Genesis 49:27

Lastly we come to Benjamin, and here we close on the solemn note of judgment. Israel's earthly blessing will not come in apart from judgment. This is a fact we are often tempted to overlook, and never more so than in the day in which we live.

If the true Joseph brings in universal and lasting blessing, there must be power to subdue all evil. This is set out in Benjamin. The rod of Messiah's power brings in the peace of the millennium and keeps it. Messiah tears Israel's enemies to pieces, and they never lift their heads again.

Benjamin, let us recall, means "Son of the right hand." He pictures Christ exalted to the right hand of God, carrying out judgment on His behalf. Psalm 110 brings this before us so strikingly. Verse 5 of that Psalm reads, "The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath." This exactly matches verse 27 of our chapter. But it states the same truth in plainer and less figurative language.

Benjamin himself, the son of his father's right hand, pictures Christ — not at all as head of the church, but as the conquering Son of might when the kingdom is set up in the land, and indeed over the earth, and the enemies perish before Him. This clearly looks on to the coming day of power and glory for the earth: a clear contrast with Him who suffered and now sits hidden in the heavens.

Joseph and Benjamin give a twofold picture of the glory of Christ in the millennium. Joseph (= He will add) is a special type of the Messiah. His brothers rejected Him, but God exalted Him to sit at His right hand... Benjamin (= son of the right hand) is more typical of the earthly side of Christ's reign. At His appearing and the dawn of the Kingdom, Christ will destroy all His enemies. He must reign until the last enemy, death, is abolished at the end of the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:24-28) — "in the evening" (Genesis 49:27).

Jacob's prophecy closes with the final triumph of the divine life in Benjamin, and the judgment of its enemies. Joseph may bear personal wrong patiently, but God cannot let it end there. He must, as the Supreme Ruler, step in with a Judge and an Avenger. In that sense Benjamin, "Son of my right hand," is a type of Christ. God has appointed Him to judge the living ("in the morning" — the opening of the millennial day) and the dead ("at night," or at its close).

He speaks of Christ also, not as the Sufferer, but as "the Man of God's right hand." Like a wolf, He will strike fear into the heart of His enemies. He will judge in perfect righteousness all who rebel against divine authority. We will see this in the judgments of the tribulation and also at the Great White Throne, where at last every enemy will be fully put under His feet. He will gain "the spoil" also, and divide it among believers. In other words, there will be results in blessing for Him and for believers because evil has finally received its just judgment.

If there is to be a devouring of the prey, there will also be a dividing of the spoil. The true Benjamin "shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death."

Saul of Tarsus had an earlier namesake: Saul the son of Kish (1 Samuel 9:1-2). That Saul hunted David, God's anointed, bent on destroying him. Saul of Tarsus was just as bent on wiping out the Name of Jesus — David's greater Lord. These two men of the tribe of Benjamin were true to type by nature, for both were "ravening wolves" (Genesis 49:27). Could a more fitting vessel be found, both as an example of the power of the gospel, and as a willing, devoted servant to pass on the good news to others?