Deuteronomy 33:13-17
v. 13: Moses begins blessing Joseph, which includes both Ephraim and Manasseh. He prays that their land will be rich and fruitful, saying, Blessed of the Lord be his land. Even though their land was already good, Moses asks God to send rain from heaven and water from underground—the precious things of heaven and the deep that coucheth beneath—because all real blessing comes from God (Psalm 65:9; Revelation 14:7 a). v. 14: He also asks for the blessings of the sun and moon, praying that Joseph’s land will have the best crops in every season—the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and the precious things put forth by the moon . v. 15: Moses prays that even the hills and mountains will be fruitful for Joseph—the chief things of the ancient mountains, and the precious things of the lasting hills. In many places, mountains are rocky and dry, but here Moses asks that Joseph’s mountains would be especially blessed (Habakkuk 3:6 b). v. 16: He continues by asking for the best of the earth and its fullness, and the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush (Exodus 3:2 c). This means Moses wants God’s special favor for Joseph, just as God showed favor when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush. God’s favor is better than any other blessing, because only God can make us truly happy, even if we have little else (Habakkuk 3:17-18; Luke 20:37 d). v. 17: Joseph’s power is described next. Moses says Joseph will be strong and honored, like the firstling of his bullock. This means he will be noble and a leader among his brothers. His horns are like the horns of a unicorn, meaning his people will be powerful in battle and able to defeat their enemies. The descendants of Joseph, especially Ephraim, would become very numerous and strong—the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh (Genesis 48:19 e). Their greatness would last as long as they continued to trust and obey God (Psalm 78:9-10 f).
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