Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Benjamin, 'the brother who did not reject Joseph' was only a young child when Joseph went to exile. He was unaware of the tensions between Joseph and his brothers. He was even unaware of what his brothers had done to Joseph. Where does Benjamin stand in the prophetic picture? We understand Joseph's messianic prefiguring role. We also understand Judah and his brothers representing Israel at the time of the Master. But what, or who does Benjamin represent in this midrashic picture? Could he represent Messianic Judaism? Could Benjamin prefigure the disciples, those sons of Jacob who not only didn't reject Joseph but loved him; those of Israel who accepted Yeshua?
As Yeshua said that His disciples would drink of His cup; so Joseph hid his cup in Benjamin's sac (Genesis 44:2; Matthew 20:22). The Jewish believers have certainly drunk of Yeshua's cup. As that of the Master's life on earth, our History is one of rejection and intense persecution by our brethren, and by the world. By the Middle-Ages Messianic Judaism had all but disappeared, only to resurrect in our days.
Benjamin ate from Joseph's table. Didn't the Jewish disciples of Yeshua eat at His table? We still do if as disciples we live by His bounty. Will we not eat at His table again and drink wine with Him at the end of this age? After revealing himself, Joseph gave extravagant clothing to Benjamin, a repeat of what his own father did for him. Will not Yeshua also clothe us in white raiment (Genesis 43:34; 45:22; Revelations 19:7-8).
For centuries, the two families birthed by the two sisters wives of Jacob warred against each other. At one point in time they even became two separate countries. The prophets and sages of Israel speak of the Messianic Era as a time of reunification of the two families. The disciples even brought it up to Yeshua before He left to sit at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1: 6). The geographical area of the tribe of Benjamin is situated almost like a buffer zone between Ephraim, the leader of the northern tribes, and Judah, the leader of the southern tribes. This should give us an idea of where we should stand as Messianic believers: as a neutral zone of reunification between the two. It may just be coincidence, but the Temple which is to be rebuilt for the Messianic Era is positioned in the area of Benjamin (No; it is not in Judea; at the time of the Master, both the region and tribe of Benjamin had been assimilated by Judah). In the Messianic Era, the whole world will come to Jerusalem in Benjamin/Judea to bring their glory.
Though we can guess for some of them, except for Paul we do not know for sure the tribal origin of any of the disciples. When the Sacred Texts veer from a regular pattern, we must take notice. Paul was a Messianic Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. His mission by the Master was to bring the 'Good News' to Israel and to the Gentiles. May we learn to follow Messiah emulating Paul's passion, zeal, wisdom, and knowledge to bring the Master's 'Good News' to His brothers and to the world.