“And 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.” — Genesis 35:18
Here is the death of Rachel, the wife of the great patriarch, Jacob. She dearly wanted to have children but was only able to have two, and each of them was very long in coming. After a hard labor she gave birth to her second son. Knowing that she was dying, she named the child Benoni, which means “son of my sorrow.” Rather than the child’s birth being a time of joy for Rachel, it was a time of sorrow for she knew her life was leaving her, she knew she would not get to hold her son and care for him, and she knew she must say goodbye to her husband Jacob, who loved her so dearly.
It was also a time of sorrow for Jacob. Yes, he had three other wives to keep him company, he wouldn’t be alone. But he was tricked into marrying Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Then he was cajoled into marrying the two sisters’ handmaidens as they waged an arms battle of children in an attempt to win his favor. No doubt Jacob loved all of his wives and was kind to them and took good care of them. But Rachel was his true love. She was the only woman he wanted to marry. It was for Rachel that he agreed to work fourteen years for the privilege of marrying her. And now the occasion of being blessed with their second son became the event that took her from him.
This joyous time became a time of great sorrow. But Jacob had the baby as a final gift from her to him, as a last and lasting remembrance of her, and as a comfort to him. Therefore, Jacob named the boy Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand.”
God also had two sons, and they have each been called Adam. The first Adam was His son by creation. This Adam brought sin and with it death into the world. Because of him, we are all in death, which is to say we are all separated from God. What sorrow this Adam has brought to us. He might well be called Benoni, for He is the son who brought our great sorrow.
The second Adam is the only begotten Son of God. This second Adam paid for the sins of the first Adam, as well as, the sins all of God’s children. In doing so, He accomplished atonement; that is to say He brought us back to God. The term atone means to make “at one.” By doing away with the sin that had separated us from God, this second Adam made us one with God.
The second Adam is a great comfort to us. He has overcome death (our separation from God) and sin, and now “He has sat down on the right hand of Majesty” (Heb. 1:3). Therefore, He might well be called Benjamin, the Son of the right hand. But He is best called Jesus which means savior, for He has saved “His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
•Philip Green is pastor of Greenwood Primitive Baptist Church.
