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The first blessing to be stated is really a prophecy of the future, and so full is this
blessing that it is used to express the final state of all Israel's blessedness, when they shall
at last enter into their inheritance:--
"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms . . . . . Israel
then shall dwell in safety alone . . . . . who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord!"
(Deut. 33: 27-29).
There are several words used in the O.T. to convey the idea of dwelling. There is the
"sojourning" of a stranger (Lev. 19: 34), but this is no sojourning of strangers. Here the
word means to dwell in a tent or in a tabernacle. Its significance can be gathered by
consulting Deut. 33: 16: "The goodwill of Him that dwelt in the bush." This
"dwelling" rendered the place "holy ground", and we should realize its meaning better if
we translated the blessing of Deut. 33: 12: "The beloved of the Lord shall tabernacle
in safety by Him." So, when Israel were first brought into covenant relationship with the
Lord, He said to Moses: "Make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell (tabernacle) among
them" (Exod. 25: 8). The beloved of the Lord therefore can take to themselves the
words of the Psalm: "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever" (Psa. 23: 6).
Another cause of great joy is the statement that not only shall the beloved of the Lord
dwell by Him, but that they shall "dwell in safety". Among other features that this
particular blessing sets forth are the following:--
1.
IT MEANS THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS BEEN ACCEPTED ON OUR
BEHALF.--"Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments and do
them: and ye shall dwell in the land in safety" (Lev. 25: 18).
2.
IT MEANS THAT THE PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS
ENJOYED.--"And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell
therein in safety" (Lev. 25: 19 and 26: 5, 6).
3.
IT MEANS, IN DEUTERONOMY, THE CESSATION OF WAR.--"But when ye
go over Jordan . . . . . and He giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so
that ye dwell in safety" (Deut. 12: 10).
4.
IT TYPIFIES THE REIGN OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE.--"And Judah and Israel
dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to
Beersheba, all the days of Solomon" (I Kings 4: 25).
The second blessing pronounced in Deut. 33: 12 to the beloved of the Lord is:
"And the Lord shall cover him all the day long." The special thought here in this word
"cover" is not the covering by atonement, nor the covering as a protection merely, but the
covering that pertains to marriage. It gives us the word meaning "marriage canopy",
which should be substituted for the word "defence" in Isa. 4: 5 (In the remaining
occurrences [Psa. 19: 5 and Joel 2: 16] "bridegroom" and "bride" are actually
mentioned. In one case the "cover" is the "chamber" of the bridegroom and in the other
the "closet" of the bride).
(To be concluded).