S2006.18
“Trading in Our Army Boots for Rockports”
Deuteronomy 33: 24-25
Pastor Steve N. Wagers
April 9, 2006
Sermon Outline
1. The Strange Apparel that Clothed Asher!
A) These Shoes Speak of the Hardness of Life
B) These Shoes Speak of the Heaviness of Life
2. The Sweet Assurance that Comforted Asher!
A) Strength Supplied in His Days
B) Strength Sufficient for His Days
3. The Strong Advice that Confirmed Asher!
A) The Spirit of God Hedges Us
B) The Spirit of God Helps Us
I’m sure that most of you are familiar with the children’s book entitled, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” It is a book about a little boy named Alexander who is having “one of those days.” It is a day where nothing goes right, and everything goes wrong. He has back to back disappointments. It is one continuous downer. Take for example when he wakes up in the morning. He comments:
“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair. When I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on my skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running; and, I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
After a terrible day at school, a horrible visit to the dentist and a no good stop at the shoe store, Alexander slumps in his chair at the supper table. His troubles continue:
“There were lima beans for dinner and I hate lima beans. There was kissing on TV, and I hate kissing. My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad pajamas. I hate my railroad pajamas. When I went to bed Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep, the Mickey Mouse night light burned out, and I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
The truth of the matter is that every oneof us knows what it’s like, from time to time, to have one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. There are days when we wonder why we got out of bed. Everything that could go wrong does, and anything that could go right doesn’t.
I think about a story that came out in a Florida newspaper some time ago. A man was working on his motorcycle on his patio while his wife was inside the house in the kitchen. The man was racing the engine on the motorcycle and somehow it slipped into gear. The man, still holding the handlebars, was dragged through a glass patio door and into the house. The wife, hearing the crash, ran into the dining room and found her husband lying on the floor severely cut and bleeding.
The wife ran to the phone and called an ambulance. After the ambulance arrived and took the husband to the local hospital, the wife began cleaning up the mess. Gasoline had spilled from the motorcycle onto the floor. She took paper towels and wiped up the gasoline and threw them into the toilet. The husband was treated and released to come home.
After arriving home he looked at the shattered door, and damage done to his motorcycle, and became so depressed that went into the bathroom and lit up a cigarette. After finishing the cigarette, he flipped it between his legs into the toilet. The wife, who was again in the kitchen, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. She ran into the bathroom and found him lying on the floor with his backside burnt and blistered. She again called for an ambulance. The same crew was dispatched.
They loaded the man on the gurney and began carrying him to the ambulance. One of the paramedics asked what had happened. When the man’s wife told him he started laughing so hard that they tipped the gurney and dumped the husband out, breaking both of his arms. I believe you would agree that man was having a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
As we come to our text, we find one of the most overlooked; yet, one of the greatest verses of scripture in all the Word of God. For a number of years, whenever I was asked to sign a Bible I would always sign my name with the scripture reference, Deuteronomy 33: 24-25.
In the text, we find Moses, just before his death, blessing the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe is named, and each tribe is blessed. However, our text describes the specific blessing on the tribe of Asher.
The name “Asher” means, “prosperous.” His blessing is literally an exposition of his name. Moses tells the tribe of Asher that he will “be blessed with children.” He is saying that they will have a number of children. Moses also tells them that they will “be acceptable to his brethren.” In other words, he is going to find favor with his brethren, or his people.
However, it is the rest of the blessing to which I want to call our attention. It is a unique, but wonderful blessing; and, one that reminds us that we can trade in our army boots for Rockports as we walk through the Christian life. Let me explain what I mean by looking first at:
1. The STRANGE APPAREL that CLOTHED Asher!
We hear Moses say to Asher in verse 25, “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass.” I believe you would agree that Moses is describing rather strange apparel that would clothe Asher the rest of his days.
His shoes are going to be “iron and brass.” He will not have the privilege, nor enjoy the comfort of wearing Nikes, Foot joys, Dexter’s or Rockports. He will not be comforted with velvet slippers. He has to wear shoes made out of iron and brass.
Some interpret this verse symbolically. They interpret this verse to mean that Asher would walk on iron and brass. In other words, his portion of the land would be rich with such minerals as iron and brass. They interpret the verse to mean that there would be treasures under his feet.
Others interpret this verse literally. They take Moses’ blessing to heart that Asher’s feet would be clothed with shoes made out of “iron and brass.” I lean toward the literally interpretation of the blessing for 2 reasons. First of all, because:
A) These Shoes Speak of the HARDNESS of Life!
I believe you would agree that shoes of “iron and brass” would be considered hard shoes. No doubt one of the reasons Asher was to wear these shoes was because of the territory that he owned. He owned a portion of land on the rocky Northern coast.
It was a rocky land. It was a rugged land. It was a rough land. Thus, iron and brass shoes would be fitting for such a type of terrain.
Spiritually speaking, these shoes represent, to us, the hardness of life. There are times, as we walk through life, that we feel like we are wearing shoes made of iron and brass. The fact of the matter is that life is not “all honey, no bees; all flowers, no trees.” Life is hard.
The old, converted Cornish miner, Billy Bray said, “I’ve had my troubles and trials. The Lord has given me both vinegar and honey. But, he has given me honey by the teaspoon and vinegar by the ladle.”
In other words, Billy Bray was saying that there are moments when it seems like the bitter times far outnumber the blessed times. It often seems like there is a whole lot more vinegar than honey. Thus, the shoes of Asher remind us that life is not easy, and hasn’t been promised to be easy. Life is hard.
However, not only do these shoes speak of the hardness of life, but:
B) These Shoes Speak of the HEAVINESS of Life!
Again, Moses blesses Asher and says, “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass.” Can you imagine Asher walking around every day with shoes of iron and brass? It would be like walking in combat boots, or walking in boots filled with cement. They were not only be shoes hard to walk in, but shoes that would be heavy to walk in.
Yet, so it is with life. Life is hard. Life is heavy. In fact, many times, the hardness of life brings the heaviness of life. There are certain things that seem to crush the life right out of us. There are burdens which seem too heavy to bear.
I think of a time in the life of Moses. There was a time when he was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained by the burden he carried. In Numbers 11: 14 he prayed to God, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.”
The fact is that we, too, sometimes feel like Moses. Life is hard. Life is heavy. We seem to be walking around with iron and brass shoes on our feet. The Bible doesn’t give us a “pass” to get us out of the class of hardness and heaviness. At times, we are called to walk through life in shoes of “iron and brass.”
“I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chatted all the way,
But left me none the wiser,
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne'er a word said she,
But, oh, the things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me!”
No doubt, when Asher heard the words of this blessing, he must have thought to himself, “Man, I sure hope that I can trade in these shoes of iron and brass.” It was indeed going to be strange apparel that would clothe him the rest of his days.
Secondly, notice:
2. The SWEET ASSURANCE that COMFORTED Asher!
Verse 25 does not end with the grim news of Asher’s strange apparel. Rather, in spite of those hard and heavy shoes he must wear, there is a sweet assurance that will comfort him. Moses reminds him that there will be strength in the midst of the hardness and heaviness that he will face. Moses reminds him of the:
A) Strength SUPPLIED in His Days!
We read in verse 25, “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Get the picture. Moses informs him that his portion included a terrain that would be rough, rocky, and rugged. He was going to go through life with shoes of iron and brass. He was going to be well acquainted with the hardness, as well as the heaviness of life.
Yet, in spite of that, he would find a strength that would be supplied in his days. Even though his shoes would be “iron and brass,” “as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
I think of a little 5-year old girl and her preschool brother who were doing their homework one evening. The little brother kept saying to himself, “I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it. I don’t know how, I don’t know how, I don’t know how.” Finally, his little sister had heard enough and she replied with the Bible verse, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Her little brother said, “Well, YOU do it then!”
We are going to face the hardness and the heaviness of life. There is no way around it. Like Asher, we are going to walk over rough, rugged and rocky terrain in shoes of iron and brass. But, thanks be to God, there is a strength that will be supplied in those days. “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
I remember reading of a bathysphere, the miniature submarine used to explore the ocean in places so deep that the water pressure would crush a conventional submarine like an aluminum can. Bathyspheres compensate with plate steel several inches thick, which keeps the water out but also makes them heavy and hard to maneuver. Inside they're not alone. When their lights are turned on and you look through the tiny, thick plate-glass windows, what do you see? Fish! These fish cope with extreme pressure in an entirely different way. They don't build thick skins; they remain supple and free. They compensate for the outside pressure through equal and opposite pressure inside themselves.
Someone might say, “Preacher, I don’t know think I can take anymore. I don’t know how I’m going to make it.” I’ll tell you how. “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” If you are a child of God, he that is within you is STILL greater than anything that is around you. There is a pressure on the inside far greater than any pressure on the outside. There is strength supplied in our days.
Secondly, there will be:
B) Strength SUFFICIENT for His Days!
It’s important to note the exact wording of Moses’ blessing to Asher. He says, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Notice that he did not say, “in thy days, for thy days, to thy days, or with thy days.” He says, “AS THY DAYS.” In other words, the strength he is going to find will not only be supplied in his days, but it will be sufficient for his days.
Someone has said, “There is strength for the longest day, and for the shortest day. There is strength for the darkest day, and the brightest day. There is strength for the merriest day, and the saddest day. There is strength for the wedding day and the funeral day.”
You see the GREATER THE TRIAL the GREATEST THE STRENGTH! It is like God has a Heavenly ledger with 2 columns. One column is titled, “Our Days.” The other column is titled, “His Strength.” As you go down the column of “Our Days,” you go over to the column of “His Strength” and you find that “His Strength” corresponds, and is equally proportioned to “Our Days.” “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
I think of Elisabeth Eliot. She was the wife of Jim Eliot, the missionary that was murdered by the Auca Indians in 1956. Years later she married a man named Addison Leitch. Shortly after they married, he was diagnosed with having 2 entirely distinct, unique types of un-related cancer. It was excruciating and painful.
Day and night, Elisabeth Eliot had to care for him. She said that she used to pray that God would give her strength to get through the week. Then, it got so hard that she would pray for God to give her the strength to get through the day. Then, she used to pray for God to give her strength to get through the house, because she said, “At 9 o’clock it was unbearable to think how I would have the strength to make it to 10 o’clock.”
Yet, Moses informs Asher, “as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” In other words, His strength will be supplied in our days, and his strength will be sufficient for our days.
Finally, let’s consider:
3. The STRONG ADVICE that CONFIRMED Asher!
Moses informs Asher that he will wear shoes of iron and brass. He is going to experience the hardness and heaviness of life the rest of his life. Yet, in spite of that, God’s strength is going to be supplied in his days, and sufficient for his days.
There is an interesting piece to this puzzle found in the last part of verse 24. Moses says, “Let him dip his foot in oil.” As with the statement, “shoes of iron and brass,” there are different interpretations of this statement.
Again, there are those who take it symbolically, and say that it speaks of the land that Asher owned would be rich in oil and deposits. However, we have taken the blessing literally up to this point, so we must take it literally here as well.
As you know, in the Bible, oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. Many times in the Bible people were anointed with oil. That oil was symbolic of being anointed with, and by the person, presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Get the picture. Like Asher, we are going to have to wear shoes of iron and brass. We are going to face the hardness and heaviness of life. However, in order to cope, we must learn to “dip our foot in the oil” of the Holy Spirit. The statement reminds us of 2 things pertaining to the Holy Spirit. First, it reminds us that:
A) The Spirit of God HEDGES Us!
Again, here is a man who is going to walk in shoes of iron and brass. He is going to be clothed with strange apparel. He is going to know, full well, the hardness and heaviness of life. Yet, Moses advises him to “dip his foot in oil.”
I believe you would agree that if you knew you were going to have to walk in iron, or brass shoes, and you did not want blisters, then you best take precautionary measures. You better dip your foot in some type of oil.
Yet, when we walk through the iron and brass shoes of life, if we are not careful, we will become “blistered” by these times. Times of hardness and heaviness can cause us to become resentful and bitter. But, if we will follow the strong advice given to Asher and begin each day by “dipping our foot in oil,” we will find that the blessed Holy Spirit will be our hedge of protection.