Word of Encouragement (04/27/2023)

And of Naphtali he said, "O Naphtali, sated with favor, and full of the blessing of the LORD, possess the lake and the south." (Deut. 33:23)

Naphtali was a son whom Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, bore to Jacob. Moses’ blessing on him was short but packed with much good. Consider the words used: “sated,” “favor,” “full,” and “blessing.” Moses blessed him that he would not just have favor but sated with favor, not just receive some blessings but be full of blessings. Of course, Moses was not just speaking of men’s favor and blessings; he was speaking of the LORD’s favor and blessings.

How abundant and full this benediction is! Oh, to receive favor from the LORD until one is fully satisfied! But we must question how this can happen. If we get a lot of blessings, will we be satisfied? There are rare occasions when someone shows kindness that is so unexpected and so extravagant that we are overwhelmed with flowing emotions, and speechless. But man’s greed, or his need, is such that we do not stay satisfied very long. Just as eating a lot expands our stomach and makes us want and eat more and more, so does receiving favor and blessing from others. Such is our hunger for material blessings: they can never satisfy us, even the material blessings from God. For us to be satisfied is not a matter of who blesses us but what we are blessed with. The things of the world can never fill the void left by God’s absence in our souls.

Interestingly, a part of this benediction was that Naphtali would possess “the lake and the south.” While many Jewish commentators agree that this referred to Naphtali’s proximity, not to the Mediterranean Sea but to the Sea of Tiberias and Gennesaret. This particular point plays an important role in Isaiah’s prophecy: “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations” (9:1). As we saw in Zebulun’s benediction, this was fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry in that region (Matt. 4:13-16).

So, this was how Moses’ blessing on Naphtali (as a picture of God’s new covenant people) came to fruition—in the coming of Jesus Christ. God’s people would be sated with favor and full of the blessing of the LORD—something that no material blessings can do—by the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. If we have Jesus Christ, we have what we need to be sated with God’s favor and be full of God’s blessing. For Jesus Christ is the yes and amen to all the promises of God! As God, He is able to fill the void of our souls, which only God can fill.

Let us pray that we will experience more and more the objective reality of God’s ever-satisfying favor and full blessing so that we can confess from the depths of our souls, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1).

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