About Asher he said: “Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil. The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days. – Deuteronomy 33:24-25

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 19, 2015): Deuteronomy 33

According to a 1981 interview in Playboy Magazine, John Lennon’s song “Help” was a cry for exactly that - help.

When 'Help' came out in '65, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it's just a fast rock 'n roll song. I didn't realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. It was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: He -- I -- is very fat, very insecure, and he's completely lost himself.

It almost seems impossible to grasp. In 1965, the Beatle’s seemed to be on top of the world. Help would become their third number one song for the year, following “Eight Days a Week” and “Ticket to Ride.” But Lennon also admitted that the band had started to seriously use marijuana. Communication for the band had almost become impossible. Most conversations quickly descended into nothing more than a fit of giggles. They were on top of the world, but they needed help.

Moses’ prophecy about Asher matches the prophecy of Jacob for his son. Both men agree that the descendants Asher would be prosperous. The tribe of Asher would live on top of the world. Rabbinic literature and history agrees. Even the name Asher means happiness. Asher was the tribe that would be the most blessed with male children. The women of the tribe were so beautiful that priests and princes sought them out for marriage. Asherites were renowned for their wisdom. And the land was so fertile that even in times of famine and during the Sabbath year, Asher was able to supply the entire nation with olive oil. Asher was on top of the world.

And yet biblical experts also recognize that none of this changes the fact that Asher would be one of the Ten Tribes that would fall at the hands of the Assyrians, and disappear from the pages of history forever. The question that they ask is this – are the bolts and gates described in this prophecy an indication of their great strength in mining, or do they indicate the strength of the prisons that they would serve in after their defeat at the hands of the Assyrians.

But either way, in spite of all of their prosperity, Asher was a tribe deeply in need of help.     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 34