The Happy Warrior's Inheritance Text: Deuteronomy 33:24-25
Introduction: Blessings That Bite
As Moses comes to the end of his life, standing on the precipice of the Promised Land he will not enter, he pronounces a final blessing upon the tribes of Israel. These are not sentimental Hallmark card wishes. These are prophetic, covenantal declarations that shape the future and define the character of each tribe. They are words freighted with divine power, words that build and words that warn. We live in a soft age that wants blessings without obligations, promises without precepts. We want the inheritance without the fight. But that is not how God deals with His people.
The blessing on the tribe of Asher is a case in point. On the surface, it seems to be a promise of unadulterated prosperity and ease. And it is a promise of great blessing. But embedded within this promise of extravagant abundance is the concurrent reality of necessary strength and fortitude. Asher's blessing is the blessing of the happy warrior. It is a promise of overflowing oil and iron ramparts, of favor with brothers and the strength to face the foe. It is a picture of what the Christian life is meant to be: joyful, prosperous in the things that matter, unified with the brethren, and yet girded for battle, strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Our secular therapeutic culture has tried to bifurcate this reality. It tells us that if we are truly blessed, we will have no conflict. If we are truly prosperous, we will have no need for strength. But the Word of God tells a different story. The same God who anoints your head with oil also prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies. The two go together. To be blessed by God is to be made a target for the enemy. To be favored is to be placed on the front lines. This blessing to Asher, then, is a profound encouragement to the Church today. It teaches us to embrace the fullness of our inheritance, which includes both the fatness of the olive groves and the strength of the iron gates.
The Text
Of Asher he said, "More blessed than sons is Asher; May he be favored by his brothers, And may he dip his foot in oil. Your locks will be iron and bronze, And according to your days, so your fortitude will be."
(Deuteronomy 33:24-25 LSB)
Extravagant Favor (v. 24)
We begin with the declaration of Asher’s privileged position.
"Of Asher he said, 'More blessed than sons is Asher; May he be favored by his brothers, And may he dip his foot in oil.'" (Deuteronomy 33:24)
First, Asher is to be "more blessed than sons." In a patriarchal society, this is a staggering statement. It speaks of a preeminent, superlative blessing. The name Asher itself means "happy" or "blessed," and this prophecy is a divine ratification of his name. This is not a blessing of mere material wealth, but of a deep, abiding happiness and favor that flows from a right relationship with God. This is the happiness of the man described in Psalm 1, who delights in the law of the Lord. For the Christian, this points to our position in Christ. We who were not sons have been made sons, and not just sons, but heirs, joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).
Second, he is to be "favored by his brothers." This is a blessing of unity within the covenant community. In a family as fractious as Jacob's, this is no small thing. It is a prayer for peace, mutual respect, and delight within the household of God. This favor is the opposite of the envy and strife that so often tears God's people apart. It is a picture of the Church living in the unity of the Spirit, where each part esteems the others better than itself. This favor is not earned through political maneuvering or people-pleasing, but is a grace that flows from the superlative blessing of the Father. When a man is secure in his Father's love, he is free to love his brothers.
Third, "may he dip his foot in oil." This is a potent metaphor for extravagant, over-the-top abundance. The territory allotted to Asher in the north of Canaan was famous for its olive groves. This is not a promise of just enough oil to anoint his head, but so much that he would be sloshing through it. Oil in Scripture represents prosperity, joy, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is a picture of a life saturated with the blessings of God. It is a postmillennial promise. It speaks of a tangible, fruitful, robust Christianity that takes dominion and overflows with the goodness of God in every area of life. This is not a pinched, meager, "just getting by" spirituality. This is the abundant life Christ promised, a life where the vats overflow.
Unyielding Strength (v. 25)
But this life of abundant blessing requires a corresponding strength. Prosperity without fortification is just an invitation for the plunderer. So, the blessing continues in verse 25.
"Your locks will be iron and bronze, And according to your days, so your fortitude will be." (Deuteronomy 33:25 LSB)
The image here is one of absolute security and impregnable defense. "Your locks will be iron and bronze." Some translations render this "shoes" or "bars." Whether it refers to the bolts on the city gates or the hobnailed sandals needed to walk a rugged and contested frontier, the meaning is the same: strength and security. Asher's territory was on the northern border, a place of strategic importance and constant threat from foreign invaders. The promise of overflowing oil is paired with a promise of gates that cannot be breached.
This is a foundational principle. God's blessings must be defended. The Church is not a defenseless commune; it is a fortified city. We are to be a people of joy and generosity, dipping our feet in oil, but we are also to be a people of doctrinal and moral strength, with gates of iron and bronze. We must be able to withstand the assaults of the enemy. We do this not by our own might, but by standing firm in the truth, clad in the armor of God. A church that preaches a gospel of blessing without the iron of doctrinal fidelity and the bronze of moral courage is simply fattening itself up for the wolves.
The final clause is one of the most comforting promises in all of Scripture: "And according to your days, so your fortitude will be." The word "fortitude" can be translated as strength, rest, or security. The promise is that God will supply precisely the strength needed for the trial at hand. He does not give grace for tomorrow's imagined troubles today. He gives it day by day. The strength supplied will be proportional to the demand of the hour.
This is a promise that demolishes all our anxious fretting about the future. We look ahead at some looming trial, some great task, some impending sorrow, and we say, "I could never handle that." And we are right. We can't. Not with today's strength. But when that day comes, the strength for that day will come with it. God's grace is not a static reservoir but a living river. Whether the day is long and arduous, or short and peaceful, the provision of His strength will be perfectly sufficient. He gives marching grace for marching days, fighting grace for fighting days, and dying grace for dying days.
The Blessed and Happy Warrior
So what does this ancient blessing have to do with us? Everything. In Christ, we are the true Asher, the truly happy ones. We have been blessed more than sons, adopted into the very family of God. We are called to live in favor with our brothers, loving one another as Christ has loved us. We are invited to dip our feet in the oil of the Holy Spirit, to live lives of overflowing joy and spiritual abundance.
But we are also called to be warriors. We live on a contested frontier. The world, the flesh, and the devil do not take kindly to people sloshing around in the oil of God's blessing. And so we must have locks of iron and bronze. Our minds must be fortified with sound doctrine. Our wills must be fortified with holy resolve. Our families and churches must be fortified with covenantal faithfulness.
And through it all, we must live by faith in the final promise. We do not know what a day may bring forth. We do not know what trials or temptations lie ahead. But we know the One who has measured our days, and He has promised to measure His strength accordingly. He will not give us a burden too heavy for the grace He provides for that moment. Your strength will equal your days.
Therefore, let us live as Asher was called to live. Let us be happy warriors. Let us rejoice in the extravagant goodness of our God, and let us stand firm in the strength He supplies. Let us enjoy the oil, and let us thank Him for the iron. For in the kingdom of God, the two are never far apart.