It has been about 16 years since Rachel gave birth to Joseph. Now we read that she is giving birth again, but this time Rachel’s labour is so difficult, and probably so drawn out, that she eventually dies. One can only imagine what Rachel went through, possibly days of terrible suffering before she died. In the midst of her suffering, as she was dying, Rachel named her child ‘Ben-Oni’ which means ‘son of my sorrow’. That would have been a terrible identity for a child to bear. He would already have to live without his mother, let alone living with the stigma of having been the cause of his mother’s death. But this is where Israel (Jacob) steps in. A name, in the Bible, is an important indication of identity. Jacob/Israel knew what it was like to be branded with a shameful name and identity. Remember his name was ‘Jacob’ which figuratively meant ‘deceiver’ until God changed it to ‘Israel’. As the child’s father, he had the authority to name the child and so he changes the child’s name to ‘Benjamin’ meaning ‘son of my right hand’. Right here, in this seemingly unimportant narrative about a birth and a death, a profound statement is being made. In a way, this situation describes what God does for all of us. We were at one time only a cause of grief for God; we were ‘children of his sorrow,’ in that sense. But God has renamed us, repositioned us in Christ, and now we are the ‘children of his right hand’.
Reflect on the fact that God has made you the child of his right hand in Christ.
Read Genesis 35:16-29
