Word of Encouragement (05/02/2023)
And of Asher he said, "Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be. (Deut. 33:24-25)
Moses goes on to bless Asher. Though Asher is the last one to be blessed, his blessing was not the least. What a rich blessing is given to him!
Moses blesses Asher to be the favorite of the brothers. It is one thing to be the favorite of one’s parents; it is another to be the favorite among brothers. You know what happened to Joseph because he was the favorite of Jacob, his father—how it fueled the murderous envy of his brothers. But there is no danger of that when you are the favorite among your brothers. And if you are their favorite, you will also be a delight to your parents as well (unless, of course, your brothers are all wicked and you are the most wicked of them, which was not the case with Asher and his brothers). There is something to be said about growing in favor with men, especially with one’s family members, who know him well. It takes a person of integrity and love to be respected and loved by those who are close to him.
Obviously, this is not a universal blessing for all God’s people: not every brother can be the favorite. This may trouble us. Shouldn’t we love everyone equally and have no favorites? But that is not true in our relationships, is it? We all have our favorites whether we acknowledge it or not; we all have those we’d rather spend time with than others. Is that wrong?
Surprisingly or not so surprisingly, we see this even in the Bible. Isaac and Rebekah had their respective favorites—Isaac’s favorite was Esau and Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob. Jacob favored Rachel over Leah. As we mentioned, Joseph was Jacob’s favorite. From their stories, we see that playing favorites has many negative consequences. And yet, Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, blesses Asher to be the favorite among the brothers! We also know that Jesus had five hundred disciples. But He had seventy disciples that were closer to Him. And He had the Twelve Apostles. And even among the Twelve, He had a special affection for the three—Peter, James, and John. And even among the three, John was known as the beloved disciple of Jesus, His favorite disciple. What is going on?
We see that the kingdom of God is not a land of total equality. As a kingdom, it has a hierarchical structure with God as the King, who rules over all with absolute authority. There are angels and they seem to have different ranks. The same is true of the saints as well. There are twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones around the throne of God (Rev. 4:4). And in response to James and John’s request, Jesus talked about those who will sit at His right hand and left hand (Mark 10:40). Does this disturb you? But the Bible also affirms that everyone is indispensable in the kingdom of God: each has his own unique roles and functions that are necessary for the operation and well-being of the kingdom.
We must submit to the absolute sovereign of God. It is His right to have mercy on whom He has mercy (Rom. 9:18). God doesn’t owe anything to anyone, especially His grace. So, what if God in His infinite wisdom granted different measures of grace to His people? What if not all of us are the favorite among brothers? Have we not been redeemed from eternal damnation? Did it not please God to sacrifice His beloved Son for each of us? And are we not made indispensable in the kingdom of God, each of us? Let us humbly acknowledge that He is sovereign. Let us give Him the eternal praise He deserves from us for extending His grace to save us and make us His beloved children!