Today’s Scripture Reading (October
22, 2012): Joshua 18
Probably one
of the most uncomfortable places to be is between two friends that are
fighting. I usually find that I lose no matter what it is that I do. At some
point in the fight it seems that invariably I get accused of always defending and
supporting the other person. The truth is that in most fights there is both
right and fault on both sides of the argument. But that only increases the danger
for the friends that find themselves standing in the gap between the combatants.
From our view
of history, Benjamin’s territory allotment between Judah and Joseph is highly
significant. Benjamin was Joseph’s younger brother – and Joseph’s only full brother
- and the one that Joseph protected all his life. When his brothers showed
themselves to Joseph in Egypt, Joseph purposefully set up his younger brother
just so that he could see his other brother’s reaction to the situation. For
Joseph, their reaction would tell the story about whether or not they could be
trusted – and whether or not his older half-brothers would be worth saving. So
in this, Benjamin was deeply connected to the sons of Joseph.
But historically
Benjamin’s descendants would end up supporting Judah against the claims of the northern
tribes (dominated by the tribes of Joseph.) It was not that they no longer
liked the Northern tribes, but life alongside the tribe of Judah would make
them sensitive to some issues that were important to the powerful southern
tribe. Specifically, Benjamin supported the rule of the house of David over all
of Israel. And because they backed Davidic rule, they also supported the establishment
of Jerusalem as the both the political and spiritual center for the nation. It
was the political center because that it was the home of the Davidic kings (it
was the City of David.) But for it to become the spiritual center, the
tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant would have to be moved from Shiloh (in
the hill country of Ephraim – one of the tribes of Joseph) to Jerusalem in
Judah. Benjamin’s support of Judah’s claim would forever change the trajectory
of the tribe – away from the political north and the tribes of Joseph and
toward the south and the tribe of Judah. Benjamin was quite literally caught in
the middle between the two powers.
But the decisions
that Benjamin made were because they felt that they were right, even if it was
against the age old friends. And in the end, when we are caught in the conflict
between friends, doing what we feel is right is the only action we can take.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua
19
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