LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JACOB #80 : BENJAMIN #2
Written by Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3581
LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JACOB #80
JACOB'S PROPHECIES ABOUT THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL #15
BENJAMIN #2
BENJAMIN'S ENDTIMES SIGNIFICANCE
The Tribe of Benjamin has many revelatory lessons to teach us.
One such revelation is that God doesn’t see as men see, for God looks on the heart.
God saw a warrior inside of Benjamin. Outwardly, others saw him as the youngest son and his tribe as the smallest tribe. But God saw more, a man who would both "devour and divide."
This dual aspect of Benjamin's character has prophetic connotations.
Compared to a wolf, his blessing has two time frames, morning and evening; it has two actions, devouring and dividing; and two outcomes, prey and spoil. This sets up a type of “before and after” experience for Benjamin and his descendants.
In Jewish culture the day begins at evening. Here begins the “after” for Benjamin.
Benjamin’s prophecy ends in the evening, the beginning of a new day, in which he will “divide the spoil.”
This has two aspects.
First, let us consider the dual aspect in the life of apostle Paul who is himself a Benjamite and an ardent champion of the gospel.
He started like a "wolf" hunting down Jews who became believers of Christ. But when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he changed and later testified, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). In the apostle Paul, Benjamin’s tribe had a model citizen who served God mightily, as he says of himself, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith“ (2 Timothy 4:7).
But Benjamin’s “dividing of the spoil” has another fulfillment yet future.
In Revelation 7:8, during the tribulation period, 12,000 men from Benjamin, along with 12,000 from each of the other tribes of Israel, will reach the world’s population with the gospel.
The result will be a multitude of the saved “that no man could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9).
The second dividing of the spoil for Benjamin comes in the Millennial Kingdom when they will have a place in the land of Israel, along with a gate that has their name on it in the city of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 48:32). They, along with the other tribes of Israel, will find the ultimate dividing of the spoils in the New Jerusalem as each gate has a name of one of the tribes, Benjamin included (Revelation 21:12–13).
What a glorious finish! What grace is this!
Like the Levites who were pardoned as murderers to serve as priests, the Benjamites will get out of their perverse cruelty to become overcomers for the extension of God's kingdom and the Endtime army of Christ.
No wonder this tribe sided with Judah when the kingdom of Israel was split into two after David's death. It was all part of their prophetic destiny in Christ according to God's ultimate plan and purposes.
N.B. Tomorrow I will share on Benjamin's most famous sons who had the same name - King Saul of Israel and the apostle Paul who was also known as Saul of Tarsus.
