Ben 114 repost

(originally posted May 2006)

A picture of a grace God is giving to His Church now is portrayed in Benjamin, the last son of Jacob. His name means "son of my right hand", or "strength of the anointing".

Psalm 92:13, a Psalm written for those living in the rest (Sabbath) of God, says the righteous "flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.." Since this verse is full of obvious symbolism (righteous people are represented as trees), then it's not a stretch to interpret "old" symbolically as well. "They still bear fruit in old age" can be taken as "They still advance the Kingdom of God in spiritual maturity; they are always nourished by the Holy Spirit and lead full, energized lives." Joel 2:28 uses this same symbolism when it says:

"And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions."

Joel is prophesying a time when the spiritually immature (young men) will hear God's voice along with the mature (old men), declaring that how the Spirit relates to His people in a time of outpouring is not in respect to maturity, a length of time, or even proven faithfulness in the past, but on how they allow Him to relate to them in that moment. So God's decree in Psalm 92 is the opposite of what many Christians today believe - They believe that the zeal of the first year or so after conversion is the most productive time to declare one's faith. Here, however, God is declaring that those living in His presence (courts) will not wane in zeal, productivity or anointing, even after many years. Those that are mature in the knowledge and experience of God's Presence (also see Hebrews 5:14) bear fruit in their maturity. The anointing increases. Fervency and zeal are not just for the young in faith, because true maturity is accompanied with a growth in zeal that comes from love, not the might of youth. As love deepens, strength is matured and solidified, and power works with love.

Lack of fruitfulness is not a result of temperance or wisdom; it is a result of growing weary in doing good and loss of vision. It is a result of not pressing on to know the Lord.

A few verses before Psalm 92:13, in verse 10, the psalmist speaks of this power that works with love, when he says, "But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil." The ox's horn in Scripture speaks of power, and oil is the anointing. Since greater power and exaltation are solely for the exaltation of Jesus, it could read, "You are showing yourself off through me in power; you have anointed me." And a very important factor the anointing is joy, because it is one of the most fundamental ways Jesus is expressed to the world (Psalm 45:7). "The joy of the Lord is your strength" - of the anointing. Joy and power must work together, even to the point of joy releasing and being the very power of God.

As this anointing comes, the earth and its arenas are shaken. I imagine a large ox, laughing hysterically, would be pretty disruptive, kind of like what happened in the first century A.D. when Paul and Barnabas would enter a town.

Now we return to Benjamin, Jacob's last son. His mother, Rachel, goes through a terrible struggle and dies giving birth. She names him "Ben-Oni" as she dies. "Ben-Oni" means "son of my sorrows", but the name doesn't stick. If Benjamin is a picture of what is coming to the church, the last generation of their father, we can take great comfort. Even though it has come at great cost, we know that on the other side of trials and difficulty, the Kingdom opens to us. Great trial for God's sake ends in great glory. This happens when Jacob changes his son's name to "Benjamin".

Again, Benjamin means "son of my right hand", or "strength of the anointing". Since names speak of a person's nature in Hebrew culture, Benjamin could have said, "Dad, you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil." His name is that blessing! Great struggles ("Oni") result in great joy when they're done. It's what most of the Bible's about; it's what the cross was about. It's also what God's about now. Joy is important; it is released through answered prayer, through promise realized, and most powerfully through knowing Jesus. When you possess true blue joy, you more clearly are Jesus to this world, and become as the Father to them. You will be strengthened by enjoying your appointment as an ambassador of Heaven, and seeing your face becomes a God-ordained encounter that will lead others nearer to knowing Jesus.

God is wanting to give more joy to the Church, and is wanting to display His power and presence among us, through us. He wants us to bear fruit through loving zeal, which is bold. This is for everybody; He is not a respecter of persons, even though we tend to be. He is looking at the young and old, now, and seeing who receives and responds to the deposit of grace He is giving. Then, to the one that has, more will be given.

When Jesus is lifted up, it is promised that He will draw everyone to Himself.