Wednesday, April 24 – Deuteronomy 33, 34 – Additional Reading, Patriarchs and Prophets, chapter 43, “The Death of Moses”

1. Once they had entered the promised land, what portion of the fruits of the land were they to bring before the Lord as an offering? Deuteronomy 26:2

2. On which mountain were the Levites to proclaim the curses? Deuteronomy 27:131. Do the blessings/Inheritance pronounced by Moses upon the Tribes of Israel have any correlation to the actions and characteristics of the original Sons of Israel (Jacob)? If so, what is this correlation? Compare Genesis 49 with Deut. 33

2. Is there any significance to the fact the Simeon is not mentioned in Deut. 33? Why was this tribe left out? While Simeon is omitted here, the Tribe is listed among the 12 tribes in Revelation 7 (the 144,000). Is there any special significance in this?

3. Why did God instruct Moses to bless the people even though He knew they weren’t going to be faithful to receive the complete fulfillment of these very blessings? Deut. 33:26-29, Jer. 31:33, Heb.8:1-10

4. Why after many years of faithful service to God and the people, was Moses denied entrance into the Promised Land? Was this fair? Why or why not? Num. 20:1-12

The Israelites had reached the edge of the Promised Land and were about to cross the Jordan and enter into Canaan. God calls Moses up Mt. Nebo to overlook the land and tells him that he is going to die there and not be allowed to enter the Land. As his final act, Moses pronounced a blessing upon all of Israel, as well as each tribe individually.

“In His wisdom the Lord concealed the place where He buried Moses. God buried him, and God resurrected him and took him to heaven. This secrecy was to prevent idolatry. He against whom they rebelled while he was in active service, whom they provoked almost beyond human endurance, was almost worshiped as God after his separation from them by death.” (AH, p. 477)