The beloved of Yahweh…

Deuteronomy 33:12
Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of Yahweh shall dwell in safety by him. He covers him all the day long. He dwells between his shoulders.” (WEB)

Deuteronomy 33 recounts the blessing that Moses gave to each tribe of Israel just before he died. It was meant to be something very special for each one of the unique expressions of the twelve tribes. In preparation for the blessing, we read in verse 3… Yes, he loves the people. All his saints are in your hand. They sat down at your feet; each receives your words. (WEB) Then the blessings start in verse 6.

Today’s reading is found in verse 12 when Moses is blessing the tribe of Benjamin. This is such a beautiful picture of God’s heart for His people. Let’s break the blessing down bit by bit… First Benjamin is called the beloved of Yahweh. The reason for the blessing is that Benjamin is loved by Almighty God. We could stop there and it would be enough.

But the blessing continues to say that the beloved of Yahweh will live in safety because He covers him all day long. Do you feel like you are covered by Almighty God today? If not, my prayer is that you would know that you have a special place in His heart simply because He loves you.

And the last part of the blessing is my favorite part! ‘He dwells between his shoulders’. The NIV Bible translates this to say ‘and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders’. This is a promise that we can take as our own too! Because we are beloved of the Lord, we can dwell in safety, knowing that we are covered by Him so that we can rest between His shoulders.

My prayer today is that we would all know how blessed we are because we are in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 says that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Galatians 3:13-14 tell us that we have received the blessing of Abraham because of the work of the cross. May everyone who reads this blog today cry out in their hearts ‘Yes and Amen!’ to every one of the promises that God has for us in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Galatians 3:13-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (WEB)