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Kingdom Structure, part 1

On April 5, 2015, at the end of our Passover conference, I taught about the 12 departments of Kingdom government that are suggested by the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. I then summarized this teaching in my Foundation For Intercession bulletin #322 (May 2015).

Here is an updated teaching on the Departments of Kingdom Government, which provides a basic structure of authority in the Kingdom.

Reuben = Dept. of Treasury and Commerce

Simeon = Dept. of Communications and Post Office

Levi = Dept. of Records, Weights and Measures, Census, Immigration, and Education

Judah = Ruler and the Dept. of Music and Arts

Dan/Dinah = Dept. of Justice and Mercy

Naphtali = Dept. of Transportation & International Trade

Gad = Dept. of Defense

Zebulun = Dept. of Housing

Asher = Dept. of Health and Wellbeing

Issachar = Dept. of Labor

Joseph = Dept. of Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Energy

Benjamin = Diplomats, Governmental Assistants

These departments are shown by the meaning of their names, the circumstances of their births, the blessings of Jacob and Moses, and other prophecies. Some have a downside, which often speaks of those who are not yet qualified to rule in this particular department.

Reuben (Treasury and Commerce)

Gen. 29:32 (birth)

Gen. 35:22 (offense)

Gen. 49:3, 4 (Jacob’s blessing)

1 Chron. 5:1, 2 (Result of his offense)

Deut. 33:6 (Moses’ blessing)

Reuben’s name means “Behold a son,” indicating that he was originally supposed to be the heir of the birthright’s Sonship calling. However, Reuben “defiled his father’s bed” (1 Chronicles 5:1), and that calling was then given to Joseph. As long as Reuben was “uncontrolled as water” (Genesis 49:4), he could not have a position of power, because he would abuse it. But once he matured, he could become responsible for finances of the Kingdom.

Reuben is the Department of Treasury and Commerce.

Simeon (Communications)

Gen. 29:33 (birth)

Gen. 49:5-7 (Jacob’s blessing—and curse)

Gen. 34 (the story of Hamor)

Simeon is linked with Levi, because together they were cruel toward Hamor, the Shechemite prince who wanted to marry Dinah. Jacob cursed their “implements of violence” (Genesis 49:5). Because of their cruelty, God said, “I will disperse them in Judah and scatter them in Israel” (Genesis 49:7).

Simeon was given territory south of Judah and was soon absorbed by Judah and “scattered” in Israel. Yet Simeon’s name means “hearing,” and this has to do with the Department of Communications. So we see today that radio, television, and telephones communicate throughout the world without having a particular domicile or territory.

Simeon is the Department of Communications.

Levi (Records, Census, Education)

Gen. 29:34 (birth)

Gen. 49:5-7 (Jacob’s blessing—and curse)

Gen. 34 (the story of Hamor)

Deut. 33:8-11 (Moses’ blessing)

Moses’ blessing upon Levi was based on the incident at Massah in Exodus 17, where the people were ready to stone Moses when they ran out of water. Apparently, some Levites remained loyal (joined) to Moses. (Levi’s name means “joiner.”)

Levi was not given an inheritance in Israel but was made the priestly tribe in order to put their swords to good use in offering sacrifices. Yet their “implements of violence” were used ultimately to crucify Jesus Christ as the Supreme Sacrifice for the sin of the world. Hence, they would be replaced later by the Melchizedek Order.

The Levites normally were the scribes and record keepers in later years. So Levi is the Department of Records, Census, and Education.

Judah (Ruler; Music and Arts)

Gen. 29:35 (birth)

Gen. 49:8-12 (Jacob’s blessing)

1 Chron. 5:2 (Consequence of Reuben’s offense)

Deut. 33:7 (Moses’ blessing)

Judah received the Scepter, which gave him the honor of bringing forth the kings and ultimately the Messiah. His name means “praise,” and so this would be the tribe/nation to which the believers would be joined. Rom. 2:29 says that those receiving heart circumcision were the real “Jews,” because “he is a Jew who is one inwardly… and his praise is not from men, but from God.” In other words, his Judah-identity (“praise”) is not by men’s fleshly definitions of the name “Jew,” but how God defines the name.

Judah’s name, “praise,” is also seen in the example of David, who was a psalmist and musician. So Judah is not only the king but is also the head of the department of music and the arts in general, all of which must be governed so that they offer praise to Christ alone.

Judah is the Department of Music and Arts.

Dan/Dinah (Justice and Mercy)

Gen. 30:5, 6 (birth of Dan)

Gen. 30:21 (birth of Dinah)

Gen. 49:16-18 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:22 (Moses’ blessing)

Dan was born to Bilhah, who was Rachel’s handmaid. Rachel named him Dan, “judge,” because she believed that God had heard her case in the divine court and that God had “vindicated” her. She and her sister, Leah, were in constant dispute in their marriage with Jacob.

Dan was called prophetically to judge this dispute between the Scepter (given to Leah’s son, Judah) and the Birthright (given to Rachel’s son, Joseph).

To judge properly with both justice and mercy, both the male and female side must be represented. Hence, Jacob also begat Dinah, his only daughter, naming her with the feminine form of Dan.

It is significant that Dinah’s only story is found in Gen. 34, where she was to be married to Hamor, prince of Shechem. In that story, Simeon and Levi instituted cruel justice with no mercy. Jacob’s wrath toward Simeon and Levi was clearly stated in Gen. 34:30.

True biblical justice must be balanced with mercy, and this is expressed in a prophetic manner by the names of Dan and Dinah.

Dan is the Department of Justice, which includes mercy.

Naphtali (Transportation and International Trade)

Gen. 30:7, 8 (birth)

Gen. 49:21 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:23 (Moses’ blessing)

Isaiah 9:1-7 (Prophecy linking him to the Nations)

Matt. 4:13-16 (Fulfillment of the Prophecy in Christ)

Naphtali was a long-distance runner, according to the book of Jasher. Jacob pictured him as graceful “as a doe let loose,” not only in his athletic ability but also in his use of “beautiful words.” This identifies him with the Department of Transportation. But the prophecies also show that he and Zebulun were involved in international trade in the land to the north known as “Galilee of the Nations.”

In other words, Naphtali was the highway to international trade. Naphtali is linked also with Zebulun in the same prophecy. Both tribes were situated in the far north of Israel.

Matt. 4:13-16 indicates that this prophecy was about giving the light of Christ to “those who live in a dark land.” This light shined in Galilee of the Nations, the link between Israel and the rest of the world.

Moses’ blessing was that “they shall call peoples to the mountain.” This prophecy was obscure until Isaiah shed light on it. The “mountain of the Lord” is his symbol of the Kingdom of God, and “Zion,” to which the nations would come to learn of His ways (Isaiah 2:2, 3).

Naphtali is the Department of transportation, including international travel.

Gad (Defense)

Gen. 30:9-11 (birth)

Gen. 49:19 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:20, 21 (Moses’ blessing)

Gad means “a troop” as well as “fortunate” (in battle). It implies Victory, or “to overrun.” The tribe settled on the east side of Jordan, where they often had to fight many marauding tribes trying to take their land.

Moses compares Gad with Judah. Both are pictured as lions lying down to eat their prey.

Gad is the Department of Defense.

Asher (Health)

Gen. 30:12, 13 (birth)

Gen. 49:20 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:24, 25 (Moses’ blessing)

Asher is the word for “blessed,” and he describes a blessed and happy state. Jacob associates him with royal, delightful, and healthful food that brings joy and ease as opposed to disease.

His name literally means “fire on the head.” The Hebrew word esh, or ash, means “fire; the strong devourer.” The “r” at the end is the letter resh, which means “head.”

The apostle Paul uses this word to teach us how to bless others. Rom. 12:17-21 says,

¹⁷ Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. ¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In those days, when a family went on a journey, the fire would die out in their hearth. It was common to ask one’s neighbor for a coal or two to help restart their fire. But what if the neighbors were feuding?

Paul admonished believers to do good to those who had done evil to them. In other words, give them a large pile of live coals so that the neighbor woman could take the coals home in a jar upon her head. This simple act of kindness would go far in restoring peace between neighbors.

Paul was referring to the Hebrew word asher, to “bless” by heaping coals of fire on the neighbor’s head.

Salvation and the blessings of peace (shalom) included far more than just neighborly relations. It also spoke of well-being and a state of health. Salvation itself applies to the restoration of full health in spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23).

Asher is the Department of Health, which includes spiritual, physical, and emotional health.

Issachar (Labor)

Gen. 30:17, 18 (birth)

Gen. 49:14, 15 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:18, 19 (Moses’ blessing)

1 Chron. 12:32 (Understanding the times)

Issachar’s name means “there is hire” or “he is wages.” Scripture says that Reuben had found some mandrakes in the field, which were thought to be helping to conceive children. They were popularly called dudaim, “love apples.”

Reuben brought them home to his mother Leah. When Rachel saw them, she thought perhaps the mandrakes could solve her problem of barrenness. So she made a deal with her sister. Rachel got the mandrakes, and Leah got a night with Jacob.

As it turned out, Leah became pregnant, but Rachel remained barren. Leah named her son Issachar, “he is wages,” because she got a child by hiring out the mandrakes to her sister. One might also say that Rachel hired out Jacob in order to pay for the mandrakes.

Strangely enough, Leah put it this way: “God has given me my wages, because I gave my maid to my husband.” I do not understand this, because Leah’s maid was Zilpah, who had already borne two sons, Gad and Asher. Yet Issachar was borne by Leah herself. So how could she say that she had given her maid to Jacob? I have found no explanation among the scholars for this peculiar language.

Jacob called Issachar “a strong donkey,” who “became a slave at forced labor.” Hence, he is the Department of Labor, which includes regulating slavery itself. Biblical slavery, or “forced labor” is imposed on thieves who cannot pay the restitution that they owe.

Unlike man’s slavery throughout history, biblical slaves are not without rights. Most importantly, they have a right to be treated properly, for if the master knocks out a tooth or pokes out his eye, the slave was to be set free (Exodus 21:26, 27). Obviously, then, the slave master did not have the right to put his slave to death.

Donkeys are also types of stiff-necked servants, and when applied spiritually, they represent Old Covenant believers whose hearts have not yet come into agreement with God. The law is still imposed upon such believers by force until they mature spiritually. The overcomers, who agree with the laws of God, are pictured as oxen. Donkeys are thus unclean creatures, but oxen are clean.

For this reason, donkeys also represent those who are yet in Pentecost, as opposed to those who are in Tabernacles.

The men of Issachar who understood the times in 1 Chron. 12:32, represent the best of Pentecost—that is, those who grow spiritually through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and who do not revert to Old Covenant mindsets. These bow themselves voluntarily as bond-slaves of Jesus Christ, even as the apostle Paul did (Rom. 1:1), in order to be found worthy of Sonship.

Issachar is the Department of Labor.

Zebulun (Housing and International Trade)

Gen. 30:19, 20 (birth)

Gen. 49:13 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:18, 19 (Moses’ blessing)

Isaiah 9:1-7 (Prophecy linking him to the Nations)

Matt. 4:13-16 (Fulfillment of the Prophecy in Christ)

Zebulun’s name means “dwelling; habitation.” He was named by his mother, Leah, who said, “now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.”

Zebulun’s inheritance was “at the seashore,” not far from Sidon (Gen. 49:13). Zebulun and Naphtali are linked by Moses’ prophecy in Deut. 33:18, 19 and again by Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 9. Both tribes were involved in international trade and perhaps the colonization of new lands where the people might build their houses.

Both tribes were to see a great light in “Galilee of the Nations” when Christ moved from Nazareth to Capernaum to begin His ministry (Matt. 4:13-16).

The prophecy foreshadowed the gospel going out to the nations. For this reason also, Jonah, the prophet sent to Nineveh, was from a little town in Zebulun called Gath-hepher (2 Kings 14:25). It was fitting, then, that Jonah should be called to go to Nineveh in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, where the light of the gospel would go out to the world from “Galilee of the Nations.”

Zebulun, like Naphtali, had links to other nations and so they are both part of the Department of International Trade. The two tribes differ, however, in that Naphtali’s trade relations is part of his ministry as the Dept. of Transportation. His job was to facilitate trade routes, whereas Zebulun’s trade relations is about constructing Kingdom infrastructure around the world.

Zebulun is the Department of Housing.

Joseph (Natural Resources, Agriculture, Energy)

Gen. 30:22-24 (birth)

Gen. 49:22-26 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:13-17 (Moses’ blessing)

1 Chron. 5:1, 2 (Prophecy of the Birthright)

Joseph was not to do this work alone, but in conjunction with Benjamin. For this reason, Joseph’s name prophesied of a second son yet to come—Benjamin. Joseph means “God will add.”

Jacob gave Joseph the birthright, which specifically spoke of the promise of Sonship. “Joseph is a fruitful bough,” that is, a fruitful son (Heb., ben), we read in Gen. 49:22. Hence, he was blessed with fruitfulness, pictured by his son Ephraim, whose name means “doubly fruitful.”

Both Jacob and Moses gave Joseph the blessings of nature itself, “the everlasting hills,” minerals to be mined, and fish from the seas (“the deep”).

Joseph’s other son, Manasseh, prophesied also of the forgetfulness factor. When he was named, Joseph said in Gen. 41:51, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” This prophesied of the lost tribes of Israel, who would forget even that Jacob was their father. On a more positive note, however, they would forget their hardships and heartaches during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

As the birthright holder, Joseph was the leading tribe in Israel, though Jacob took the scepter from him and gave it to Judah “until Shiloh comes.” Yet in the end all the original elements of the birthright were to be reunited in Christ.

Joseph is the Department of Natural Resources.

Benjamin (Diplomats, Government Assistants)

Gen. 35:16-18 (birth)

Gen. 49:27 (Jacob’s blessing)

Deut. 33:12 (Moses’ blessing)

1 Kings 11:36 (Prophecy of the lamp to Judah)

Benjamin was the second son of Rachel, the one she prophesied of when Joseph had been born. He was given two names. His mother, as she died in childbirth, named him Ben-oni, “son of my sorrow.” Yet his father called him Benjamin, “son of my right hand.”

These names speak prophetically of the two comings of Christ, the first time coming as a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3), the second time as the Father’s right-hand Man (Heb. 8:1).

This twofold prophecy establishes the pattern for all the overcomers who seek spiritual authority. No one obtains the throne without training, and that training is largely in the area of intercession.

As an intercessor, then, Benjamin became the liaison between Judah and Joseph (i.e., Judah and Israel) after the kingdom was divided. In 1 Kings 11 God gave the tribe of Benjamin as a light or lamp to Judah. Benjamin’s territory was located on the border between Israel and Judah. In fact, Benjamin’s southern border ran through the outer court of the temple in Jerusalem.

So Moses prophesied, “he dwells between His shoulders” (Deut. 33:12), being the neck that joins the head (Judah) with the body (Israel).

Benjamin was Joseph’s brother, but yet remained loyal to Judah during the revolt after Solomon’s death. Having roots, then, in both camps, he was uniquely qualified to be the diplomat between Israel and Judah.

To convey messages accurately as an ambassador of Christ, Benjamin had to be skilled in the word of God. God placed a ravenous desire for the word in him, even as Jacob prophesied, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf” (Gen. 49:27).

Benjamin is the State Department, providing diplomats and ambassadors.

Conclusion

This summary is an outline of governmental structure for the Kingdom. My suggestion is for you to pray for revelation about where you may find your place in Kingdom government. Each department will need individuals from every calling. An Issachar may thus be part of the Naphtali department, or a Judah in Gad. Keep in mind that each governmental department needs skills from all other tribes.