Word of Encouragement (04/20/2023)
And of Zebulun he said, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents. 19 They shall call peoples to their mountain; there they offer right sacrifices; for they draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand." (Deut. 33:18-19).
We saw how God can bless His people in all places and at all times with joy. As we are blessed with God’s joy, what are we to do? V. 19 reads, “They shall call peoples to their mountain; there they offer right sacrifices.” Zebulun in his going out and Issachar in his staying in tents, they invite peoples to their mountain to offer right sacrifices to the LORD. We can understand Zebulun doing this by going out to the peoples, but we don’t see how Issachar can do the same by staying in his tents. The latter part of v. 19 mentions the drawing “from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.” It seems that Zebulun, whose border faced the Mediterranean Sea, was a sea-going tribe. It is possible, then, to see his “going out” as his sea-going ventures, which exposed them to far-away peoples, and Issachar’s staying “in your tents” as mainly staying on the land and interacting with their neighboring nations.
Note that, as Zebulun and Issachar are blessed with joy, they call peoples to join them in their worship of the LORD. God’s blessings are not there to make us feel superior to others. Since His blessings are His gracious gifts to us, who don’t deserve them, it makes no sense that we should see ourselves as better than others. Our gratitude should compel us to exalt our gracious God and invite others to worship and serve Him as well. If God was pleased to extend His grace to poor sinners like us, then He would not withhold His grace from those who call upon Him in humility and faith!
We don’t know how evangelistic the Jews of the Old Testament were. We do not doubt that some efforts were made by some people. We hear of the “God-fearers” in Jesus’ time—the Gentiles who wanted to learn about the God of Israel. But Judaism has never been known for its evangelistic zeal. We can say that it was fulfilled when Jesus came on the scene:
“And leaving Nazareth [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned’” (Matt. 4:13-16).
We can see that Moses’ blessing on Zebulun and Issachar was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus and His Great Commission to His disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20).
The Lord wants to bless us with joy. But let us remember that this blessing is not just for our enjoyment. If the joy we are experiencing is a true joy from the Lord, it will be an infectious kind: it will fill our hearts with the desire to see His name exalted among the nations as more people come with us to worship Him with thankfulness. Let us pray for this joy of the Lord!