Deuteronomy is always about the children of Israel “almost” in the land of promise. Today we read about the blessings the various tribes would receive in the land.
V.6 Reuben was the first-born of Jacob. But he lost his right of blessing as the first-born because of his sin (1 Chron. 5:1-2) and so we read very little of him here.
V.7 But Judah, the royal tribe, comes next (though he wasn’t the 2nd born) because into his tribe Christ was to be born. Christ is the Second Man (1 Cor. 15:47).
V.8-11 Another favored son Levi. The priestly tribe.
V.12 Benjamin next. Jerusalem, the city of the great King Christ was situated in the tribe of Benjamin.
V.13-17 Joseph, the one who inherited the first-born blessings, and so received the double blessing, 2 tribes formed from his two sons, (1 Chron. 5:1-2). A picture of Christ Who receives the double blessing too — the Jew and the Gentile.
V.18-25 The rest of the tribes. Each has a blessing.
V.26-29 Few words of the Old Testament rise up to the grandeur of these words, as Moses describes the wonders of God.