Focus: The Blessing Of Asher

Text: Dt.33:24-25

"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."

Asher is Zilpah's second son and the eighth son of Jacob. The numbers 2 and 8 are very significant numbers by Hebrew reckoning. Number two is the number of choice and witness or testimony. The number 8, apart from signifying a new beginning, speaks of fatness or that which is excess or surplus. The Hebrew word for 8 is of the same meaning as oil or anointing. Asher will have his foot into oil. The Hebrew word for 'oil' here refers to fatness as well as the number 8. For example, the Scripture has it that the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. The word 'anointing' is also the word for 'eight.' It means 'fatness.' So the yoke shall be broken or destroyed because of the fatness. As we grow fat in the spirit, yokes are broken off from our necks. Spiritual fatness is the key to our freedom from the yokes of the enemy. Grow in your knowledge of the truth, and you will see yokes break off from your neck. I pray God to give you an amazing testimony and cause you to experience real liberty.

In Judah, Leah praises the Lord, and in Asher, she feels on top of the world. She says, "Happy am I, for daughters shall call me blessed." The words 'happy' and 'blessed' give us the name of Asher. The root word, ashar, means 'to go right on,' or 'to go in a straight line.' By implication 'ashar' means being happy or blessed for living right or living uprightly, and as the saying goes, you can't live wrong and die right. Asher signifies the blessedness that evokes wonder. It speaks of a state of bliss and blessedness belonging only to God. In John 13:17, Jesus says to the disciples, "If ye know these things, HAPPY are ye if ye do them." The Greek word for 'happy' is 'makarios,' which is the same as 'ashare' in Hebrew. Interestingly, the English word 'macro' is derived from 'makarios.' 'Asher' speaks of macro-blessing - big, large, or clustered blessings. It is a heap of blessings. One blessing from God connects you to another. All of God's blessings cluster around each other. It's a compound blessing, not composite or single. Asher is the happiness and the blessedness of God. 

This blessedness is not about possessing things, but about God residing in your heart and presiding over your life.

Moses says, "Let Asher be BLESSED with children." That is the blessing of posterity. The souls you lead to Christ are your children. It is a big tragedy when a Christian dies spiritually childless. Paul says, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal.4:19). Paul produced spiritual children everywhere he preached the gospel. He was constantly having birth-pangs and pushing to bring forth his children. He calls Timothy, 'My son in the faith.' Asher is blessed with children. Let the church be blessed with innumerable children.

Moses says, "Let him be acceptable to his brethren." That is the blessing of peaceful coexistence with his brothers. The word 'acceptable' is 'ratsah' in Hebrew, and in several Scriptures it is translated as 'enjoyed, liked, affection, pleasure, delight, pleased, pardoned, reconcile, observe, favor, favorable, approve, consentedst, and accomplish.' Asher will enjoy peace with his family. He will make room for the spirit of pardon, reconciliation and harmonious existence. 

The believer is a person of peace. The Prince of peace lives in him. The God of peace is present in his life. He pursues and sues for peace. He is a peace maker.

Moses says, "Let him dip his foot in oil." That is the blessing of prosperity. Asher's soil will yield oil. He possesses oil-rich soil. The believer in Christ is wealthy. We possess oil in Christ. The Spirit of Christ lives in us. Our yokes are destroyed by the anointing of Christ. He anoints our heads with oil, and the cups of our lives overflow.

Moses says, "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass." That is the blessing of protection. Asher is equipped with all he needs to live a safe life within his territory. With the shoes of the gospel and the authority of Jesus Christ the believer shall trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt him. 

Christ has already crushed the head of the serpent, and the believer is walking in that victory. The believer has all-round blessing in Christ.

Moses says, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." That is the blessing of physical health and longevity. Asher's vigor shall not be abated. His strength shall not wane. He will be sound in health for as long as he lives. The believer too is blessed with vigor and vitality. It is God's will that he lives holy, healthy and happy. When the believer is sick, the Lord will be his healer. Christ is the believer's great physician and wonderful therapist. Our blessing in Christ touches all parts of our being. 

In Christ we are blessed with posterity, prosperity, peace, protection and physical health. We lack nothing that God can't supply. You are truly and richly blessed.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter