3155 Blessing Upon Blessing

A tract entitled The Bruised Reed led to the conversion of Richard Baxter. He wrote The Saints’ Rest which was blessed to the conversion of Philip Doddridge. Doddridge wrote The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. William Wilberforce from reading this book found Christ and wrote his Practical View. This book was instrumental in the conversion of Leigh Richmond who wrote The Dairyman’s Daughter which has been translated into more than 50 languages, and has been blessed to the conversion of thousands.

It is related of Dr. Goodel, that when he was through Nicomedia, he left with a stranger a copy of The Dairyman’s Daughter, printed in the Armenian Turkish language. Seventeen years afterwards he visited Nicomedia, and found a church of more than 40 members, and a Protestant community of more than 200 persons. That tract with God’s blessing did the work.

—Dr. George W. Truett

So rich and abundant is the wine that he has produced, his eyes are “darker” (ḥaklîlî; cf. ḥaklîlût, Prov 23:29) than the wine itself, and his teeth glisten whiter than milk against his red-stained lips.613 The images of wine (vineyard) and milk portray prosperity (e.g., Deut 32:14; Isa 55:1).

M. O’Connor observed that of the animals named in the Blessing of Jacob, the snake is the only one that lives alone. Dan’s move to the far north put it at a great distance from the center of Israel’s life.

Dan is likened to a snake that effectively brings down a horseman, probably to be understood as an interloper (v. 17). The usual word for “snake” (nāḥāš) is matched by the rare term “viper,” occurring only here (šĕpîpōn, “horned snake”?). The imagery of a small, obscure snake that strikes (“bites,” nōšēk) an unsuspecting passerby illustrates the stealth of this lethal opponent (e.g., Jer 8:17; Amos 9:3). The tactic of surprise attack brought down the more prosperous but trusting city Laish (Judg 18:7, 10, 27). A reflex of the garden imagery (3:15) is apparent, where snapping at the “heel” injures the victim (cf. Gad, v. 19). Moreover, “heel” (ʿāqēb) in vv. 17, 19 recalls the play on Jacob’s name (25:26; 27:36). The picture of Dan is not as victim but victimizer, like the serpent in the garden or Jacob the deceiver.

The allotment of Naphtali lay in the upper Galilee, west of the lake of Galilee, extending northward along the Jordan River (Josh 19:32–39).

One of the distinctive features of Naphtali in the giving of the tribal inheritances is the absence of a northern border specifically delineated. This unrestricted northern frontier may be reflected in Jacob’s picture of the hind unfettered to roam where it pleased. Naphtali possessed remarkable natural resources that made for a beautiful and bountiful land, truly one “full with the blessing of the LORD”

49:21 Deer-like speed and agility marked Naphtali’s military prowess (cf. Jdg 4:6; 5:18). The song of Deborah and Barak, who hailed from Naphtali (Jdg 4:6), is representative of his eloquent words (Jdg 5).

The term “help” (ʿāzar) occurs here for the first time in the Old Testament. It is well known as an element in names referring to God, for example, “Ebenezer” (1 Sam 7:12). Typically, the word group ʿ-z-r describes military assistance (e.g., Josh 10:4; Isa 41:10) or personal assistance (e.g., Ps 30:11; Isa 50:7, 9), both human and divine. Particularly forbidding to the victim is when there is “no one to help” (e.g., 2 Kgs 14:26; Pss 22:11[12]; 72:12).

The warriors of Benjamin were renown for their skill as left-handed marksmen (Judg 20:15–16; 1 Chr 12:2) and for their bravery (1 Chr 8:40).