The Wilderness Years

For they are not idle words to you, because they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

On that same day the LORD said to Moses,

“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their own possession.

And there on the mountain that you climb, you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.

For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence.

Although you shall see from a distance the land that I am giving the Israelites, you shall not enter it.”

This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.

Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—

the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob.

So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together.

Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.”

And concerning Judah he said: “O LORD, hear the cry of Judah and bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause, but may You be a help against his foes.”

Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.

He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.

He will teach Your ordinances to Jacob and Your law to Israel; he will set incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes so they can rise no more.”

Concerning Benjamin he said: “May the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him; God shields him all day long, and upon His shoulders he rests.”

Concerning Joseph he said: “May his land be blessed by the LORD with the precious dew from heaven above and the deep waters that lie beneath,

with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons,

with the best of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills,

with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers.

His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

Concerning Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, and Issachar, in your tents.

They will call the peoples to a mountain; there they will offer sacrifices of righteousness. For they will feast on the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”