Following Benjamin we have Judah. In the Bible, Benjamin always goes with Judah. When the people of Israel were divided, only Benjamin stood with Judah as the southern nation. In some cases Benjamin fought the battle with Judah. They were always together.
In Genesis 49:8-10 Jacob predicted the following: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion... the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” In Revelation 5:5 the Lord is referred to as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Thus, the greatest sign of Judah is that of the conquering Lion. This conquering Lion was worshipped in the heavens according to Revelation 5, and not only worshipped but enthroned and crowned with authority. The scepter signifies royal authority. He is the King of kings! After His ascension, Christ was worshipped as the conquering Lion and enthroned with royal authority as the King of kings. He is in that position today. What about the future? In the future He will be Shiloh, the maker of peace. This refers to His second coming: He is coming as Shiloh to bring peace to the entire earth.
Just with these two names we have the history of Christ from His incarnation to His second coming. Benjamin signifies Him from His incarnation to His ascension, including all the victory He has gained. Judah signifies Christ from His ascension, His enthronement and glorification to His coming back. This is all for our praise; we must learn to praise in the meetings about all these things. We need many little Benjamins; we need many Judahs in our praises in the meetings. Where are they? In all our meetings we must learn to praise with a high standard, to praise God with little Benjamin and with Judah and their company.
Then what about Zebulun and Naphtali? It is indeed interesting. The Bible always puts Benjamin together with Judah, and the Bible also puts Zebulun together with Naphtali. Let us look again at Jacob’s prophecy regarding the tribes of Israel. Concerning Zebulun he said, “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships” (Gen. 49:13). In other words, Zebulun will be a seaport, a harbor for ships. What is the meaning of this? This signifies transportation, communication—the preaching, the spreading. The local church is a haven of ships.
Concerning Naphtali Jacob prophesied in this way: “Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly [beautiful] words” (Gen. 49:21). Psalm 18:33 shows that the hind is one who runs exceedingly fast. Naphtali is a released hind—this is the speed for preaching. With Naphtali there are also the beautiful words. Matthew 4 tells us that when the Lord Jesus came, He began His preaching from Galilee. In the day of the Lord Jesus Galilee was formed of these very tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali. Matthew 4:15 says, “The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” Even the Lord Himself, in a sense, was a Galilean. Moreover, all the first group of disciples who preached the Gospel, according to Acts 1:11, were called “men of Galilee.” What is the meaning of this? When we put all these things together, they signify that this Christ who was incarnated, who lived on this earth, who died and was resurrected, who ascended and was enthroned, who is the conqueror and the King of kings, and who is coming again as the Shiloh, is being propagated to the uttermost parts of the earth. This very Christ is now being preached and spread swiftly all over the earth with beautiful words. He is a Christ in propagation, a Christ to be spread to the uttermost. O what a Christ we have! This is the Christ in poetry. This poetry is so simple; yet when we get into it, we see the profound significance held by these few words.
What is the Holy Spirit indicating to us now? In the praises of the church there should be the element of Benjamin, the element of Judah, and the element of Zebulun and Naphtali. We have to praise God with all these elements. In our praising procession we need Benjamin, Judah, Zebulun and Naphtali. In the deeper praises offered to God there must be the real experience of Christ as Benjamin, the real experience of Christ as Judah, and the real experience of Christ as Zebulun and Naphtali. This is the way we must praise in the church. Forget about yourself, your sickness, your healing, and all the material blessings you have received. Look at Christ with all the elements of Benjamin, Judah, Zebulun and Naphtali. This praise is much higher in standard than that of Psalm 19.