Influential Benjamites - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Chronicles 8:33, 40c,

"Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal... All these were the descendants of Benjamin."

These, along with a number of others in this chapter "were the descendants of Benjamin." Saul, the son of Kish, figures very prominently in Israel's history. Saul was the first human king Israel had, following a period of "judges" that provided leadership for the nation.

Saul was chosen by God to be Israel's first human king when Israel demanded one to rule over them so they could be just like all the other nations that surrounded them. It was a demand that did not please the Lord, as the Lord was to be their king. Israel was not brought into being by the Lord to be like all of the other nations, as he had specific plans for his covenant people.

Nevertheless, the Lord gave them what they asked for, and gave them someone that they would find attractive. Tall and handsomely built, Saul fit the bill for the Israelites - and he turned out to be a disaster. Following Saul, the Lord chose someone of his liking, David. David was a man of faith, a man that pleased the Lord. Paul quotes God as saying of David, "I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do." Acts 13:22. While Israel's first king was from Benjamin, the second king, David, was from Judah. The legitimate throne of Israel would stay in the line of Judah, until established in the hands of Israel's true king for eternity, Jesus Christ - also from the tribe of Judah.

While the genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin only goes to a point in history, a later descendant from the tribe of Benjamin was a man who would be instrumental in changing the course of human history, another man named Saul - and renamed the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote thirteen of the 27 books of the New Testament, and as the Lord's hand-picked apostle to the Gentiles, Paul helped to established a movement within the Roman empire that would shape the course of western civilization and mankind in general. The influence of Paul's church planting as well as his writings on the Lord's gospel of faith cannot be measured. His refutation of the concept of salvation by works of the law set forth clearly the gospel message of faith, a message that continues to be greatly needed from generation to generation.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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