Call Him Benjamin, Not Ben-Oni! Be Like Jabez!

Trevor S Ferguson

August 11, 2014

Genesis 35:16-18 (KJV)
¹⁶And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. ¹⁷And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.¹⁸And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

1^st Chronicles 4:9-10 (KJV)
⁹And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. ¹⁰And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

INTRODUCTION

Today I will use the two stories from the text above to illustrate how we can influence a child’s destiny by what we call him or her and also, importantly, that even if you have been named incorrectly or had a negative label placed upon you, you can rise above your circumstances, break the cycle of negativity and through God, create a new destiny for your life.

EXPOSITION

Let us look firstly on the story of Benjamin’s birth in Genesis 35. Benjamin had the misfortune of losing his mother at the time of his birth and almost had to live with a name that would suggest to him daily that he was cause of his mother’s death. The scripture says in the process of childbirth, Rachel had ‘hard labour’. We are not sure what the exact nature of the difficulty was, but it soon became clear to both Rachel and the midwife who attended to her that she may not survive. The midwife tried to comfort her by letting her know that she had delivered a son. Moments before her death, Rachel named her son, calling him Ben-Oni.

The name Ben-Oni means ‘son of my sorrow’, thus reflecting the difficulty she had in giving birth, rather than the joy of a new life. Rachel probably never experienced the joy of holding the baby in her arms, and thus the pain of her labour was never erased. This name would have perpetuated her state of distress and would have negatively affected her son’s view of himself and life in general.

By the time Jacob was called in, Rachel probably had already died. He was thus presented with a dead wife and a newborn son. Jacob would therefore have been presented with this newborn son and told had had been named Ben-Oni. When Jacob heard this he immediately gave orders for his named to be changed. Don’t call him Ben-Oni. Call him Benjamin.

The name Benjamin means ‘son of my right hand’ or alternatively ‘son or of my wealth or good fortune’. Jacob chose not to dwell on the sorrow that surrounded his birth but on the joy of this new life. Benjamin was his twelfth son, and thus would represent a great blessing for Jacob. For him this was truly a blessing. It was evidence that God was still with him and would fulfill the promises he had made to him. There is no doubt that Jacob loved Rachel. We recall that he worked a total of 14 years in order to have her as his wife. We also recall that despite the fact that Leah had borne Jacob many sons she still felt neglected because Jacob always showed more love for Rachel. Despite his grief however Jacob could not allow this cycle of sorrow to be passed unto his son. Losing his beloved wife was bad; affixing a negatively label to his son would mean effectively losing his son as well. He could not call him Ben-Oni. He called him Benjamin.   

My word to parents today: Do not call your children by names that reflect your pain or sorrow. Do not characterize them negatively by the circumstances of their birth or upbringing. Do not affix labels that will scar their minds. Instead use the power of your mouth to speak positively and prophetically into their lives. Call them blessed, call them great, call them joy, call them gladness, call them the apple of your eye! Call them son of God or daughter of God, call them prophet, call them evangelist, call them pastor, call them preacher, call them bishop. Call them doctor, call them lawyer, call them teacher, call them leader, call them manager, call them president, call them prime minister! Prophesy over the life of your children. Call the Benjamin, call the blessed!

It is noteworthy that Jacob himself had suffered the consequences of an ill-conceived name, given to him at birth. In Genesis 25 we are told that at the time of his birth, Jacob came out holding on to the heel of his twin brother Esau. He was therefore given the name Jacob, which means heel snatcher, supplanter or trickster. Jacob ended up living out this character as suggested by his name for a large segment of his life. It was not until after his encounter with God at Peniel that his name was changed from Jacob to Israel. With the name change there came a change of character and a change in his relationship with God and a change in his fortunes. Jacob could not allow his son relive his own experiences. He could not call him Ben-Oni. He called him Benjamin!

Let us call our children by names that will propel them into greatness.

We turn now to the story of Jabez. The story of Jabez is given in a very brief record, almost hidden in the midst of genealogies – the section of the bible about who begat who, the part of the bible that most of us skip while reading. Jumping out of the genealogies is this little story: “Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.”

Jabez also got a ‘bad name’. His name meant pain – because his mother bore him in sorrow. Like his name, Jabez’s life appeared to be headed down a road of pain and sorrow. Somehow, however, Jabez heard that the God of Israel was in the business of answering prayer and saw a way out of his distress. He figured that his life did not have to end up the way people expected it to end up and therefore he prayed to the God of Israel. Jabez’s prayer was simple but it was a powerful prayer. He made four simple request: (1) bless me, (2) enlarge my territory, (3) keep your hand upon me, (4) keep me from evil. God granted Jabez’s request!

My charge to the children (and adults) today: Be like Jabez! You might not have been born the best circumstances, your mother or father may be poor, you might have been given a name that does not inspire greatness, you might have been called negative names all your life. You might have been told you were ugly, dunce, worthless or a host of other terrible names; but right now none of that matter. Like Jabez you can call upon God and he will bless you immensely. With God’s help and diligent work you can be anything that God’s wants you to be. God can change your life and make it beautiful and wonderful. Note that this may not happen overnight. But God will slowly change your life so that it becomes more and more beautiful and you can be happy.

What were the things that made Jabez great? (1) Jabez did not allow the circumstances of his birth, or the name he was given to stop him from getting something good out of life. (2) Jabez was bold and asked God for what he needed. (3) Jabez was aware of his weaknesses and asked God to help him overcome them. Today you too can be like Jabez.  You must recognize the difficulties that you face whether at home or school. Boldly ask God to for help and to bless you. Also ask God to help you in your areas of weakness so that you do not fall prey to sin and believe that God will grant you your request

APPLICATION/CONCLUSION

It is time to break the cycle – cycle of poverty, negativity, backslidings and sinfulness

I challenge you today to call on the God of Israel just as Jabez did. Whatever your need, whatever your circumstances – ask God to bless you, enlarge your territory, keep his hand on you, keep you from evil. He will bless you. He will bless you indeed!