New Name (Gen. 35:18b)

4/27/2007 8:05 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                  Focus:  New name      

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 35:18b

            Message of the verse:  “that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.”

Jacob renamed other things in his life, and so after Rachel died he renamed his son Benjamin, or “son of my right hand.”  I have to revisit what has been written about in the last two SD’s, and that is could Rachel’s death been the result of her sin of lying to her father.  When I looked up the name that she gave to her son, Benoni, it can mean son of my sin or son of my iniquity, as the work is translated 47 time in the King James Version as opposed to only once where the word is translated sorrow.  I am back to not being certain as to whether or not it was Rachel’s sin that had anything to do with her death.

Dr. Wiersbe brings up another point about these two names and that is they could describe the two aspects of the Lord’s ministry, sorrow and glory.  Luke writes in his Gospel a quotation of Christ in 24:26 which could support this:  “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Peter also gives support to this in 1 Peter 5:1, “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at these two names in relationship with Christ’s ministry, I can see that this has happened to many believers in their lives as the suffered from different things in their lives which gave sorrow to them and then God transformed that sorrow into glory, His glory, later on in their lives.

The Word of God has been challenging and refreshing to me as I read and studied it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  As I look at the situation that the Lord has allowed us to be in I see at this present time that there is much sorrow, as there is with the situation also with our investment with Andrew, and my prayer and hope is that God will turn all of this into glory as only He can do.

Memory verse for the week:  2 Chronicles 14:11 (NLT) “Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, "O LORD, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!"