Genesis 49:21
“Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.”
Jacob speaks of a hind let loose. That is the language of freedom, movement, and swift going. This is not a picture of restraint. This is not a picture of someone pinned down or shut in. It is a picture of something released, something moving quickly, something sent forth. Then Jacob adds, “he giveth goodly words.” So now the thought is not only movement, but message. Not only going, but speaking.
That fits beautifully with what lies ahead.
After antichrist appears, 144,000 evangelists, twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes, will go throughout the world preaching the goodly word of the gospel. What a scene that will be. In the very hour when darkness seems deepest, God will have His witnesses moving swiftly through the earth with a message that cannot be silenced. The enemy will be raging, judgment will be falling, the world will be shaking, and yet in the middle of all of it, the gospel will still be going forth.
That is Naphtali.
A hind let loose.
Goodly words.
A people released to preach.
And what follows will be the greatest revival in all of history. Multitudes will hear. Multitudes will respond. Multitudes will come to the Lord in the very midst of Tribulation. That is a remarkable thing to consider. In the darkest hour this world has ever known, God will still be saving. In the very season when antichrist is deceiving the nations, God will have a preaching people carrying the truth to the ends of the earth.
That says something glorious about the heart of God.
Judgment may be in the land, but mercy is still reaching out.
The world may be collapsing, but the gospel is still running.
Hell may be working, but heaven is still speaking.
And there is something fitting about the Jewish people being seen this way. It is their destiny to be a preaching people. The nation through whom the Word came, the nation through whom Messiah came, will yet be used to carry the goodly word with power and urgency in that coming day.
I think there is something beautiful in that phrase, “he giveth goodly words.” Not bitter words. Not empty words. Not deceptive words. Goodly words. Words of life. Words of hope. Words of truth. Words that tell men there is still a Savior. Words that tell men to turn while there is still time. Words that point not to antichrist, but to Christ.
So Naphtali stands in this chapter as a bright note of mercy. After poison, persecution, and pressure, here comes proclamation. Here comes gospel witness. Here comes a people let loose by God to say what must be said.
And the lesson is plain. God always has His witnesses. He always has His voice in the earth. He always has men and women through whom His word will run. The enemy never gets the field to himself. Darkness never has the only microphone. The Lord still sends forth His message.
Naphtali reminds us of that.
Swift feet.
Open mouths.
Goodly words.
And behind it all, the mercy of God reaching into a world that is almost out of time.