the benjamin buffer zone
The Book 1 Corinthians 13 – which is all about love – is placed between chapters 12 and 14 as a buffer zone to calm the people. The church members in Corinth that Paul was writing to were arguing whether or not if speaking in tongues was the best gift of Spirit. They were at odds and splitting the church.
After the Promised Land was conquered and the land was being allotted out, the tribe of Benjamin was given a narrow sliver of land, a buffer zone between the tribes of Judah and Ephraim (son of Joseph) – the two tribes who would later dominate the land before succumbing to outside forces.
At the time, Joshua and the elders could not have foreseen war between any of the tribes because they were all Israelites and have been united for years against a common enemy since the Exodus. This buffer zone was set up by God for future generations.
Good to know: Some consider us the “Benjamin generation.” Some consider us the last generation before the Second Coming. To do signs and wonders and illustrate great faith.
Interesting to note: Jesus, as man, descended from the tribe of Judah. Judah is considered to be the modern-day Jewish people.
Check this out: Ephraim is considered by some as one the “lost tribes” of Israel. However, certain prophecies such as Zechariah 9:10 and 11:14, as well as Jeremiah 30:15 say that Ephraim and Judah will be at conflict once again. Then, Ezekiel 37:16-19 says that the two tribes will one day be reunited.
There are rumors and suggestions as to who Ephraim is today. An article I just read says that research indicates that the British people are the descendants of Manasseh and the Americans are descended from his brother, Ephraim.
So, to recap: Jesus is Judah, we are Benjamin, the U.S. is Ephraim
It is no secret that the U.S. Government is putting the shackles on religious freedom – oh, excuse me, Christian freedom. Prayer in schools. Out. In God We Trust. On the chopping block. Christian tolerance. Dwindling. All the while acceptance for other religions such as Islam is the “politically correct” thing to do and if we aren’t open to it, we’re closed-minded. Um, which religion was the country founded upon again? And, at this point, it isn’t even about religion anymore – it’s about walking with Jesus. On earth now and later on in Heaven.
Is the U.S. rapidly becoming anti-Jesus? Yep. Does Christianity need brave disciples of our faith to wake up and put their feet down? Obviously. Has society over the years been specifically designed to target our senses and make us numb to all the junk on the hundreds of cable stations, all the ridiculously gratuitous innuendo in movies and all the provocative advertisements placed at eye level of our children? What kind of pagan nation have we been turned into? How has right and wrong become subjective to the person being asked? Completely unacceptable.
So, yea, the U.S. is looking mighty anti-Jesus. And, love, as illustrated and spoke of abundantly in 1 Corinthians 13, is our buffer against the people coming against Him in these last days. We, Christians, are the tribe of Benjamin who will stand in the middle between the tribe of Judah (from which Jesus was born as Man) and that of Ephraim (possibly the U.S. or a U.S.-led one world government or whoever. Just be ready!)
Another cool piece of the puzzle is that sometime during the reign of Solomon – or soon after – the tribe of Benjamin was absorbed into the Southern Kingdom of Judah. We, as the Benjamin buffer zone, protecting and proclaiming the Word, will be absorbed in the Kingdom of Jesus!
We all know history repeats!
