The Tribe of Benjamin Genesis 49:27
Dr. Jerry A. Collins
Jacob Blesses Benjamin
"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he
divides the spoil" (Genesis
49:27)
Verse
27—Benjamin is a ravenous wolf—Like
Judah’s lion, the wolf is no less ferocious an animal than the lion but usually
kills far more than it eats. Benjamin would be characterized by a vicious and
warlike attitude. He would be ravenous by nature and his would be a mighty
warrior tribe.
·
In
the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he
divides the spoil."—The history of this tribe
would be filled with examples of powerful ferocity. Benjamin’s reputation would
be its warlike character and actions.
Application—Gods people need to learn to become warriors. Not so that
we fight people, but so that we fight sin. Not that we fight Satan, but that we
fight against our sin nature. We take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to
resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm
(Ephesians 6:13). The point is to walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the
flesh (Galatians 5:16).
A Review of the History of the Tribe of Benjamin
Jacob’s prophecy that Benjamin would be a ravenous wolf [who] devours the prey found graphic
fulfillment throughout the history of that tribe.
A
Review of Joshua 18: Benjamite Allotment
Benjamin’s strategic location contributed to
its fighting spirit. According to Joshua 18, Benjamin became a buffer zone
between the two dominant tribes of Ephraim and Judah.
Verses
3-5—So Joshua said to the sons of
Israel, "How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land
which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Provide
for yourselves three men from each tribe that I may send them, and that they
may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to
their inheritance; then they shall return to me. They
shall divide it into seven portions; Judah shall stay in its territory on the
south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. —After the tribe of Judah and
the House of Joseph (Ephraim) received their territory (Joshua 15-17), the leadership
of Israel gathered at Shiloh (in Ephraim) in order to decide on the
distribution of land among the other tribes. In these remarks there is a hint
of potential trouble between the stronger power centers of Judah and the House
of Joseph.
Verses 9-10—So the men went and passed
through the land, and described it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and
they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. And
Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel
according to their divisions. —The important question was which remaining
tribe would receive the strategic territory between these two larger units.
When a survey was completed, Joshua cast lots to determine the next land
allotment for the tribes. The results of that moment were to affect all later
history in the region. The die was cast in the very first decision of our
record.
Verse 11—Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to
their families, and the territory of their lot lay between the sons of Judah
and the sons of Joseph.
—Benjamin’s northern line was the same as Ephraim’s southern border. Its
southern line was the same as Judah’s northern boundary. This placed the tribe
in a precarious position between the two double blessed tribes who both had
aspirations in the region. Benjamin would be played against these two tribes
throughout its history, and thus developed a strong warrior constitution that
helped it survive throughout the tribal intrigue that eventually played out
between Ephraim and Judah.
Verses 12-18—Their border on the north
side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the
north, and went up through the hill country westward, and it ended at the
wilderness of Beth-aven… Moreover, the Jordan was its
border on the east side. —This section is a rather
detailed description of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, including its
cities (vv. 21-28). The Ephraim-Benjamin border was most likely never meant to
be entirely clear-cut. Ephraim had strong ties to some of Benjamin’s northern
border (the city of Bethel, Judges 1:22-26), and Judah had strong ties to some
of Benjamin’s southern border (the city of Jerusalem, Judges 1:8, 21). Both of
these tribes would chip away at Benjamin’s border lines whenever it was
politically or militarily convenient for them. In order for Benjamin to
maintain its borders, they had to become a stealth fighting machine, especially
as one of the smaller tribes in Israel.
PT—Benjamite territory included
many cities important in biblical history (i.e., Jericho, Bethel, Gibeon, Ramah,
and Mizpah). Jerusalem was also in Benjamin and
Zelah, Haeleph and the
Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath;
fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the sons of
Benjamin according to their families (Joshua 18:28).
Application—God sometimes deliberately places us in tight
situations that require tact, strategy, ingenuity, creativity, and
forthrightness just as Benjamin. In the process, we can learn how to negotiate
our way through to a successful conclusion. All of this is designed to not only
increase our dependence upon the Lord, but also to test our faith, and shape
our character. So wherever God places you
geographically, socially, employment, ministry, family that’s where you are to
bloom.
A Review of Judges 3: Judge Ehud
The first evidence of the
ferocity of the tribe of Benjamin as predicted in Jacob’s blessing, was the
judgeship of Ehud, the second judge of Israel.
Verses 12-14—Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened Eglon the
king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the
Lord. And
he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated
Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees. The
sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen
years. —Because of the strategic importance of
Benjamin, its territory was often the scene of conflict from internal tribal
disputes or from invasions by surrounding nations. One of these attacks came
from Moab, a nation in Transjordan which had enlisted the support of the
Ammonites and Amalekites. The oasis of Jericho the city of the palm trees served as the back door to Benjamin, to
Ephraim/Manasseh, and to Judah. The question of tribal control of this area
faded, however, during the Moabite occupation of the city of palms. This Moabite presence along the routes of the hill
country became a difficult hardship for the
sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen
years (v. 14).
The Moabites knew the strategic value of
Jericho, for it served them well as a main base for the exploitation of Israel.
Centuries later Israel would gain control of the city and region and would use this
same base in her exploitation of Moab (2 Samuel 8; 2 Kings 3). In the meantime,
God raised up a champion to fight against the Moabite suppression and free the
Israelites from their control.
Verse 15—But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them,
Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel
sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. —It was Ehud the son of
Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man, who finally made a move. This
fearless warrior developed a well-thought-out plan of action to address the
problem of Moabite oppression of 18 years. The bible goes out of the way to
note that Ehud was a left-handed man.
As part of his plan he decided to send tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
Verses 16-22—Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and
he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. He
presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man… Ehud came to him while he was
sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message
from God for you." And he arose from his seat. Ehud
stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it
into his belly. The
handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he
did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. —Ehud single-handedly assassinated Eglon,
the king of the Moabites. Concealing his weapon under his garments undetected
on his right thigh (Ehud was left-handed) he gained entrance to the king and
thrust his dagger in Eglon’s belly. The resulting
confusion led to a great Israelite victory over the Moabites and resulted in an
80-year period of peace in the region they
struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant
men; and no one escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of
Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years (vv. 29-30).
Application—What we must sometimes do is take action when
it comes to championing righteousness. It is not sufficient to just take a
stand about God’s will and Word. Like Ehud, we must also do something about the
application of that righteousness. Otherwise, the stand we take is nothing but
a bunch of words. It is one thing to take a stand against, say, homosexuality
or cohabitation. It’s another thing to do something by addressing
it, confronting it, and taking appropriate action to change it. We’re
not to be at war with the people of the world but the ways of the world.
A Review of Judges 19-21: Benjamin Beating
One of the most tragic
episodes in the history of the region of Benjamin was the tribal civil war
which reduced the tribe of Benjamin to a mere six hundred fighting men.
Verse 19:1—Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in
Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill
country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. —Unlike most accounts in Judges, the
story is entirely an internal problem. There are no Philistines, no Moabites
nor any Canaanites mentioned. No famous deliverer like Samson or Deborah
emerges. The person who precipitates the drama is known only as a certain Levite. The closing phrase of
the entire episode underscores the cavalier spirit that prevailed in Israel at
the time due to a lack of central authority in the country when in
those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own
eyes (Judges 21:25).
Verses
14-15—So they passed along and went
their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. They
turned aside there in order to enter and lodge in Gibeah. When they
entered, they sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them
into his house to spend the night. Traveling back home to Ephraim the Levite and his entourage found
no immediate hospitality at nightfall in this city.
Verses 17-18, 21—And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square
of the city; and the old man said, … I am now going to my house, and no man will take me into his house... So
he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their
feet and ate and drank. —One of the main causes of moral decadence in Israel at this time
was a self-centered attitude resulting in a complete lack of concern for
others. The warm hospitality seen in Bethlehem (verses 4-9) of Judah is
contrasted with the indifference of the Benjamites to
the needs of a stranger in their midst. The words of the Levite who lived in
Ephraim, spoken to another Ephramite in the open
square of Gibeah, present a clear testimony against the city of Benjamin and
its inhabitants.
Verses
25-26—While they were celebrating, behold, the men
of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the
door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying,
"Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations
with him." —The “worthless” men repeated the request of the
Sodomites in Lot’s day (Genesis
19:4-5; cf. 1 Samuel 2:12). What had previously characterized the
Canaanites now marked the Israelites.
But the men would not listen to him. So
the man (Levite) seized his concubine and brought her out
to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let
her go at the approach of dawn. As
the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man's
house where her master was, until full daylight. —Benjamite men brutally, savagely, and sadistically raped the
concubine of this certain Levite all
night long while he was being entertained for the night. The next morning the
Levite took his deceased concubine back to his home and he
took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb
by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel
(v. 29).
Judges
20:1-2—Then all the sons of Israel
from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the
congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah. The
chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel,
took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000
foot soldiers who drew the sword. —This ‘Gibeah affair’ sparked a
confrontation between a number of the tribes of Israel and Benjamin. The
Levite’s rather crass report that precipitated such a united tribal front
against Benjamin was rarely seen in Israelite history. It appears that no tribe
wanted to be missing at this most important moment in Israel’s geopolitical
history. It could be said that the ‘Gibeah affair’ was a convenient excuse to
get the real issue out on the table—who would ultimately control the strategic
territory of Benjamin. Furthermore, the whole tribe of Benjamin
refused to punish them (20:13-14). This points to the Benjamites’ sympathy for the perpetrators of this atrocity
who lived in Gibeah.
Verses 16-48—Out of all these (Benjamite)
people
700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not
miss. Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men
who draw the sword; all these were men of war… So all of Benjamin who fell that
day were 25,000 men who draw the sword; all these were valiant warriors. But
600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. The men of Israel then turned
back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword,
both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on
fire all the cities which they found. —When the tribal leaders of Benjamin refused to relinquish the
guilty offenders, a major military confrontation resulted. Benjamin had been
seriously weakened as a tribe after this battle over the “Gibeah affair’. Only
600 Benjamites warriors survived the onslaught and
were holed up for months in the wilderness until a peace could be negotiated
with the rest of the tribes. Before that could be accomplished, the anger and
rage of the remaining tribes was carried out in the destruction of the cities
of Benjamin. The wolf had fought valiantly, but had been torn in the end.
PT—Why did
thousands of people die in this conflict? (1)
Instead of dealing with this problem as a spiritual problem, the Benjamites dealt with it as a physical problem. (2) Instead of dealing with their sin,
they tried to destroy the ones pointing out their sin. (3) Instead of dealing with it internally, they dealt with it
externally. (4) Instead of dealing
with it individually (the specific men who committed the act), they dealt with
it corporately, with the whole tribe. (5)
Instead of realizing they were spiritually and morally weak, they believed they
were physically strong, they thought they could win. They believed they had
better warriors.
Judges 21:2-3—So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening,
and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. They said, "Why, O Lord, God of Israel,
has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?"—The
tribes of Israel appeared to wake up to the fact that the conflict in which
they had just participated had been costly. Benjamin had been seriously
weakened, and tribal energies had been depleted. Now they were faced with a
greater peril. If Benjamin were allowed to disappear altogether, a vacuum would
be created in the region. This could trigger a civil war on a much greater
scale than anyone wanted to imagine. It would pit Ephraim against Judah for the
control of the region and its strategic crossroads. Some sort of an arrangement
would have to be worked out to avoid such an eventuality.
Verses 13-23—Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of
Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and
proclaimed peace to them. Benjamin
returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive
from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they were not
enough for them…
The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their
number from those who danced, whom they carried away. And they went and
returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. —To replenish the tribe of Benjamin, wives were sought for the
six hundred men who survived the conflict. When the first solution did not
provide enough wives to go around, a second was devised. It centered around
Shiloh in Ephraim. Shiloh was a central and secure place in which the Ark of
the Covenant was usually kept. It was in these hills of Ephraim, in the midst
of their own family (the House of Joseph), that the remaining Benjamites found wives to repopulate their tribal
inheritance.
PT—Paul dealt with one of the
main issues of his letter to the Romans—the relationship between the growing
Gentile church and its original Jewish stock (Romans 9-11). In the discussion
the Apostle, a well-trained and former zealous Pharisee, made the following
statement regarding God’s grace. Could he have had in mind the sad events of
the ‘Gibeah affair’ as he gave us details of his own personal background? But as for Israel He said, "All
the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never
be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 10:21-11:1).
Observations
from the Tribe of Benjamin
·
Moses’
blessing of the tribe of Benjamin noted that of Benjamin he said, "May the beloved of the Lord dwell in security by Him, who shields him all the day, and he dwells between His
shoulders"
(Deuteronomy 33:12). The point was that Benjamin was to enjoy God’s protection
continually since God would carry this tribe on His back between His shoulders.
As the warrior tribe, Benjamin would enjoy God’s protection.
· Saul was a Benjamite and his
rule as king over Israel was ferocious. When the Ammonites besieged Jabesh-Gilead, Saul mustered the armies of Israel and
attacked them by night so that those who survived were scattered, so
that no two of them were left together (1 Samuel 11:11). This
victory helped the Israelites perceive Saul as their king with result that they
committed themselves to him.
· Saul’s son, Jonathan, was also a great Benjamite
warrior. First Samuel 14 records a brilliant maneuver of Jonathan and his
armor-bearer in climbing a sheer cliff and slaughtering a Philistine garrison
of 20 soldiers. Contrasted with his father’s selfish zeal, Jonathan acted in
faith in God’s promise in spite of the odds then
Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, "Come and let
us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will
work for us, for the Lord is
not restrained to save by many or by few"… that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was
about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land (1 Samuel 14:6, 14).
·
Other
ferocious Benjamites were— (1) Abner, Saul’s cousin
and commander of his army, who mercilessly killed Asahel and was himself
murdered by Joab (2 Samuel 2:23; 3:30); (2) Shimei, who cursed David during his
flight from Absalom and was himself killed by Solomon in return (16:5-13; 1
Kings 2:44-46), and (3) Sheba, who led a rebellion against David and was himself
beheaded by the citizens of Abel Beth-maacah (2
Samuel 20:1-22). They serve as examples of how selfish and misguided zeal
received its own punishment.
·
Esther
and Mordecai were stellar examples of Benjamite zeal for the glory of God. They
were cousins in the Persian town of Shushan, and were boldly instrumental in
saving their own people by turning the tables on Haman and other Jew haters
(Esther 7 and 9). The Jewish festival of Purim commemorates their brave zeal.
·
The
Apostle Paul graphically portrayed the wolf-like viciousness of his ancestors.
Summarizing his zeal, he described his former manner of life in Judaism, how I
used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it (Galatians 1:13). Furthermore, he
stated I persecuted this Way to the
death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons (Acts 22:4). He
testified so then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile
to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And
this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints
in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when
they were being put to death I cast my vote against
them (Acts 26:9-10). Luke, the early church historian,
described this son of Benjamin thus but Saul began ravaging the church, entering house
after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison (Acts 8:3).
Just before his conversion
Luke indicated Saul, still breathing threats
and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the
synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men
and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-2). Paul, the ‘wolf’ tore in pieces the followers of
Jesus until he was finally converted. His zeal did not abate, however; it was
just channeled in a different direction. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of
God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I
would not be a bond-servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was
preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:10-12).
Application—Fully resolve to live your
life in such a way that God is pleased. Paul said it this way therefore we also have as our ambition,
whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Ambition is a good thing when it is directed toward eternal outcomes.
Verse 28—All
these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to
them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one
with the blessing appropriate to him—In his twelve sons, Jacob
blessed all the future tribes of Israel. This
is only the second mention of the 12 tribes in the Bible, the previous
reference being in verse 16, where we read the
tribes of Israel. This editorial note concludes this section being about
the 12 tribes of Israel and Jacob’s blessing of each of them. They shared in
the richest blessings in accordance with their faithfulness and their
characteristics.
An Application—Our actions as believers
will also determine our future portion in eternity. Our lives are preparation
for our eternal life where, based on our faithfulness and the eternal rewards
from Christ,
we, too, will live and serve with differing capacities in the eternal realm. We should live in such a way that we are preparing ourselves for our eternal life promised to all who believe Christ for that gift.