Chapter summaries of 7 through 9 from An Exposition of Deuteronomy 33

The next chapter summaries from An Exposition of Deuteronomy 33 by William Parkinson are:

Sermon 7: “The Blessing of Reuben,” p. 217-237;

Sermon 8: “The Blessing of Judah,” p. 238-266;

Sermon 9: “The Blessing of Levi. His Urim and Thummim,” p. 267-286.

Having now covered the preliminary portion of the text in verses 1-5, Parkinson begins to expound in sermon 7 the blessings given by Moses to each of the tribes of Israel. We are introduced to the first of these in verse 6, “Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.” This blessing of Moses might seem unusual were it not for the fact, as Parkinson reminds us, that “This tribe would be among the most exposed, in the wars to be engaged in for the conquest of Canaan.” And he adds, “Moses, too, might be moved by the Spirit, to predict these blessings by asking them of God, that the tribes should thereby perceive the deep interest which he took in their welfare; of which his praying for them was the strongest proof; as also to remind them, that the blessings he predicted were not in his gift, but in the gift of God, and that, to Him therefore, in faith and prayer, they should be looking for them.” In verse 7 we read of the blessing on the tribe of Judah. “That Judah was eminently a type of Christ, will appear in every part of this prophecy,” writes Parkinson, who proceeds to show the various ways in which this is true. Verses 8-11 covers the blessing of Levi and his Urim and Thummim. “The tribe of Levi,” Parkinson tells us, “like that of Judah, made a very conspicuous figure among the thousands of Israel. From Judah proceeded their kings; from Levi, their priests.” Nearly this entire chapter, from pages 268-286, is an investigation into what the Urim and Thummim consisted of, what was “the true idea of them,” and what became of them. For those seeking clarity on these mysterious objects of the Old Testament, Parkinson provides one of the most detailed and satisfying treatments on the subject that we have yet seen.