THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN: RUIN-DWELLERS

06/12/2023

"Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, according to their families, were... Avvim" (Joshua 18:21,23).

The tribe of Benjamin is a foreshadowing of the Church. How do we know this? Benjamin, like the Church, had two births. When Benjamin was born of his mother, she called him, "Benoni." Benoni, which means, son of my sorrow, is symbolic of the first Adam who fell in the Garden of Eden. However, Jacob changed Benoni's name to Benjamin (meaning, the son of my right hand), symbolizing that the new birth is instigated by the word of a father. 1 Peter 1:23 says, "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever."

Essentially, a person is a source of pain to God and all of humanity for just being born and until that person becomes born again, he or she is not capable of his or her rightful place in God. When people get born again, they are immediately placed in Christ at God's right hand. Colossians 3:1 says, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God."

That said, within the tribe of Benjamin, there are twelve cities, and in Bible language, a city is an assembly of people with a certain characteristic or quality. The Bible says that Abraham looked for a city or an assembly of people which had foundations whose builder and maker is God (see Hebrews 11:10). In Psalm 48:2, we are known as the city of the Great King to mean that we, the Church, are an assembly of people characterized by having a Great King. 

The seventh city of the tribe of Benjamin is the Avvim, and in Hebrew, Avvim refers to "Ruin Dwellers." These are people who are faced with seemingly hopeless situations. And make no mistakes about it; God loves it when His people are confronted by hopeless situations because only then can the prophecy of Benjamin be actualized. "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil" (Genesis 49:27).

The only way of the "Ruin Dweller" is to use his or her faith in God to overcome the seemingly hopeless situation. Isaiah says about these ones, "Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In." (Isaiah 58:12). These are the ones that become excited when bad things or situations happen. They turn to the word of God and begin to ruminate on it until they dominate the situation. 

Maybe you have been faced with debt, unemployment, or a set of symptoms that seemed insurmountable; hear the word of God, the answers that you seek concerning that matter are in your mouth. Romans 10:6-8 says, "But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach)"

Get into the word of God about that situation, meditate on it, pray it through like everything depends on God, and then act correspondingly as if everything depends on you. 

It is a new day!

Faith-Filled Confession 

I confront every obstacle with the word of God in my mouth. I am a proof producer, and every seeming ruin is turned into a testimony by the words of my lips and the corresponding action that I take. In Jesus' name. Amen

 One-Year Reading Plan: 2 Chronicles 34-36; John 19:1-22