Why is the tribe of Simeon not included in the blessings of Moses in Deuteronomy 33?
One of the main reasons is found in Genesis 49:5-7 where we see Jacob gathered his twelve sons together to bless them before he died. As we shall see, he pronounces a CURSE upon Simeon instead of a BLESSING. Let’s read that passage: “Simeon and Levi are brothers; INSTRUMENTS OF CRUELTY are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; let not my honor be united to their assembly; For IN THEIR ANGER, THEY SLEW A MAN, and IN THEIR SELF-WILL, THEY HAMSTRUNG AN OX. CURSED BE THEIR ANGER, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”
You can read the account of Simeon and Levi’s horrific act of cruelty and treachery in Genesis 34:25-29. God does not forget what they did and He is righteous to punish them. Scripture says, “Be not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Because they had been so cruel to their fellow-man and misrepresented God, He would “divide them and scatter them.” We see a partial fulfillment of this when the second census was taken and their numbers were greatly reduced. In Numbers 26:14 we read this of the tribe of Simeon, “These are the families of the Simeonites: twenty-two thousand two hundred.” Compare that with the first census where we read, “those who were numbered of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred” (Numbers 1:23). Later, when Israel entered the Promised Land and the inheritance of each tribe was given to them, we read that the children of Simeon forfeited much of their inheritance to the tribe of Judah. “The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. And their inheritance was WITHIN THE INHERITANCE of the children of Judah” (Joshua 19:1; see also verse 9).
Now we are ready to consider the blessings of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 33 where as you noted, the tribe of Simeon was omitted altogether. They, along with the tribe of Levi, had made Israel “stink among the inhabitants of the land” (Genesis 34:30). The tribe of Levi was NOT OMITTED which leads some to believe that Simeon took the lead in hatching the plan to kill the sons of Hamar the Hivite. Perhaps another incident that led to Simeon’s tribe being omitted is found in Numbers chapter 25 where Israel began “to commit harlotry with the women of Moab and they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.” (verses 1-2). We then read, “So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel” (verse 3). God then told Moses to “take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel” (verse 4). What we read of next is very telling: “And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting” (verse 6). Who was this man who had the audacity to defy Moses? We have our answer in verse 14, “Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house AMONG THE SIMEONITES.” Ah, once again the tribe of Simeon is seen in a very bad light that added to their sin of cruelty and anger, and caused God to judge them for it.
We should ask, “Who was the faithful Israelite who was zealous for the glory of the Lord and had Zimri and the Midianite woman killed?” The answer is given to us earlier in verses 7-8, “Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body.” Here we learn that it was Phinehas, from the tribe of Levi, who faithfully executed God’s judgment upon them. In doing so, his action resulted in God’s favor being restored to the tribe of Levi, as we see in verses 11-13 where God told Moses, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar…has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.” What we have seen in these accounts are perfect examples of what we noted earlier, “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” If a man sows evil, he will reap God’s judgment. If a man sows good, he will reap God’s blessing. (DO) (629.3)