(Gen 43:34 ERV) Servants were taking food from Joseph’s table and bringing it to them. But the servants gave Benjamin five times more than the others.
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”, by continuing in the story of Joseph. In our last message we left Joseph sitting at a table by himself. His brothers sat at another table and to their amazement, they were arranged in order of their ages. This meant that Benjamin, the youngest, was sitting at the end of the table.
What do we know about Benjamin? Well, we know that he had an eventful entrance into the world. His mother, Rachel, died while giving birth to him. Because of her pain, Rachel asked her husband to name the boy Ben-oni, which means: “Son of sorrow” or “Son of my pain.” Thankfully, Jacob knew better than to name the boy after a painful experience. He ignored his dying-wife’s request and named him Benjamin instead. Benjamin means: “Son of my right hand” or “Son of good fortune.” Benjamin entered the world through pain and suffering, but that would not be the end of his story. His brother Joseph, the only other child of his late mother, was taken from him at an early age and he was thought to be dead. After losing both Rachel and Joseph, Jacob held on to Benjamin dearly, always keeping him close.
The two closest people to Benjamin were taken from him at an early age. He lost his mother to the complications of labor and he lost his brother to the hands of his conniving older brothers. But somehow it all worked out for Benjamin. And as we get back to our story… there he was, the youngest of the entire clan, sitting at the end of the table. He was in a foreign land. A strange sultan was sitting alone in this extravagant feast and all the meals were prepared at his table. One by one, the meals left from the Prime Minister’s table and each brother was served. Benjamin looked at the sumptuous plates. Every plate, ten in all, seemed to be just about the same. Each plate had a hefty portion of delicious food. This was a pleasant experience for the family. After all, they were being served a feast in the middle of a famine. When the time came for Benjamin to receive his plate, he waited for it to arrive from the Prime Minister. Benjamin’s plate came from the same table and the same man as all the others, but it did not have the same portion. To Benjamin’s surprise, his plate had five times as much food as his brothers’ plates. Oh oh! Would they get mad? Would they be jealous again? Thankfully, no. The tides had turned in Benjamin’s life. Not only was he receiving the favor of the strange sultan, but his brothers were also treating him well. Instead of becoming jealous, they celebrated with him.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Benjamin was born under terrible circumstances, but his starting point did not dictate his destination. Your state does not have to be your fate.
2. Don’t judge your future by your past. Your past might have been rough, but that does not mean that your future will not be bright!
3. Benjamin had his share of challenges early off in life, but The Blessing was on him. The challenges were temporary and The Blessing was permanent. The same can be said of you!
4. It is important to speak life (and not death) over your children. Jacob refused to name his son Ben-oni (Son of sorrow), and he named him Benjamin (Son of my right hand), instead.
5. Benjamin did nothing to earn or deserve the favor of his father or the Prime Minister of Egypt. God gave him favor freely, completely by His unearned grace.
6. The tides can turn in your favor in an instant. God can raise up people to use their power, their ability and their influence to help you in ways you could never help yourself.
7. We serve a God who is able to bless you with a feast in the middle of a famine! Never forget it! There is nothing God can’t do.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. I am determined to use my faith to access Your grace for my life. I know You made plans for me before the world began, and it is my awareness of those plans that keeps me going when the pressure is on me to quit. I have endured more than I want to remember, but I won’t judge my future by my past. I will only judge my future by Your purpose for me. Since I live my life in pursuit of Your purpose, I know it will all work out for me in the end. I may face challenges. I may experience setbacks. I may have to overcome personal failure or the mistreatment of others, but no matter what I face, I keep going by Your grace. The challenges are temporary, but The Blessing is permanent. So when I am facing a challenge I know it is only a matter of time before the tides turn in my favor. I believe Your Blessing on my life has the power to override every attack and overcome every challenge. So by faith I declare that the tides are turning in my favor. I will experience success by grace — unearned, unmerited and sweatless! And finally Father, I thank You for blessing me and my family to enjoy Your best. You can lay out a feast for us in the middle of a famine, and I believe You will. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
