Jacob’s Prediction About Benjamin - Genesis 49:27

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

We now come to the blessing of Jacob’s last child, the second from his beloved Rachel, Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin.  It is nowhere near the length of the blessing spoken over Joseph or Judah, but nonetheless the blessing, as well as the tribe it describes, packs a punch.   Later on in scripture we see that Benjamin’s was indeed one of the toughest fighting tribes of them all.  They were almost erased due to wickedness and all the other tribes joined forces against them to defeat them, although just.  But at the same time this is the tribe that gave Israel Ehud the second judge, and Saul, its first king, along with Esther and Mordecai who were very instrumental in destroying the enemies of the Jews.  And this was the tribe that gave us the great apostle, Paul.

Some, like Matthew Henry, argue that this blessing is more proof that “a spirit of prophecy” not just his personal feelings, was indeed guiding Jacob, as otherwise he would have spoken with greater tenderness and love towards Benjamin, a child which he dearly cared for as was evidenced by his reluctance to let him go to Egypt in order to get grain.

Instead he speaks of Benjamin as one who would lead a great warrior tribe that would take and use well the spoils of its conquered enemies who feared it greatly.

So, what are we to take from all this?  What is the message for you and I today?  I suggest that in the tribe of Benjamin we learn that we can never underestimate the ways of God.  God, in accomplishing His divine purpose for individuals, groups, or mankind as a whole, can, does, and will use all manner of men and women, with different dispositions and temperaments, some good, some not so good.   In fact, as Charles Stanley pointed out recently, Romans 8:28 does not say, “And we know that God causes all good things to work together for good,” but it says, “God causes all things to work together for good,” including things that happen to you and I that we don’t like, things that stem from our enemies or Satan himself, and things that we wouldn’t wish on anyone else.

Here is more evidence then, through the history of the tribe of Benjamin (without which we would not have the great teachings of Paul in the New Testament today), that God is fully in control of all circumstances, aware of what schemes of the Enemy He allows, and by so being, can and does ultimately bring about His purpose.   Being confident of that very fact should bring incredible solace to an otherwise anxious life.  I pray you have that peace today.

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