priestly duty to confess their personal sins and experience the presence of God in their personal lives, it will be difficult for the church at large or the body of Christ as a whole to experience a strong sense of God’s presence.

Taking care of our personal holiness and tending to the presence of God in our lives is only one aspect of the duty of the priesthood. We must also take care of others and intercede for them. It is commonly known that Old Testament priests had to help their fellow Israelites prepare their sacrifices. It is hard to imagine a good priest refusing to help an Israelite offer their sacrifice to the Lord. But it’s less commonly known that priests were also required to take care of widows, orphans, poor people, and foreigners. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus denounced the priest who refused to help the man who was beaten almost to death by a thief (Luke 10:31).

Similarly, as a holy priesthood, we must take care of people’s physical needs so that they can get closer to God. One Chinese preacher stated that the love and care we show to unbelievers helps prepare them to receive the gospel. Just like a Chinese cook must warm the pot before adding the oil and the other ingredients, we must love people to prepare them to receive Christ’s truth. Showing love and care is like warming the pot.

We can draw several other analogies from this metaphor. On the one hand, if we don’t love people, it is like throwing ingredients and oil into a cold pot. The pot will not be pre-warmed and the food will not cook correctly. The person will not be receptive to the gospel. On the other hand, if we love people with purely human sympathy without sharing the Word of God through the Holy Spirit, it is like adding ingredients to a burning-hot pot with no oil in it. The ingredients will scorch and will not cook properly.

However, when we warm our listeners with the true love of Christ, their hearts will be prepared to receive God’s word. For example, when we preach to Chinese students on U.S. campuses, we first warm their hearts by loving on them. Then we preach the gospel to them from God’s word. As a result, many receive Jesus Christ into their hearts. This model is followed by many Christians around the world and by Jesus Christ Himself. He first walked beside the disciples on the road to Emmaus for eleven miles, listening to their grief and warming their hearts, before he explained God’s word and helped them understand the meaning of his death and resurrection. Similarly, in the book of Acts, the apostles appointed godly men to provide food for the widows who were being neglected. After this event, the book of Acts reports that many priests believed in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 6:7). I do not believe this is a coincidence. I believe the priests’ hearts were warmed by this demonstration of love to the poor and needy. Since priests were commissioned to serve both God and man, they were touched by the apostles’ and evangelists’ acts. As the priests saw the Christians caring for the poor, the priests’ hearts turned to Jesus.

If we want to understand the Word of God, we must view it through the lens of priesthood. As good priests, God wants us to serve both God and man. We must strike a good balance between loving people and maintaining the holiness of God. Loving people without maintaining the holiness of God’s temple will lead to corruption. American churches who demonstrate love and kindness without maintaining a high standard of morality will eventually become woke. On the other hand, churches who focus only on God’s standards may run the risk of disobeying God’s command to love the poor, the immigrant, and the needy.

The Law

Second, we must understand God’s nature as revealed in these laws. God revealed his standards in the Old Testament law, including this passage. But God’s intention is not to just reveal who he is. He also desires that we become partakers of his holiness. God wanted the nation of Israel to be "a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). Jesus taught us to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). If we only stop at knowing who God is, we will fall short. God not only desires that we know who he is, but also that we become like him.

Understanding the law of God means not only knowing his nature but also imitating his nature. If we study the law of God but ignore the compassion of God, like the Pharisees did, we will totally miss the mark. However, if we emphasize only God’s love without balancing it with his justice, we will also miss God’s heart. In order to love immigrants in a balanced way, we need to understand God’s heart and become like him.

One time a Vietnamese Christian brother told me, “My daughter does not like immigrants, even though she is the daughter of an immigrant. Many second- and third-generation immigrants do not welcome new immigrants because they think these immigrants will take up their resources.”

I replied, “Through God’s mercy, we were allowed to come to the United States as immigrants. Apart from this opportunity, we may never have had the chance to get saved or to gain a Christian education which has enabled us to serve God and his church in such a powerful way. Furthermore, our kids would not have had the opportunity to be born in this wonderful country.”

So when we come to some passages like this, we should seek the heart of God as revealed in these laws. If we don’t understand the heart of God, we may end up becoming legalistic. Even if we can recite the verses word for word, we may not grasp the true meaning. Just like the Pharisees, we may need Jesus’ corrective words: “I desire compassion [for those in distress] and not [animal] sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13 AMPL).

The Prophets

Now that we understand the heart of God and the holiness of God, we must ask ourselves, “How can we become holy as he is?” To answer this question, we need the ministry of the prophet. The prophet provides guidance in each unique situation with the goal of helping us partake in the holiness of God.

God loves justice and will not pardon sin, but God also wants his judgement to be carried out according to his leading in each individual instance. His word says, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deuteronomy 24:16). In other words, we do not legalistically judge people without looking at the unique situation.

When we forget God’s instructions in this area, we “judge the book by its cover,” or judge the son by the father. I was certainly a victim of this. My father began his career as a peasant laborer in a brick factory, was later put in charge of the storage units in this factory, and was later promoted to the level of accountant in this factory. He took some college-level classes and later got a job as an auditor in the local county government. He got the job through pure luck and with the help of some relatives. But he soon discovered that his training and education was not enough for this new job. Since he was not good at his job, he was ridiculed and bullied, and his colleagues pointed fingers at me behind my back. I was very hurt and humiliated by that. If I was deeply hurt by being ridiculed for my father’s incompetence on the job, imagine how much humiliation a son would receive if his father had actually committed crimes. That is why God’s word instructs his people to deal with each situation individually and not to make broad, sweeping conclusions.

A story I heard from a Latino-American pastor illustrates this point perfectly. This pastor said that after his father came to the U.S. illegally, he was captured by a patrol officer. The officer asked him why he had come here illegally. He said he had been called by God to come to America to preach the gospel to many Latinos. The officer happened to be a Christian as well. To test if the man was telling the truth, the officer asked him to recite Psalm 23. He recited it perfectly and the officer let him go. This is a perfect example of God’s leading in this unique situation.

Application and Devotional Reflection

Immigration is a controversy that has torn apart the fabric of American society and of the world as a whole. But understanding the law and the individual leading of God in this chapter will help guide us today.

God commands justice, but He also commands compassion. He protects the poor, the worker, the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner. A father is not punished for the sin of a son, and a son is not punished for the sin of a father. This teaches balance.

We must hate sin, but we must love people. We cannot hate immigrants. But we also should keep our sovereignty. During my one-year stay in London, I observed the strong influence of Islam. This showed me that Satan may be attempting to destroy Christian civilization in America through mass immigration. So we need a balance. Each situation must be handled with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

If individual Christians neglect their priesthood, we fail to warm unbelievers’ hearts in preparation for the gospel. Revival does not start with numbers. It starts with the presence of God in individual lives. If we fail to take care of individuals, the church becomes weak. If the church becomes weak, society falls into darkness. We must take care of our priesthood.

Second, we must learn the law of God and allow it to transform us. If we don’t know God’s nature through the law, we will fail. But if we become legalistic and lose the compassionate heart of God, we will also fail.

Third, we must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit without resisting Him. We should be open to the prophetic voice through the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the sure word of prophecy in the Bible (2 Peter 2:19). Regarding the immigrants, we must have the heart of God toward the sojourners but also be aware of Satan’s strategy to destroy our Christian heritage through mass immigration.

The three pillars of the Old Testament (priesthood, law, and prophets) can provide guidelines for our Christian lives today. We must take care of God’s presence and take care of others, we must know the holiness of God and demonstrate the compassion of God, and we must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times. If we apply these three principles, we will not only understand the Bible better, but we will also live out the heart of God.

 

 

Reflection Questions

1. What is the function of priesthood in the Old Testament? What does it mean for believers today?

 

1. How can we understand the holiness of God expressed in law without losing God’s compassion, like the Pharisees did?
   
   
2. How can we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in each situation without becoming legalistic?
   
   
3. How do the ministry of priest, law, and prophet function in today’s church?