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RACHEL

(Gen 30:22-24)  And God remembered Rachel [a type of the church], and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach [disgrace: shame]: And she called his name Joseph [a type of Jesus Christ]; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

1.       Rachel = Heb: to journey; a ewe [the females being the predominant element of a flock] (as a good traveller): ewe, sheep.

2.       Joseph = Heb: let him add (or adding).

3.       At this time, Jacob had eleven sons, but Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel (a type of the church) had only one of those sons, the last and eleventh son named Joseph (a type of Jesus Christ).

JACOB

(Gen 32:27,28)  And he [the angel of the Lord, a Christophane (a manifestation of Jesus Christ)] said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed [overcome].

1.       Jacob = Heb: heel-catcher (i.e. supplanter) /// to swell out or up; to seize by the heel; fig. to circumvent (as if tripping up the heels); also to restrain (as if holding by the heel): take by the heel, stay, supplant, X utterly.

2.       (Hosea 12:3,4)  He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel [Gen 32:24-32], and prevailed [overcame]: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

3.       Israel = Heb: he will rule as God; prince with God.

4.       Herein we observe it was prophesied (“shall be called”) that Jacob was to be “born again” as Israel. Jesus Christ sows the seed.

ISRAEL

(Gen 35:9-12)  And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel [i.e. he became born again]. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply [Gen 1:22,28; 8:17; 9:1; 35:11]; a nation and a company of nations [the Benjamin Company] shall be of thee, and kings  [“kings and priests” Rev 1:6; 5:10] shall come out of thy loins [whose loins?]; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

1.       Herein we observe that Jacob was “born again” (from above) as Israel. God “giveth the increase” (1 Cor 3:7). Qualification: as to ascertaining exactly when Jacob was born again, either Gen 32:28 or Gen 35:10, or somewhere in-between (illustrating a process), we have drawn a “fine line” evidential conclusion which may be incorrect. Let it suffice to say that Jacob was indeed “born again” into Israel. A biblical name change always indicates a change in character (heart). (Isa 62:2;Rev 2:17; 3:12).

BENJAMIN

(Gen 35:16-19)  And they journeyed from Bethel [house of God]; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath [fruitfulness; Ephrath, another name for Bethlehem]: and Rachel [the church] travailed, and she had hard labour [i.e. a type of the Great Tribulation]. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. 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. And Rachel died [i.e. the son was named before she died], and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem [where was Benjamin born?].

1.       Benoni = Heb: son of my sorrow /// prop. to pant (hence to exert oneself, usually in vain; to come to naught); strictly nothingness; also trouble, vanity, wickedness; spec. an idol: affliction, evil, false, idol, iniquity, mischief, mourners (-ing), naught, sorrow, unjust, unrighteous, vain, vanity, wicked (-ness.).

2.       Benjamin = Heb: son of the right hand; the youngest son of Jacob /// the right hand or side (leg, eye) of a person or other object (as the stronger and more dexterous).

3.       Joseph (Jesus Christ – anointed) and Benjamin (us – anointed Christians) were the last and only full brothers. Matthew 1:16-17: “Jesus” was the 13th (41^st) and “Christ” is the 14^th (42nd) generation. Count them. We are the “Christ “ generation spanning almost 2000 years.

4.       Jacob had 10 sons symbolizing the “ten commandments” of the Old Testament (Exo 20:1-17), then Israel had 2 sons symbolizing the “two commandments” of the New Testament (Mat 22:37-40).

FOOD

PROPHETIC PROVISION FOR OUR INNER COVERING (“within” Exo 25:10,11)

(Gen 43:31-34)  And he [Joseph: a perfect type of Jesus Christ] washed his face, and went out, and refrained [restrained] himself, and said, Set on bread [food, victuals]. And they set on for him [Joseph] by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination [something disgusting (mor.), i.e. an abhorrence] unto the Egyptians [“for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians” Gen 46:34]. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him [i.e. from his own table]: but Benjamin's mess [son of the right hand] was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

1.       messes = Heb: prop. (abstr.) a raising (as of the hands in prayer), or rising (of flame); fig. an utterance; concr. a beacon (as raised); a present (as taken), mess, or tribute; fig. a reproach (as a burden): burden, collection, sign of fire, (great) flame, gift, lifting up, mess, oblation, reward.

AND CLOTHING

PROPHETIC PROVISION FOR OUR OUTER COVERING (“without” Exo 25:10,11)

(Gen 45:19-22)  Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons  [something revolving, i.e. a wheeled vehicle (first biblical mention)] out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father [Jacob], and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the  commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver [i.e. Gideon’s saved warrior-shepherds “the three hundred men that lapped” Judg 7:7], and five changes of raiment.

1.       raiment = Heb: (through the idea of a cover assuming the shape of the object beneath); a dress, espec. a mantle: apparel, cloth (-es, -ing), garment /// mean. to resemble; a likeness.

SIGNIFICANTLY, THE BENJAMINITES WERE NOTED STONE SLINGERS

(Judg 20:15,16)  And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen  [selected] men. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen [selected] men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.

1.       (John 15:16)  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen [selected] you, and ordained you [appointed, purposed], that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

2.       Being left-handed was a military advantage because their shots would come from unaccustomed angles. A perfect present day example is the highly sought after left-handed professional baseball pitcher who can “sling stones [baseballs] at an hair breadth, and not miss.”

(1 Chr 12:1,2)  Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close [restrained himself] because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men [perhaps “the thirty” 1 Chr 11:25], helpers of the war. They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left [ambidextrous] in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.

AND CHOSE HIM FIVE SMOOTH STONES OUT OF THE BROOK

PRIESTS

(Eph 4:11,12)  And he [the King of Kings (an antitype of David)] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting [complete furnishing /// perfectly join together] of the saints, for the work [toil, labor, deeds] of the ministry, for the edifying [architecture; structure: building] of the body of Christ:

1.       Judah and Benjamin = “kings and priests” Rev 1:6; 5:10.

Amen