Cut From The Team

Deuteronomy 33: 1 – 29

Cut from the team

33 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said: “The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, nd He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand came a fiery law for them. 3 Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words. 4 Moses commanded a law for us, a heritage of the congregation of Jacob. 5 And He was King in Jeshurun, when the leaders of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. 6 “Let Reuben live, and not die, nor let his men be few.” 7 And this he said of Judah: “Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people; Let his hands be sufficient for him, and may You be a help against his enemies.” 8 And of Levi he said: “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, and with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah, 9 Who says of his father and mother, ‘I have not seen them’; Nor did he acknowledge his brothers, or know his own children; For they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant. 10 They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You, and a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar. 11 Bless his substance, LORD, and accept the work of his hands; Strike the loins of those who rise against him, and of those who hate him, that they rise not again.” 12 Of Benjamin he said: “The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the daylong; And he shall dwell between His shoulders.” 13 And of Joseph he said: “Blessed of the LORD is his land, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath, 14 With the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months, 15 With the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills, 16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’ 17 His glory is like a firstborn bull, and his horns like the horns of the wild ox; Together with them He shall push the peoples to the ends of the earth; They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.” 18 And of Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar in your tents! 19 They shall call the peoples to the mountain; There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hidden in the sand.” 20 And of Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges Gad; He dwells as a lion, and tears the arm and the crown of his head. 21 He provided the first part for himself, because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there. He came with the heads of the people; He administered the justice of the LORD, and His judgments with Israel.” 22 And of Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s whelp; He shall leap from Bashan.” 23 And of Naphtali he said: “O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of the LORD, possess the west and the south.” 24 And of Asher he said: “Asher is most blessed of sons; Let him be favored by his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. 26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, and in His Excellency on the clouds. 27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, ‘Destroy!’ 28 Then Israel shall dwell in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.”

There is nothing quite as emotionally excruciating and heartbreaking as watching your own child suffer through the process of getting cut from a team that they had their heart set on making. You’ve watched them practice over the years to get good in their sport. You saw how hard they worked to prepare for these tryouts. You know how desperate they were to make this team. You even shared their dream. You encouraged them to try hard and keep going despite minor setbacks, injuries and frustrations all along the way. You probably even helped them practice out in the backyard for more hours then you can remember now. You know just how important this sport has become to them. Heck, because of that it’s probably gotten just as important to you! You could feel their growing anxiety as these tryouts approached. Forget that! You were just as anxious if not more so than them! And then your heart soared when they came home after that very first day of tryouts with a big smile plastered all over their face and an enthusiastically positive report of how things went. You were hoping and praying that their coach shared this same optimistic assessment.