Genesis 49:27– The value of being gritty

In Genesis 49:1-21, Jacob’s words for his first ten sons were spoken and recorded. They tell us how needful it is to live right so that we will end right. What’s telling is that when we live right, we leave a good model and a rich legacy for our posterity. Having dealt with the first ten sons, Jacob still had two more sons, Joseph and Benjamin whom he had to bless. He of course had reserved his best for Joseph from verses 22-26. Before we look at his blessing for Joseph’s life, let’s look at his pronouncement over Benjamin in verse 27. Here’s what Jacob had said of him. 

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;

In the morning he devours the prey,

And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

Jacob depicted Benjamin as a ravenous wolf, an animal noted not only for being swift but also its viciousness and ferocity. The Bible records for us some of the people from the tribe of Benjamin who were true to the description, and had shown the characteristic of their swiftness and ferocity. Ehud the judge was from this tribe, his exploit could be gleaned in Judges 3:15-22. King Saul was from this tribe. First Samuel 22:17-20 showed how he had viciously commanded the priests of the Lord to be killed. Then in 2 Samuel 4:1-6, we see some of the descendants of Benjamin, Rechab and Baanah, who came stealthily to the crippled son of Saul, Ish-boseth and treacherously and viciously murdered him. Then in the New Testament, we read of Saul of Tarsus who later became Apostle Paul. Before his conversion by Christ, he acted like a ravenous and ferocious wolf, persecuting the church and relentlessly seizing Christians and killing them viciously. However, we see in the closing remarks of Jacob for Benjamin was that he would be successful in battle and would be a conquering warrior, dividing the spoils of war. How true were Jacob’s words concerning the tribe of Benjamin!

What we can emulate from Benjamin would be these: the swiftness, the warlike tenacity, determination and persevering grit. These are traits we sorely need when we are battling the evil of life. Our one constant concern in our spiritual journey must surely be to conquer the evil temptations that often come luring. To experience the life transforming work of Christ in our life, we need the grit like that of Jacob’s words for Benjamin, so that we can place ourselves at the disposal of God’s grace. Let’s be gritty as we give room for God’s grace to work its best in our life.