Jacob’s dozen, with all their failures, are finally brought by grace to have their names on heaven’s gates.
It’s hard to imagine that day. Crowds sit deathly still to hear the old prophet’s final words. Did he move from tribe to tribe, addressing each one? Did the Lord supernaturally project his voice so everyone could hear? Ben Franklin estimated that a crowd of 30,000 could hear George Whitfield in the open air, but this was a multitude many times that number. Perhaps just the “leaders” (Deut 33:5) heard, and passed it down the line. J.C. Geikie writes: “Their great lawgiver stands before us, vigorous in his hoary age, stern in his abhorrence of evil, earnest in his zeal for God, but mellowed in all relations to earth by his nearness to heaven. The commanding wisdom of his enactments, the dignity of his position as the founder of the nation and the first of prophets, enforce his utterances. But he touches our deepest emotions by the human tenderness that breathes in all his words. Standing on the verge of life, he speaks as a father giving his parting counsels to those he loves; willing to depart and be with God he has served so well, but fondly lengthening out his last farewell to the dear ones of earth.” Moses portrays the nation as a family setting, gathered around the father as he shares his wisdom and experience. But in this case it is “the Father of Lights.” “The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand came a fiery law for them” (v 2). Here’s the family scene: “Yes, He loves the people; all His saints are in Your hand; they sit down at Your feet; everyone receives Your words” (v 3). If only that was true throughout Israel’s history, and true in every family. Let’s listen as Moses sees the future and blesses the 12 tribes.