V. DWELT
A. By the Lord between Benjamin’s Shoulders
Genesis 49:27 says that Benjamin is a tearing wolf (Heb.). But Deuteronomy 33:12 says of him, "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders." To the enemy, Benjamin is a tearing wolf. Nevertheless, according to Deuteronomy, Benjamin is the beloved of the Lord. How could a tearing wolf be the beloved of the Lord? The Lord loves Benjamin, the tearing wolf, because God’s dwelling place was in the territory of Benjamin. Many Christians think that Jerusalem, where the temple was located, is in the territory of Judah. However, it is in the territory of Benjamin, very close to Judah. The kings came out of Judah, but the capital, Jerusalem, was in Benjamin. The capital was the site of God’s dwelling place. According to geography, the territory of Benjamin is shaped like two shoulders, and Jerusalem is located between the two shoulders. Hence, the Lord dwelt between the shoulders of Benjamin.
It is the head, of course, that dwells between the two shoulders of our body. This indicates that the dweller in Deuteronomy 33:12 is the Head. The very God who dwells in the temple is the Head. This means that in God’s dwelling there is the headship, the lordship. The language of Deuteronomy 33:12 is poetic. Years ago, this verse was altogether a puzzle to me. I did not know what it meant to say that God dwelt between the shoulders of Benjamin. But after years of studying the Bible and of experience with the Lord, I began to understand. If you consider your experience, you will realize how real it is that God dwells between our shoulders to be our Head. Whenever we have God’s dwelling, we have the headship. Thus, there is the throne within the city of New Jerusalem.
Deuteronomy 33:12 also says that the Lord will cover Benjamin all the day long. How did the Lord cover Benjamin? The tabernacle was a covering, for Revelation 7:15 says, "He who sits upon the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them." God’s building is a tabernacle, and a tabernacle is an overshadowing. This tabernacle is both Christ and the church. Today we are under the overshadowing of Christ and the overshadowing of the church, for both Christ and the church are the overshadowing dwelling place of God under which we are dwelling.
(Life-Study of Genesis, Chapter 107, by Witness Lee)
