Maybe it’s just me, but the perception of Benjamin in Genesis is that of a lowly younger brother. He rarely speaks up and is often pictured as a victim and/or pawn in the activities of his older brothers. Despite Joseph’s attachment to him, Benjamin never really takes center stage.
That won’t last long. Jacob remarks that Benjamin is like a “ravenous wolf” that feasts in the morning and in the evening. They’ll always be at war, and perhaps just as importantly, they’ll always be looking for war.
The tribe of Benjamin isn’t just a group of warring peoples though, it also contains some of the most talented warriors in the entire nation of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin is renowned for having soldiers who are skilled with the sword (Judges 20:15-16), the bow (1 Chronicles 8:40), and the sling (Judges 20:6).
Individually, some very notable characters would arise out of Benjamin, nearly all of them warriors. Ehud, the left-handed judge who killed Eglon, the Moabite king (Judges 3:15-30); Esther, the Queen of Persia who saved her people (Esther 2:5-7); and Saul, the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:15-27).
Another figure who came out of the tribe of Benjamin? Saul, one of the most violent persecutors of early Christians until his conversion, when he became the Apostle Paul (Romans 11:1).
It would be easy to look at Benjamin’s warlike capabilities and think that this was destined to become the greatest tribe in the entire nation. In reality though, their aggressive (and stubborn) personality was directly responsible for launching the Jewish civil war in Judges 19-21, which left their tribe almost completely annihilated.
There’s a lesson in Benjamin for all of us. Though it’s absolutely worth it to fight – and fight hard – for the sake of right, we need to be careful to ensure we actually are on the side of right. Otherwise, as Paul was told by Jesus, we could be left “kicking against the goads” (Acts 26:14).
