One of the best blessings given by Moses before the Israelites crossed over into their heritage was the blessing of Asher in Deuteronomy 33:24-25; About Asher he said: “Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil. The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.
FAVORED BY HIS BROTHERS
This blessing states that Asher would be favored by his brothers. That was pretty hard to accomplish with this group of guys. Look at what a hard time they gave Joseph!
But; the blessing of Moses said that Asher would be favored. When they reached the Promised Land we know that Asher was given choice territory.
WHO WAS ASHER?
Asher was the eighth son of Israel. His name means “Happy” or “Blessed.” Zilpah (Leah’s servant) was Asher’s mother. Just before Israel died he blessed all of his sons, including Asher. He said “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”
Asher eventually had a family of four sons and one daughter. His tribe grew into six clans. At one point in the wilderness journey Asher’s tribe was numbered 41,500 fighting men.
LET HIM BATHE HIS FEET IN OIL
When the Israelites reached the Promised Land and became the new nation called Israel; Asher’s tribe inherited territory along the coast from Sidon to Mt. Carmel.
This was some of the richest soil in all of the nation of Israel. Because of this rich soil, Asher’s descendants produced great amounts of grain, wine, oil and minerals. They were very blessed and rich.
To “dip your feet in oil” was an Eastern idiom which meant “Let him become very prosperous.”
THE BOLTS OF YOUR GATES
One mysteriously worded part of this blessing declares that Asher’s gates will have bolts of iron and bronze. These are strong elements within a gate that would be secure.
Asher was going to suffer many attacks from his enemies, but his gates were going to be strong, He would be able to stand against those who would come against him. Asher would be steadfast and secure in God’s protection and strength.
COUNTING THE DAYS
The last part of verse 25 is very interesting. It says “as thy days so shall thy strength be.” This sounds like the strength of Asher would come in daily portions, like the bread in the wilderness. There would always be enough for complete security in that day.
Then and now; God seems to make his strength available to those that he choses to bless in daily portions. We must learn to live one day at a time; as Asher did.
One recent exercise that this blogging community has been doing is counting the days from Passover to Pentecost. With this counting we have gained some of this type of daily living faith.
There are other seasons of counting too; such as the time of Elul, when we are counting up to the Fall Feast Days. In each of these times God is teaching us the blessings of daily living. This is the way to become “rich” with life; by living one day at a time and reveling and praising God for that day’s blessings as they come our way.
Perhaps Asher was known as “happy” from his counting the days and anticipation of the upcoming feasts and festivals when he would spend extra time with God in Thanksgiving for all He had provided.
A PROPHETESS FROM ASHER
Some great people of faith came from the tribe of Asher. One was a lady named Anna.
Anna was a prophetess.
She had the privilege of meeting Jesus right after he was born during the time that Joseph and Mary came to the Temple for his dedication.
Being one of the first to know Christ is truly a blessing that came to the linage of Asher.
12,000 MEN FROM ASHER WILL KNOW CHRIST
When the bible speaks of end-times and the return of Christ, it notes in Revelation 7:6 that 12,000 men from the tribe of Asher will be sealed for God’s Kingdom.
When we look at the spiritual side of the words of Asher’s blessing; we could interpret the part that says he will dip his feet in oil to mean that he will inherit a large portion of God’s Spirit.
Asher was indeed blessed; both spiritually and physically.