Week ThirteenDeuteronomy 105
inTro
BLESSINGS AND PROPHECIES
The Book of Deuteronomy ends with two chapters full
of poetry, followed by a short epilogue about the death
of Moses. Here in chapter 33, the focus is on Moses’ nal
blessings to the twelve tribes before his death. This is
almost identical to the end of Genesis (Genesis 49 and
50). Both Moses and Jacob gather people together to give
them blessings, and both Deuteronomy 33 and Genesis
49 highlight two of the twelve tribes that point forward
to the Messiah. Jacob even notes that his words will “tell
you what shall happen to you in days to come” (49:1),
indicating an eschatological focus. Genesis 49 highlights
Judah and Joseph. Judah represents the kingly aspect
of the Messiah (v. 10). In contrast, Joseph portrays the
suering aspect of the Messiah (v. 26).
In fact, the entire Torah has an eschatological focus,
in that Exodus and Numbers are also parallel to each
other, especially in their longer poetry sections (Exod. 15
and Num. 23–24). The focus on the Exodus in these two
books prophesies that the Messiah will live out the life of
Israel, succeeding where they failed and recapitulating
in His life what Israel went through in the Exodus (Num.
23:22, 24:8). This leaves Leviticus as the very center of
the chiastic (or pyramid) structure of the Torah, and the
structure of Leviticus also has a chiastic center, which is
the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16), highlighting the death of
the Messiah to atone for the sins of the people. Thus the
whole Torah points toward the Messiah and helps us to
understand some aspects of who He is and what He will
be like, which are then eshed out more in the prophets.
Read This Week’s Passage:
Deuteronomy 33:1–17; 26–29
Week Thirteen
The Messiah
Is Coming!
The Messiah Is Coming!106
inScribe
Write out Deuteronomy 33:1–17;
26–29 from the Bible translation
of your choice. If you’re pressed
for time, write out Deuteronomy
33:26–29. You may also rewrite
the passage in your own words, or
outline or mind-map the chapter.
Week ThirteenDeuteronomy 107
inGest
Go back to your scribed text and
study the passage.
Circle repeated words/
phrases/ideas
Underline words/phrases that
are important and have meaning
to you
Draw Arrows to connect words/
phrases to other associated or
related words/phrases
What special insights do your
marks seem overall to point to?
Read more at
www.inversebible.org/deut13-3
Memorize your favorite verse.
Write it out multiple times to help
with memorization.
What positive aspects of
kingship/leadership are
highlighted in Scripture?
Who are some teachers who
helped you to better understand
the Bible? How did they do that?
FAITHFULNESS AND KINGSHIP
Deuteronomy 33 focuses on the two tribes of Joseph and Levi, high-
lighting dierent aspects of the Messiah than Genesis 49 does. Here
Joseph is blessed abundantly with the best gifts and is called “prince
among his brothers” (v. 16, ESV), hinting at the kingly role of the
Messiah. We usually view kingship as a bad thing, especially in light of
God’s response to the people’s desire for a king in 1 Samuel 8. However,
kingship was predicted by God and was not necessarily a bad thing; it
was just that the people wanted a king in their own time, and like all
the other nations, rather than waiting for God’s time and person (who
was David). God told Abraham that he would have kings coming from
him, as well as making clear in these messianic prophecies that kings
were a part of God’s plan (Gen 17:6, 49:10). Deuteronomy 17:14–20
makes clear the kind of king that God was intending, one who had
only one wife, no standing army, no wealth, and wrote his own copy
of the Torah from which he would read every day. If the kings had
actually been like that, they would have inspired the people to follow
God, rather than turning them from God. And indeed, there were a few
who came close (David, Hezekiah, Josiah), but even they did not follow
these requirements. Thus, God is always the ultimate king, and only
the Messiah will truly fulll these prophecies for a good and righteous
king.
When Moses speaks of Levi in Deuteronomy 33, he is blessed for
his faithfulness to God, keeping His word and His covenant. He is
called the “godly one” and receives the priestly Urim and Thummim,
indicating the priestly role of the Messiah as well (v. 8). Indeed, the line
between Levi and the Messiah to whom he points is blurred in verse 8,
as, at Massah, the people tested God and not specically Levi. But the
priests are the representatives of God, and they also point toward the
Messiah, who is the ultimate faithful High Priest!
In addition, the blessing on Levi highlights the need for teachers of
the Torah to help people understand (v. 10). While the Bible is simple
enough for a child to believe and be saved, it is also rich and deep, so
that we will be studying it for eternity. And teachers trained in study-
ing God’s word in the original languages are needed to guard against
heresy and misinterpretation.
The Messiah Is Coming!108
inTerpret
What questions emerge after
studying this passage? What
parts are dicult?
What other principles and
conclusions do you nd?
How do the typological
prophecies about Jesus give you
hope about the certainty of His
other promises?
After looking at your scribed
and annotated text, what special
insights do your marks seem to
point to overall?
Read more at
www.inversebible.org/deut13-4
TYPOLOGY
The Messianic prophecies in Deuteronomy are not only in chapter
33. In Deuteronomy 18, Moses predicts that “the Lord your God will
raise up for you a prophet like me from among you . . . [and] it is to
him you shall listen. . . . I will put my words in his mouth” (v. 15, 18,
ESV). Many might think that this is referring to Joshua, but Joshua
has already been on the scene and anointed to take Moses’ place when
Deuteronomy 34 is written. And Deuteronomy 34:10 states that “there
has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD
knew face to face” (ESV), indicating that there is yet one to come! So,
the Messiah is to be a prophet (Deut. 18, 34), a priest (Deut. 33:8–11),
and a king (Deut. 33:13–17). These roles are then expanded on in all
the prophets, as they reect on and receive additional revelations of
the character of Jesus. Of course, these are not the only things that
Jesus does, but many of the prophecies point to some aspect of these
characteristics.
Moses himself performed aspects of all of these roles, too. He ded-
icated the temple, which is a priestly role; he prophesied about the
Messiah and even the exile, a prophetic role; and he judged and led the
people, a kingly role. In this way, Moses served as a type, pointing to
the Messiah as the antitype. A type is a person, place, or thing that God
designs to point forward to something greater in a predictive way. In
other words, God planned out certain elements of Moses’ life, without
compromising his free will, in order to provide a prophetic picture of
aspects of Jesus’ life. It might seem that any parallel between the Old
Testament and New Testament could be a type, but this is not the
case. Typology is not analogy or allegory. The Old Testament is very
careful to indicate which people, places, and things point forward to
the Messiah, and then usually also indicates further within the Old
Testament itself that this is the case. So the New Testament then
simply recognizes the fulllment in the antitype, seeing what God
had already indicated would take place. This is why certain ones of
the twelve tribes are chosen to have a greater focus, because they are
predictive of who the Messiah will be.
Typology actually brings great assurance to our faith. God has been
planning ahead for thousands of years, and all that He predicted has
come true. Thus, we can trust that His second coming will also happen,
and we can wait with joy for His soon return.
Week ThirteenDeuteronomy 109
inSpect
Review your memorized verse from
Deuteronomy 33:1–17; 26–29.
What other parables come
to mind in connection with
Deuteronomy 33?
What relationship do the
following verses have with
the primary passage?
Genesis 49:8–12, 22–26
Deuteronomy 18:15–22
Deuteronomy 34:1–12
Jeremiah 33:14–26
Isaiah 11:1–16
Micah 5:2–4
The Messiah Is Coming!110
inVite
Read more at
www.inversebible.org/deut13-6
How can you share God’s grace
and desire for relationship with
someone today?
How do you see Jesus
dierently or see Him again?
Prayer: How do you respond to
seeing Jesus in this way?
Meditate on Deuteronomy
33:1–17; 26–29 again and look
for where Jesus is.
GOD IS CALLING YOU
The promises of the Messiah, so powerful here in this nal blessing
of Moses, provide deep comfort to us as we face the end of this world’s
history. Yahweh is almighty and powerful, and will deliver and save
us. Yahweh is our ultimate King, who is coming in victory to rule in
righteousness and peace, and on our behalf. Yahweh contends for His
people, longing for them to be at peace in His judgments as they rely
on Him.
Yahweh also loves and directs His people. He desires for us to dwell in
safety, blessing us “with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the
deep that crouches beneath, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the
rich yield of the months, with the nest produce of the ancient moun-
tains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, with the best gifts of
the earth and its fullness” (vv. 13–16, ESV).
And He uses ordinary people to point forward to the ultimate gift,
which is Himself. Joseph and Levi and Moses were far from perfect, yet
God ordained that their lives would reect Him in certain ways so that
people could look at them and get a glimpse of what He would be like
as their Savior. This is incredible grace.
God wants to do the same through us today. Though we will not be
types in the technical sense, God can also use us to reect His char-
acter to the world. We also have the privilege of speaking with God
face to face in prayer, entering by faith into the heavenly sanctuary.
Through us, God still has a message of mercy to share with this dark
and dying world. Deuteronomy is not about legalism but about grace!
It is about God’s immeasurable grace and love and desire for a heart
relationship with us. Now that you have seen that more clearly, God is
calling you to share it! Break through the lies that Satan has broadcast
about God and share the true nature of His character of love and mercy.
Very few people read the Old Testament at all, let alone Deuteronomy.
But as you share of God’s heart and His desire for their hearts, you can
be the change. May it be said of you, too: “Happy are you, O Israel! Who
is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the
sword of your triumph!” (Deut. 33:29, ESV).
Week ThirteenDeuteronomy 111
inSight
Review the memory verse.
How does it apply to your
life this week?
After this entire lesson’s study, what
are applications you are convicted
of for your personal time?
What are applications you are
convicted of in your social life?
Read more inSight from the
Spirit of Prophecy at
www.inversebible.org/deut13-7
THE COMING OF A DELIVERER
“Through the long centuries of ‘trouble and darkness’ and ‘dimness of
anguish’ (Isaiah 8:22) marking the history of mankind from the day our
rst parents lost their Eden home, to the time the Son of God appeared
as the Saviour of sinners, the hope of the fallen race was centered in
the coming of a Deliverer to free men and women from the bondage of
sin and the grave.
“The rst intimation of such a hope was given to Adam and Eve in the
sentence pronounced upon the serpent in Eden when the Lord declared
to Satan in their hearing, ‘I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head,
and thou shalt bruise His heel.’ Genesis 3:15.
“As the guilty pair listened to these words, they were inspired with
hope; for in the prophecy concerning the breaking of Satan’s power
they discerned a promise of deliverance from the ruin wrought through
transgression. Though they must suer from the power of their
adversary because they had fallen under his seductive inuence and
had chosen to disobey the plain command of Jehovah, yet they need
not yield to utter despair. The Son of God was oering to atone with
His own lifeblood for their transgression. To them was to be granted a
period of probation, during which, through faith in the power of Christ
to save, they might become once more the children of God.” (White,
Prophets and Kings, 681, 682.)
“This hope of redemption through the advent of the Son of God as
Saviour and King, has never become extinct in the hearts of men.
From the beginning there have been some whose faith has reached out
beyond the shadows of the present to the realities of the future. Adam,
Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—
through these and other worthies the Lord has preserved the precious
revealings of His will. And it was thus that to the children of Israel,
the chosen people through whom was to be given to the world the
promised Messiah, God imparted a knowledge of the requirements of
His law, and of the salvation to be accomplished through the atoning
sacrice of His beloved Son.
“The hope of Israel was embodied in the promise made at the time
of the call of Abraham, and afterward repeated again and again to his
posterity, ‘In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ Genesis
12:3. As the purpose of God for the redemption of the race was
unfolded to Abraham, the Sun of Righteousness shone upon his heart,
and his darkness was scattered. And when, at last, the Saviour Himself
walked and talked among the sons of men, He bore witness to the
Jews of the patriarch’s bright hope of deliverance through the coming
of a Redeemer. ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day,’ Christ
declared; ‘and he saw it, and was glad.’ John 8:56.” (White, 682, 683.)
“Thus, through patriarchs and prophets, as well as through types and
symbols, God spoke to the world concerning the coming of a Deliverer
from sin. A long line of inspired prophecy pointed to the advent of ‘the
Desire of all nations.’ Haggai 2:7.” (White, 697.)
“The many prophecies concerning the Saviour’s advent led the
Hebrews to live in an attitude of constant expectancy. Many died in
the faith, not having received the promises. But having seen them afar
o, they believed and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. From the days of Enoch the promises repeated through
patriarchs and prophets had kept alive the hope of His appearing.”
(White, 699, 700.)
The Messiah Is Coming!112
inQuire
Share insights from this week’s
memory verse and Bible study
as well as any discoveries,
observations, and questions
with your Sabbath School class
(or Bible study group). Consider
these discussion questions with
the rest of the group.
What dierence would it make for
you to be blessed by your parents
or spiritual leaders?
The Torah points clearly to the
rst coming of the Messiah; how
did those in Jesus’ day not see it?
What does that say about what we
might be missing today about the
second coming?
What steps can you make to lead
a life of integrity and faithfulness
that will leave a legacy like Moses
did?
Moses knew God face to face; this
was the foundation of his legacy.
What steps can you take today to
build your relationship with God
into the most important thing in
your life?
How has your view of
Deuteronomy changed over the
past thirteen weeks?
