Deuteronomy 33:12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long… The circumstance of Benjamin's birth has a melancholy interest. His birth was the occasion of Rachel's death. If we may argue back from the qualities of Rachel's children to the qualities of Rachel, she must have been a woman deserving high esteem. Rare excellences embellish the characters of her sons. To Joseph and to Benjamin were assigned territory in the very heart of Canaan. In the benediction of Moses we have - I. AN ENDEARING NAME. A name given by God is pregnant with meaning. It is no empty compliment. If God regarded Benjamin as his "beloved," there was sufficient ground and reason for it. This tribe may not have been conspicuous for robust energy or for martial enterprise, but it was distinguished for its genuine piety and its devout attachment to the cause of God. If we cannot all be great, we can all be good. To be consistently and thoroughly pious is within the reach of all. Each of us can be knighted and ennobled with this title, "The beloved of the Lord." We have indicated here - II. THE BEST SOCIETY. "He shall dwell in safety by him." This promise, in all likelihood, alludes to the position of Benjamin's inheritance. His portion in Canaan included the hill of Moriah, on which, in later days, the temple was erected. This was no insignificant honor - no mean token of Jehovah's favor. The successive generations of Benjamin would dwell in closest vicinity to the oracle of God, and would enjoy easy access to the public ordinances of worship. So long as man needs the aid and inspiration of external ordinances, so long will this vicinity to the temple be a real advantage. In our folly we may despise the privilege, but this foolish contempt no way derogates from its value. They who most prize the house of God most prize God himself. We have also - III. COMPLETE PROTECTION PROMISED. "The Lord shall cover him all the day long." God was pleased, in a very remarkable manner, to disclose himself to the Hebrews by metaphors easily interpreted. In a climate where men suffered most from a scorching sun, a covert from the burning heat was most appreciated. Therefore God was to them just what they needed, "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The fervent heat was tempered with a cloud. From every evil thing God covers his saints - from the heat of trial, sorrow, care, excessive prosperity. He never fails as does a passing cloud. He covers his chosen "all the day long." We have promised likewise - IV. UNERRING GUIDANCE. "He shall dwell between his shoulders." As the temple of God was to rest on Moriah, and the visible Shechinah be enshrined within, this would properly seem as a crown of glory on the head of Benjamin; or, what the head is to the human body, that God would be to this favored tribe. The head informs, enlightens, directs the whole body; so, saith God, "I will guide thee with my eye." That man has reached the perfection of being when Christ dwells in him, as "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification," life. To be most godly is to be most manly. - D. Parallel Verses KJV: And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. |
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