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Church, we are continuing a series on the book of Deuteronomy. We are kind of reaching uh the end. Uh, this is the second last chapter of Deuteronomy, and the focus this morning is on the blessing of Moses. Uh I want to thank uh Sister May for reading, uh plowing through the 29 verses. So if you all can hear the verses being read, there's many things that is being talked about in Deuteronomy uh 33. In fact, all the tribes were being blessed, but because of time and focus, we will only uh keep our focus on two of the tribes, which is uh the tribe of Levi and the tribe of uh Joseph. Because those two tribes in the reading today are given the profile or the focus. Uh there's there are many other blessings in scripture. Uh one is found in Genesis 27, verse 1 to 40, which is the blessing of Isaac's blessing on Jacob and Esau. So the focus of that is on uh different uh tribes. Uh the the emphasis is different. So each time there's a kind of a reading uh on the blessing, the the author kind of focuses on particular areas, right? And there's also Jacob's blessing of his sons in Genesis 49, right? So again, the focus there is different. So today we will just look at uh the the blessing upon Levi and Joseph, and we want to ask ourselves what has the blessing, what are the implications for our lives today? But just to give us a sense of structure and to know where everything fits together, so Genesis 33, verses 1 to 29 can be uh broken up into three parts, uh, with the opening and conclusion forming the book ends and the blessing verses 6 to 25 forming so-called the meat or the hamburger of the text itself. So very uh closely linked together is the opening and the concluding praise, uh, verses 1 to 5 and verse 26 to 29, where there's a common focus on the uniqueness of God uh as a savior, as the one that has revealed himself to Israel, and of Israel's uniqueness as God's chosen people. So those two areas are kind of being highlighted in the beginning and the end. Right? So the opening uh from Deuteronomy 33 verses 1 to 5 and the concluding praise sections from Deuteronomy 33 verse 26 to 29 uh focuses on the uniqueness of God and on Israel as his chosen people. So in the opening verses, the first five verses, we see the uniqueness of God in his manifest presence and in his fighting for Israel and giving them the possession of the land. So verse 2 says, The Lord came from uh Sinai and dawned from Seer upon us, he shone forth from Mount Paran, the shield of your your help and the sword of your triumph. So you look at the the verbs there. The Lord came, he dawned, he shone forth. So those are all uh action words, meaning God was acting, God was manifesting uh himself to Israel to be uh uniquely to be their savior. And we look further in uh verse 2 again, God is the one that came from the ten thousandth of holy ones with flaming fire at his right hand. So God's presence with his people uh in Deuteronomy is manifested through the law, through the law that God has given to the people and through his being king over Israel. The uniqueness of Israel as the chosen people of God is seen when it tells us in Deuteronomy 33, verse 3, yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hands. So it gives us a picture of again Israel as I shared last week, uh, when God is their creator, he elected them, he chose them, he loved them. So God loved them and they were unique because they were the chosen ones, the holy ones in the land. So if you look at the concluding praise of Deuteronomy 33, verse 26 to 29, again the uniqueness of God is brought up, uh alluded to in Deuteronomy 33, verse 26. It says, There is none like God, O Joshua, who rides through the heavens to your health, through the skies in his majesty. Indeed, there's no one like Yahweh, there's no one like the God who reveals himself to Israel. So the chapter in Deuteronomy ends with uh uh a land secure, bearing fruit richly and watered naturally. Gives us a picture of safety where Israel dwelt in safety because God was the one that gave them the land, God was the one that made them secure. So Deuteronomy 33 verse 28 tells us so Israel lived in safety. Jacob lived alone in a land of grain and wine, whose heaven dropped down dew. So it's like paradise. Israel was in paradise, they were in a place where uh they inherited the land in which God has given them. And not only that, for Israel, God himself was their dwelling place. Verse 27 tells us the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Right? So God was Israel's dwelling place, God dwells in the midst of the people in the land. So, like the introduction uh earlier, the conclusion also mentions Israel's uniqueness as a people called and chosen by God. Verse 29 tells us, Happy are you, O Israel, who is like you, who is like you? A people saved by the Lord. In other words, they are uniquely chosen by God. Even as we recall there's none like God, now we see also there's none like Israel, chosen and loved by God. So, with that, let's look at the middle part, which is the blessing itself from uh Deuteronomy 33, verse 6 to 25, which forms the bulk of the chapter in Deuteronomy 33. As I said, we'll focus on Moses' blessing on two of the tribes, Levi and Joseph. And the blessing of the two tribes uh brings back recurring themes that occurs in the book of Deuteronomy. And what I'll be sharing with us perhaps is nothing new because uh the past sermons, the past preaching brings out and highlights this thing, these themes. So in the closing chapters of Deuteronomy, the the same ideas are being alluded to in a way as if to seal the deal in the book. So the blessing of Levi uh is found in verse 8 to verse 11. It says, And of Levi, he said, Give to Levi the Tumim and the Urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Masa, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah, who said, Of his father and mother, I regard them not. He disowned his brothers and ignored his children. For they observed your word and kept your cut your covenant. They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you and hold burnt offerings on your altar. Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands. Crush the loin of his adversaries of those who hate him, that they rise not again. So the heart of the blessing upon the tribe of Levi is that they were called for priestly duties. They were set apart to perform duties in which the Lord has bestowed on them. And this is evident in their using of the Urim and Turim in the Old Testament, alluded to in Exodus 28, verse 30. It's a means of uh of knowing or discovering the divine will. So it's used, a tool that God uses to reveal his will for Israel. So it is unique to the Levi because they are the ones that are guardians of God's will and God's purpose for Israel. Even though they tested God at Masah when there was no water to drink, and again at the waters of Maribah, uh the Levi had a zeal for the word and his covenant. They have a zeal for God's word and how God reveals himself through the covenant. And this recalls an incident in Exodus 32, verse 25 to 29, where Israel actually built a golden calf to worship. When they saw that Moses uh was delayed long in coming down, uh Aaron built a calf to worship. So as judgment was being meted out against the people, the Levi actually drew their swords and assisted in carrying the sentence out. So, in in a way, there's a sense of zeal. Levi, they were consumed by the zeal for um fulfilling the law of uh performing and doing what God requires. So the responsibilities of the Levi, as we have seen, is to teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law. So they were to teach and instruct the people of Israel in the law of God, and not only that, they were also responsible for making sacrifices to God too. Deuteronomy 33 verse 10 tells us they shall put incense before you and hold burnt offerings on your altar. So, what has the the priestly blessing or calling of the Levites have to do with us? There are three things of uh importance or rather for us to take note. Firstly, to be zealous for God's covenant and laws. If you recall my preaching on the 29th October, I mentioned from Deuteronomy 31, verses 9 to 13, that Moses commanded the people that at the end of every seven years, at a set time in the year of release, at the feast of Booth, Israel will appear before God and the elders, and they were charged to read the law. The elders were charged to read the law. All the people, men and women, little ones, the sojourner, even those who have not heard of who God is, were to be assembled for the purpose of hearing and learning to fear God and to do the words of the law by hearing the reading of the law. So the priests were guardians of the law and were tasked to build the law, God's word, God's truth, into the worshiping life of the community in perpetuity, so that those who have not previously known about it may not fail to do it. So being zealous for God's covenants and for God's law is something that we need to take to heart because all of us today have God's word in our lives. All of us today know that central to our worship as Christians is the knowing and doing of his word. Secondly, understanding God's will for our lives. Just as the Levi has had the urim and turim as a means of asserting the divine will for us, God has not given us the urim and turim, but he has given us his word again, scripture as a means, as a standard, as a plumb line for our lives, to know what God desires and to fulfill his will for us. Thirdly, um what has the priestly blessing and calling of Levi has to do with us? It reminds us that there's a need to offer ourselves continually as a living sacrifice pleasing to God. As the Levi, we're called to make sacrifices to God in the Old Testament, to put incense before God, to bring whole burnt offerings on the altar. We are called in Romans 12, verse 1, to present by the mercies of God, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing and acceptable to God. So these three areas, these three uh implications for the blessing of the Levi, uh being zealous for God's covenant and laws, understanding God's will for our lives, offering ourselves as living sacrifice pleasing to God. How does all this fit together in our lives today? I believe it begins for all of us here in YCCA, is the need to assimilate scripture into our lives. In other words, it's not enough for us to hear uh the preacher uh preach on Sunday. It's not something that God expects us to do. Beyond that, he expects us to do more in terms of how we assimilate scripture into our lives. Right? Because unless we know what God says in scripture in his word, we won't be able to offer ourselves rightly to God. We won't be able to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to him, neither will we be able to understand his will for our lives. Because the Bible is God's uh roadmap, his plumb line of truth and the standard for knowing what he desires. Uh there was a time where the churches, church members used to run to anointed uh prophets or pastors just to hear a word from the Lord or to see a vision. But nothing wrong with that, but nothing is more important than knowing God's word for ourselves because he reveals himself primarily through scripture. God speaks to us through his word, and when he speaks we must take heed and listen to him. If we do not know scripture, neither can we be zealous for what he desires for us. We cannot stand for what he says in the covenant and the laws. That's why in Deuteronomy, central to the worshiping life of the community is to imbibe scripture as a daily habit. In other words, every day have scripture as a part of your life. And we see that very clearly in Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 7 to 9. And it tells us uh Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 7 to 9 tells us that fathers and uh mothers, those at home, you shall teach God's law, you shall remind God's word to your children. You shall teach them diligently to your children, you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. In other words, Moses is saying that the word of God has to be a way of life. It's not something we hear on a Sunday, it's not even uh something we do like a quiet time, but it must be assimilated such that wherever we walk, whatever we do, when we lie down, when we rise, you know, whenever we go about our daily work and business, we have God's word assimilated in our lives. So, how do we do that? No, it's easier said than done, right? So, one thing that uh that I think is helpful is the memory verse that we do on Sundays, and I I've been hearing good feedback, um, at least from some of us, that it's it's really good to just have this scripture memory because it really helps us to uh recall God's word in our lives and to assimilate scripture more and more in our lives. So, in order for us to do that, it requires us to daily uh spend time in his word, you know, to make sure that we do not shortchange ourselves, you know, by just reading uh the daily bread or devotional guides as a substitute for reading uh God's word himself. Because by reading chunks of scripture, it has a way of purifying us, of reminding us, of giving us counsel. As we read chunks of scripture, we are reminded of what God desires for us, what God requires of us. Right? And sometimes I find as in Singapore we depend too much on materials, resources, devotional guides. But I think one thing that we fail to do is to depend more on feeding on God's word for ourselves. So read chunks of scripture, even though you don't fully understand, it's okay. You know, God will bring an enlightenment one day or can speak to your connect group leader or the pastors. Right? So just allow scripture to be a part of your life. And next year, uh, I won't share it now, but next year there will be opportunities for us to adopt a daily rhythm of assimilating God's word in our lives through some possible uh apps uh that we can download uh so that each day you know we assimilate God's word in our lives. Uh I have in my hands not many, but this was uh done up uh by St. Andrew's Cathedral many, many years ago. I think when uh Bishop Kwan was the vicar. So uh it's a Bible reading plan. Uh it's a small piece of uh booklet, right? So I pass it to uh members before and they've been very help very much helped by it. So every day you read about two or three chapters from Genesis all the way to Revelation, right? So you just go on as much as possible. You know, some days you may read less, some days you are too tired, but the whole idea is you know uh just to allow scripture to be a part of our lives. So I have uh a few copies here, about five copies, right? So if you are interested, or later after at the end of the service, I'll be at the uh at the door, the exit. So feel free to take for me. If you are interested to have more, you know, there's possibility of uh just ordering it or getting it from uh the cathedral. So it's a very useful tool, very handy. You can just put it anywhere or just bring along. And nowadays you have Bible apps, right? So you just have to look at the reference and just flip to the right chapters, right? So this is just a tool, but the whole idea is to assimilate scripture into our lives, and it's so important. It's so important for us to have a sense of God's counsel so that we won't always be infants being tossed around because we are always asking, is this God's will, is that God's will? So, what where's God's will? What does God desire for us? It's only when we read scripture more and more we allow scripture to uh pervade our lives, then we are able to answer the question: what is God's will? Because He will speak to us, He will counsel us, uh, He will guide us, He'll lead us into His truth. So the first point, um the blessing of Levi really is all. About assimilating scripture into our hearts and lives. And we need to do it daily. We need to allow ourselves to encounter God in His Word daily. And certain chunks of the word may be a bit tough going, especially when we plow through certain books like First and Second Chronicles, where there's a long list of genealogies, you know, but there's a way, you know, there's a way. You know, as we persevere, I believe we can do it. Let's move on to the second and last point, the blessing on Joseph. The blessing on Joseph. So it's found in uh Deuteronomy 33, verse 13 to 17. Right? So it says, and of Joseph, he said, Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choiceless gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich year 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 his fullness, with the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May this rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. A firstborn bull, he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he shall go the people, all of them to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. So the one word that uh summarizes the blessing on Joseph is fruitfulness. Is fruitfulness. We see bountiful blessing coming upon the tribe of Joseph. Verse after verse speaks of that. Right? The repeated use of the word bounty uh reoccurs many times in these few verses. And we see uh words such as choices gifts, verse 13, choices fruits, rich year, verse 14, finest produce, verse 15a, the abundance of the everlasting heels, verse 15b, best gifts of the earth and its fullness, verse 16. So there's a sense that more than any other blessing on the tribe, Deuteronomy wants us to see that Joseph mirrors the theme of the rich land that the Lord has bestowed upon Israel. And we see that uh in Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 7 to 9, which says, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees, with pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of which hills you can dig copper. We also see that the allocated territory of Joseph's tribe covers a large expanse of land of Canaan. And Joseph is being portrayed as the prince among his brothers, where it reflects a time where Ishrael ruled over a large expanse of the land. The numerous people of numbers of people that come to the to the tribe of Israel is alluded to in verse 17c. It says they are the ten thousands of Ephraim and they are the thousands of Manasseh. Right? So giving us a picture of great, vast expanse, territory, blessing, and land. So, what has the fruitfulness of Joseph have to do with us? For Joseph, fruitfulness comes with the promise of land from God. As we have seen uh previously, this is a pervasive theme in the book of Deuteronomy. I shared previously in my preaching on the 23rd July that an important theme repeated in Deuteronomy is the land, is the arena. The land is the arena God has given for life. And defilement of the land is a perversion of God's life-sustaining purposes. So Israel should not incur guilt for the shedding of blood. And I shared uh that how uh when crime is being done and there's uh blood shed, the land is being defiled. And I also shared that how uh even in Deuteronomy 31, verse 22 to 23, it reminds us a hanged man is cursed by God. And uh the fact that someone is is hanged and is cursed by God and the land is cursed. And we, if you can could recall in one of the sermons, I shared about how Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. And as Christ became a curse for us, we are being set free to enjoy the blessings and fruitfulness that comes from the promise of a good land. All the bounty, plenty, and abundance we enjoy today, as Christians, the blessings of uh uh of his hand, his provision upon our lives comes at the price of Jesus, who became a curse for us to redeem us. And one of the reasons I believe that God uh called Joseph was to make him fruitful. So if you look at Genesis chapter 30, verse 24, when Rebekah gave birth to Joseph, uh he said, And the Lord shall add to me another son. So Joseph symbolizes fruitfulness in life, you know, blessing, abundance. And uh some of us may be aware that when we read uh the news recently this week of uh Joseph that has uh gone before us, he's the national national director of YWAM, right? So as I uh reflect on his life, uh I do not know him too well. I had some encounters with him when I was uh with YWAM. Uh but again I do not know him too well to comment much. I know him from afar. But certainly the amount of uh condolences and the amount, the number of pastors who are have related to him and have shared their eulogies reveal that certainly his life was a fruitful life. In fact, he was fully engaged for the Lord right up to the very end. Uh he will he never slowed down, he never gave up, but always fervent, serving the Lord, going about his mission. In fact, uh in our human eyes, he was just about to begin the next 10 years of his life with a different role. But the Lord uh deemed fit uh to take him home. So when I think of Joseph, I think of fruitfulness, that his life uh was a life of fruitfulness. Yet as we look at Joseph in the Bible, right, uh another Joseph, uh Joseph in the Bible, we we see that somehow his life was far from uh in some way uh having the blessing in the terms that we we think it is. Because Joseph, we know that was sold by his brothers to Egypt, was wrongly accused by Potiphar, was sent to jail, uh, and at jail, in jail, he he rose to a prominent place. Uh yet uh when the cupbearer was released, he forgot about him, then he wasted away until uh a few years later he was called in again, uh, until he rose to a prime position. Right. So his life was far from uh, you will say, some will say, free from suffering. Right? He he was fruitful in the midst of suffering. So I believe there's a lesson from the life of Joseph. This is Joseph in the Bible for us. You know, it tells us the bountiful blessings that God gives to us, you know, comes with a caveat that we should never forget the Lord. And the that the blessings and the goodness, the fruitfulness that He has given to us is something that comes to us at the cost, at the price. And there's something about suffering, or there's something about going through uh paying a price or experiencing uh certain hardship in life and seeing a breakthrough in our lives that makes us stronger and more fruitful. But there's also something in us, all of us as Christians, that when we are so blessed by the Lord, when we are living in abundance and bountiful blessing, the tendency is that even we don't say it with our mouth, but we we tend to forget who God is, such that we always need reminders. So again, Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 10 to 13 reminds us again and again. It says Deuteronomy 6, verse 10 to 13, and when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give you with great and good cities that you did not build, houses full of good things that you did not feel, citrons that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. And when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear, Him you shall serve, and by His name you shall swear. So there's something about abundance and fruitfulness that uh makes us forget about the Lord, that we forgot that Christ became a curse for us. We forgot that actually it is through uh suffering or some form of difficulty that we embrace uh fruitfulness eventually, like the life of Joseph. So fruitfulness presupposes that we not forget the Lord who brought us out of the land of slavery, out of the land of Egypt. So we need to remind ourselves again and again who God is in our lives. So Deuteronomy 32, sorry, 33, verse 2 reminds us of who God is and what he has done. It says the Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seer upon us. He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousand of holy ones with flaming fire at his right hand. Again, Deuteronomy 33, verse 26. There's none like God, oh Joshua, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. May we never forget that all that we have comes from God. All the goodness we experience, all the bountiful blessings, all the fruitfulness presupposes that it is God who has saved us, it is God who has enabled us. And many times in the life of God's saints, he will bring us through some form of suffering, of testing his promises before a time of fruitfulness. And that is to humble us and that is to make us realize that actually all that we have comes from God, and there's nothing that we can do but to strive and to make it our own.