Amethyst- Benjamin
1. His Birth
Genesis 35:16, 18- And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. Benoni means son of my sorrow, but his father changed his name to Benjamin meaning son of my right hand. Rachel's tomb can be seen in this spot to this very day.
Two things stick out about this. First, Rachel was the fleshly desire of Jacob, whom Jacob made a deal to get. Second, Rachel was a worldly woman who stole her fathers idol (possibly because she worshipped them). Jacob had just gone to Bethel and gotten right with the Lord. He had been given a new name. He told all his family to give him their idols and he buried them. I believe that Rachel would never have stopped worshipping idols, and for Jacob to fully serve the Lord, God had to remove Rachel.
Slemming thinks that Rachel was demanding and manipulative. She used her handmaid to get her desire- children. She tried to force her husband to give her children, when it wasn't in his control- Genesis 30:1-2- And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And even after being blessed with Joseph she wasn't satisfied- Genesis 30:24- And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
Slemming thinks that she lost her life because she demanded her prayers be answered according to her will, and her life was the price she paid for demanding her own will instead of God's.
Israel demanded a King in I Samuel 8. God gives them their demanded request through Benjamin, who turns out to be a type of the Anti-Christ in the Old Testament.
Benjamin was the only son named by his father. This son of sorrows became the son of Jacob's right hand. Christ also was named by his father- Matthew 1:21- And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. This son of God's right hand became the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
2. The Patriarchal Blessing
Genesis 49:27- Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. Benjamin is called a singular wolf, which is interesting because they are a pack animal. Wolf in the singular is only mentioned 6 times in the Bible.
Ehud was a left-handed judge of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul and Jonathan were mighty warriors of the tribe of Benjamin. And Mordecai and Esther were also of the tribe of Benjamin- Esther 2:5- Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; All these people had wars fought around their names, with great loss of life.
Paul was also of the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1) who wasted the church of God. However, we can see that a life fully surrendered to the will of God can change a "waster of life" into a great apostle who led many to salvation.
3. The Mosaic Blessing
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, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. The shoulders are the strength that bear the burdens. God is promising him the strength and the protection needed to do the work required.
4. The Stone Amethyst in the Breastplate
An amethyst is a purple gemstone. It was a rather hard stone. The warrior tribe could be hard and cold, but could also come forth as royalty if they followed the will of the Lord.
