After Gad comes Asher. The sequence here is certainly under God's inspiration. Verse 20 says, "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties." Asher's bread is fat; that is, his food is rich. When we have the victory of Christ and help our brothers gain their portion before we enjoy our own, we have rich food. This rich food even becomes royal dainties, the royal food. It is not food for the common people, but food for kings, for the royal family. What we enjoy in the victorious life is not only regular food, but also royal dainties. No one can deny that the food in the church life is rich. In fact it is so rich that it becomes the royal dainties. We are not only a lion family, but also a royal family. We are a kingly family, and our dining is royal. Whatever we feed on in these life-study messages is royal dainties.
Deuteronomy 33:24 says, "Asher shall be blessed more than [the] sons; let him be favored among his brethren" (Heb.). You may wonder how Asher could be more blessed than Judah or Joseph. For Asher to be more blessed than the sons means to be more blessed in the riches of food and minerals.
Deuteronomy 33:24 also says, "Let him dip his foot in oil." Judah was to wash his garments in wine, but here Asher is to dip his foot in oil. Revelation 6:6 speaks of not harming oil and wine. In times of famine oil and wine become scarce. Undoubtedly the oil here is olive oil. According to both history and geography, there is an abundance of olive trees in this part of the good land. For this reason, it is rich in oil. The fact that Asher will dip his foot in oil indicates that, as far as food is concerned, he is richer than all the other tribes.
Deuteronomy 33:25 says, "Under thy sandals shall be iron and copper" (Heb.). Iron and copper are for fighting the battle and for building. Oil is food for nourishment, but iron and copper are materials for fighting and for building up the kingdom. Because Asher is so rich, the most favored in food and minerals, he is more blessed than the other tribes. He has the food for nourishment and the minerals for weapons and building materials.
Deuteronomy 33:25 also says, "And as thy days, so shall thy rest be" (Heb.). The Hebrew word rendered "rest" here is not the common word for rest. This word is very difficult to translate. It means safety, security, strength, peace, and quietness. It denotes a leisurely life, a life in which there is sufficiency, with no need to worry or rush. Thus, Asher was to have a leisurely life, a life that was safe and secure, with sufficiency guaranteed. This means that throughout life he would not lack anything. He would have the rich food for nourishment, the weapons for defense, and the materials for building. Instead of scarcity, there would be sufficiency, rest, peace, and leisure. He would constantly enjoy life.
Unless you have come into this stage of the spiritual life, you may not understand what I am talking about. But there is such a stage. If you have not yet arrived at it, I encourage you to go on. One day you will come to such a country. In this realm there is no need to hurry or rush. Here there is safety, security, and peace. Here we are short of nothing. We have food, weapons, and materials. When you have arrived at this stage, there is no need to worry or care about tomorrow, and there is no anxiety. Rather, there is continual rest in the riches of food and in the strong iron and copper. At least some of us have come to this point. This is the maturity of life.