Strength of Days |
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Elder
Mark D. Rowell |
Genesis 49:20 “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he
shall yield royal dainties.”
To lay a little foundation for our thoughts today, I’d like
to briefly look at Asher. The blessing of Asher by his
father Jacob is one of the shortest ones he gave to all his
sons. I think only Naphtali’s was shorter by intent and
number of words. Obviously the blessing was direct and to
the point, especially compared to Judah, Joseph and some of
the others. However, I believe Asher’s blessing carries a
very personal reference that translates to the Children of
God today on the same personal, day-to-day way, that it did
for Asher and his posterity.
Not to spend too much time on geography, but in an effort to
show the application, Asher possessed land to the west and
north in Canaan. It was part of the coast and therefore
fertile. Secular historians say this land was ripe with oil
and that, during famines, the Land of Asher would become the
sole supplier of olive oil for the rest of Israel. In the
next blessing we read of Asher, it’s said that brass and
copper were plentiful in the land as well. With all this
information, it’s hard not to see why Asher’s name
translates to ‘happy’!
“And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children,
let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his
foot in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy
days, so shall thy strength be.” Deut. 33:24-25
Moses is now the speaker and he is blessing the Tribes of
Israel before he dies, and before Israel begins its conquest
of Canaan. Again, the blessing is a really good one! He says
the Tribe of Asher will be blessed with children and will be
allied with Israel in several ways. He also lends credence
to the abundance of oil found in his land, and to the idea
that iron and copper would be plentiful in the land. Sounds
really good, doesn’t it? Indeed! However, of all we’ve read
to this point, the best part of the blessing is now upon us!
While we see how the entirety of the blessing holds aspects
of our own lives, it’s this last part of Moses’ blessing
that brings the greatest comfort!
Moses was inspired to speak the words “…as thy days, so
shall thy strength be…” in blessing the Tribe of Asher but
aren’t you thankful today that these are our blessings too?
Paul says the old testament scriptures were “…written for
our learning…” and this blessing is a part of that. We have
no strength of our own. We, being sinners by nature and
practice, find ourselves without help and without hope when
it comes to what we can do of our own selves. You see, Moses
wasn’t telling the children of Asher that their strength was
there own. Asher didn’t make the land they inherited the way
it was. They didn’t put the copper and iron into the ground;
they didn’t make it fertile for growing of grain and olive
trees; they didn’t lay any of that foundation, but the Lord
did! So when it comes to strength, we must realize that we
didn’t conure up our own strength. Rather, our strength
comes for the Lord, just like all our other blessings.
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no
might he increaseth strength.” Isa 40:29
While we do have Biblical examples of physical strength
beyond natural explanation, such as Samson and David, and
that strength was given by the Lord as well, the more
applicable strength that we so often find ourselves in need
of is spiritual rather than physical. When we are weak, then
we are strong, because the Lord increases the strength of
the faint. When it seems that we cannot take another step in
this life, we find that our Lord lifts us up and gives us
“strength as our day is.” This blessing is a promise from
God to His children, that as long as we live, He will always
be the source of our true strength, and that of the inward
man.
“…though our outward man perish, the inward man is renewed
day by day.” 2 Cor 4:16
Regardless of what happens to our outward man, the Lord
brings daily strengthening to the inward man. Our hope,
faith, and love are strengthened to the extent that, in
spite of our daily aging bodies, our eyes are fixed
heaven-ward in great anticipation of the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ! Even in our darkest hour, when we think all is
lost, the Lord strengthens us! In fact, it’s at those times
when we feel His strength the most! “My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9
The Apostle Paul was well aware of his weakness
(infirmities) and that how even in that state, God’s
strength is made perfect, because, in spite of just how weak
we are, His strength is always perfect! It’s because of
“..his mercies that we are not consumed..” God hasn’t
promised that each day won’t be without toils, troubles,
temptations, and so on, but according to the blessing given
to Asher, as many are our days, so shall our strength be,
because of HIS faithfulness! There’s a song we often sing in
our worship services called “God’s Promise.” It was one of
Sister Marie Bass’ favorite songs. It eloquently captures
the theme of our life. The second verse goes something like
this:
“But God has promised strength as our day, rest when we
labor, light on the way, faith for our trials, help from
above, unfading kindness, undying love.” What a promise from
our Heavenly Father! Without Him, we can do nothing, but by
Him, we can do all things “…through Christ, which
stregtheneth me.”
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