Sunday, February 15, 2009

Asher's Blessing

Carol is teaching the Beth Moore study of Esther to a group of women at our church. She teaches the given lesson on Wednesday night and then repeats it Sunday morning for the women who missed it. (There's dedication for you.) In the meanwhile, I get the benefits of the lesson and Carol's insights into it as she prepares.

She brought to my attention yesterday this passage from Deuteronomy 13:

24 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.

25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze,
and your strength will equal your days.

If I could describe the need for Asher's blessing in 21st Century terms, I would describe it as "What Boomers Would Pray For Should the Idea of God Happen to Come to Them in Their Distracted and Aging Lives." It sums up our fears and, especially, our needs.

Of particular interest is the blessing of "your strength being equal [to] your days." I read this at at very basic level, dealing as I do with clients whose parents or who themselves have needs that have outrun their physical or mental strength or both, but they still have the prospect of many days, even years, left on this earth. Sometimes I think that the greatest blessing of all would be for God to take me exactly at the moment when I fail to recollect the one memory too many; that is, at the very point where I find myself stepping over the threshold of dementia. (Maybe that was yesterday; I don't recall.)

Further Reflection:

But for the Christian "your strength" is not limited to one's individual physical or mental stamina or the extent of his 401k. Look at Pslam 27:1:

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

My strength is the Lord. Let it happen.

No comments: