Benjamin had been born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem and Benjamin mean nearly the same thing. That is, they stand for the means that brings two separate things together. Let us see. What is the story about Bethlehem in these chapters? Joseph had become ruler of Egypt. His brothers came from Canaan to buy grain. He recognized them, but they did not know him, and he behaved strangely and sternly toward them. He told them to bring little Benjamin, who was his own brother, the only other son of his mother Rachel; and he imprisoned Simeon until Benjamin should come. When Benjamin was brought into Egypt, as today's chapter tells, then Joseph treated his brothers kindly and invited them to dine with him. So Benjamin was the means of bringing the brothers nearer to Joseph.

Now, it was in Bethlehem, Benjamin's birthplace, that the Lord was born. People on earth no longer knew the Lord; they did not know that He was a strong and loving Divine Human. Therefore, He came into the world so that they might know Him and feel His great love and could love Him. As Joseph invited his brothers to dine with him, so the Lord when on earth invited people to dine with Him, and instituted the Holy Supper. To come into the world, it was necessary for Him to be born somewhere. Without His having been born, people could not have been brought to be near Him. He chose Bethlehem. Bethlehem, then, was the means of bringing the Lord God of heaven together with people on earth.

And all the truth that we learn about the Lord who was born in Bethlehem to be our Savior, and that helps us to know Him and love Him, is a means for bringing us to Him. We may therefore say that little Benjamin represented or stood for such truth as the Lord uses as a means to bring people together with Him.

Is this hard to understand? Let me illustrate. Suppose that you do not like someone, simply because you do not know how good he is. If you then try to find out the good that is in him, as for instance, by having some friend of yours who knows him well, tell you about lovely traits in his character, then the truth that you thus find out about him leads you to love him. That truth is like a little Benjamin that brings Joseph and his brothers together. Unless we possessed the truth about the Lord born in the world, we could not know Him and love Him truly. The Lord Himself tells us the truth about Himself, and in such a way that we can understand Him and love Him for His goodness and His wisdom. This holy and innocent truth that He tells us in His Word is meant by Benjamin. 

to next Lesson