Moses also said that Levi would show Jacob Jehovah’s ordinances and Israel His law. Levi would also put incense before Jehovah and whole burnt offerings upon His altar (v. 10). The altar for incense was inside the tabernacle, and the altar for offerings was outside the tabernacle. Levi served God at both altars.
In verse 11 Moses asked Jehovah to bless Levi’s might and to accept the work of his hands. Moses also prayed that Jehovah would wound thoroughly the loins of those who rose up against him and that those who hated him would not rise up again.
Because Levi’s disposition was changed, he became a great blessing. God’s Thummim and Urim were with him, and he had the privilege of coming into the presence of God to serve Him. Although the double portion of the land inherited by Joseph is rich, the privilege of entering God’s presence enjoyed by Levi is intimate. The priesthood can be considered as the sweet portion of the birthright. Levi received this portion.
In verse 12, concerning Benjamin, Moses said, “The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell securely beside Him; / Jehovah shall cover over him all the day, / And He shall dwell between his shoulders.” Beside Him indicates that Benjamin would be Jehovah’s neighbor. Benjamin would dwell in safety because he would dwell next door to Jehovah. Certainly anyone who dwells beside Jehovah will dwell in safety. This verse also says that Jehovah would cover, overshadow, Benjamin all day long and even dwell between his shoulders. According to geography, the territory of Benjamin has two shoulders toward the south and between these two shoulders is Jerusalem, where the temple, Jehovah’s dwelling, was located. Hence, Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, was not located in the territory of Judah but in the territory of Benjamin (Judg. 1:21). Jehovah’s dwelling was a cover that overshadowed Benjamin all the day long. In the same way, the Lord will overshadow His people in eternity with His tabernacle (Rev. 7:15). What a blessing!
In the entire Old Testament there is no higher, greater, or sweeter blessing than the blessing of God’s dwelling place. The psalmists in the Old Testament longed to live in the house of God (Psa. 84:10). In the New Testament the Lord Jesus became flesh and tabernacled among God’s people, full of grace and reality (John 1:14). He is the tabernacle and temple of God (2:19, 21). Now the church is being built up to be the temple of God. Finally, the entire New Jerusalem will be God’s eternal tabernacle, overshadowing His people. God will be with His people and will dwell with them. This is the ultimate blessing.
Moses blessed Joseph and said that his land would be blessed by Jehovah “with the choicest things of heaven, with the dew / And with the deep waters that couch beneath; / With the choicest of the crops of the sun, / And with the choicest of the yield of the moons; / With the top of the ancient mountains, / And with the choicest things of the eternal hills; / With the choicest things of the earth, and the fullness thereof, / And the favor of Him who dwelt in the thornbush” (Deut. 33:13-16). The expression Him who dwelt in the thornbush refers to God, who in Exodus 3 appeared to Moses from within a burning thornbush. In Deuteronomy 33:16 Moses continued and asked that all these blessings would “come upon the head of Joseph, / And upon the top of the head of him who is separated among his brothers.” Joseph was separated from among his brothers and taken to Egypt in order to fulfill God’s purpose.
Verse 17 says, “Like his firstborn ox, he has majesty; / And his horns are the horns of the wild ox; / With them he shall drive peoples / To the ends of the earth together. / Those are the ten thousands of Ephraim; / And those the thousands of Manasseh.” Joseph is strong as the firstborn ox. This ox has two horns: one is Ephraim, and the other is Manasseh. With these horns he would drive people to the ends of the earth. This is also a prophecy concerning Christ.
For centuries the inhabitants of cold regions have been trying to spread south to the Mediterranean Sea, including Jerusalem. Eventually, Christ at His coming back as the strong ox will come with two horns and push them back to the northern region. The crucial center of international relations today is the Middle East, and many nations want to spread into that region. But Joseph, the strong ox, will come with the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh to push the peoples back to the ends of the earth, because this land is for God’s people.