Word of Encouragement (04/25/2023)
And of Gad he said, "Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. 21 He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments for Israel." (Deut. 33:20-21)
Moses begins his blessing on Gad by blessing God. This is only fitting since all blessings flow from the most blessed God. In this blessing, Moses blesses God particularly for enlarging Gad. It is God, who enlarges and reduces, exalts and humiliates, and prospers and ruins. Therefore, we must humble ourselves not only when God brings us down but also when He lifts us up.
This was an important reminder because God would enlarge Gad by giving him strength: “Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp.” How easy it is to trust in ourselves when we gain power and proficiency to accomplish great things! We start to think highly of ourselves and believe our position is secure. So, our prayers grow fewer and farther between, not to mention colder and dryer. Thus, we drift away from the Lord, who is the Fount of every blessing, including our strength. This can only lead us to stumble and fall. That is if God loves us. For that is the best thing for us if it jolts us out of fatal ease and compels us to turn to God in humility. We should be worried if things go well even when we grow apart from God lest God gives us over to our worldly desires to perish.
Moses’ blessing also included the blessings of the land: “He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved...” (v. 21). This may be about the land Gad received in the Transjordan area. If you recall, Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh wanted to stay on the east side of the Jordan because the land was good for livestock, and they had a great number of livestock (Num. 32:1). They asked Moses (“and he came with the heads of the people) and he granted it after they gave the assurance that they would fight alongside the other tribes in their conquest of the promised land. Gad had received a large portion of the land between the half-tribe of Manasseh on the north and Reuben on the south.
The last part of Moses’ blessing was prophetic of how Gad would fulfill his promise to participate in the conquest of the land for his brother tribes: “...with Israel he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments for Israel.” We are reminded that God’s blessing consists not only of what we receive from the Lord but also of what we are enabled to do for God and His kingdom. Don’t you agree? There is joy when we receive love and help in times of need. But there is joy also when we are able to help and care for others, when we can accomplish a meaningful undertaking. The latter may give us greater joy. So, God, who blesses us by providing for our needs and helping us in our helplessness, also blesses us by enabling us to serve our great God and our needy neighbors. Let us not forget that the ultimate expression of God’s blessing was in Jesus Christ—in delivering us from our sin and condemnation through justification and enabling us to live for God’s glory through sanctification.
Let us pray for the humility to acknowledge God as the Source of all our blessings. Let us repent of our delusion of self-reliance and -sufficiency, which causes our prayers to grow cold and few. Let us give thanks for God’s bountiful provision far above our needs. And let us prayerfully look around to see how we can serve Him and His people and experience His blessings further.