Benjamin
THE REMNANT COMPANY
by Elaine Cook
Benjamin is a type and a shadow
of God’s remnant people of this day, even that people who are being
prepared of the Lord to enter into the New Day — the Kingdom — His Rest. As we learn about Benjamin, we will refer
to it again and then we’ll understand who it is that is coming and why
there is no food until he gets here. We need to go into a little history
to get the background to be able to understand what God is saying here about
us.
Benjamin’s father was Jacob.
And we know that Jacob was born in the promised land. We also know that
he took his brother Esau’s blessing by deceit and then had to flee for his
life. He was to have a reward, though, for his father told him to go to
Mesopotamia to seek a bride. We know this area as the modern day Iraq.
This was the same country where Abraham had lived
and the Lord had told him to leave there and to press on to the promised
land. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, just as we haven't known until now how to get
to the Promised Land of our inheritance today. Abraham just walked each day as
the Lord led him, and he arrived there in due time. He was happy to leave
behind his town, "Ur of the Chaldeas", for that means "Ur of Babylon".
He was living in Babylon (confusion) and the Lord told him to come out
of it! Again, we know this land as the modern day land of Iraq. There is more going on today in Iraq than a physical war.
Now, we find the grandson of
this great man of faith returning to Babylon, fleeing from the flesh-man and
seeking after a bride. It doesn’t look good, but God is in it! When Jacob
arrived in the land of his mother’s people, he fell in love with a beautiful
girl named Rachel. She had a sister Leah who was "weak-eyed",
whatever that means. We know that she was not fair to look upon as Rachel was.
Jacob loved Rachel and he worked for seven years for her. He said they
seemed unto him but as a few days, for the love he had for her.
At last came the day of the
wedding when he could hold his beloved close to his heart. What joy and
anticipation he had ! But alas, God’s
law of sowing and reaping was about to come into play. Jacob had tricked his
brother Esau to get the blessing of the firstborn, and now, unknown to him, his
father-in-law, Laban, was about to play a trick on him! He took his new
bride to his lodgings that night and he loved her. It was not until the
morning light came that he realized that he had embraced Leah. He
was distraught with anguish. He cried, "Oh, I have taken Leah unto myself!
I have embraced Leah! How could you do this to me?" He sought out
Laban and complained angrily, "Why have you done this? Did I not serve you
for Rachel?"
The crafty Laban answered smoothly,
"It is the law that the firstborn, the eldest, must be married
before the younger. But if you really love Rachel, we can arrange for you to
work another seven years and you may have her also." Jacob didn’t have to wait
another seven years. He simply had to "fulfil Leah’s week" and
then he could marry Rachel. He didn’t have too much choice. He found himself
with two wives when he loved only one.
Now, thereby hangs a tale — the
story of our lives as Christians! Here I am going to open to us some types and
shadows so we may understand where we have walked. Leah stands for the LAW.
Jacob embraced the law first, even though he doesn’t love it. Rachel
speaks of the spiritual principles of the gospel dispensation, the
2000 years of the Church Age that we have walked. Rachel speaks of that. This
is the Church Age where the Spirit of the Lord is moving. The life of God is
being made manifest in the lives of the people. The Lord has come to abide in
temples not made with hands! The Law doesn’t look very attractive in
comparison to a spirit-led life. Leah’s eyes were weak; she couldn’t see the
things that Rachel saw. Her eyes were dim and weak. She couldn’t see the things
of the spirit. All she could see was the letter of the law.
We first embrace that concept
when we are first saved, we embrace the law. We are married to the law
for some time — but, at the same time, we are in the gospel
dispensation. Many years we labor in works, trying to earn our
salvation. Though we came to the Lord by faith, we were soon told that we had
to do "this and that" to keep our salvation, to keep in
good standing with the Lord. What would you call that? We thought we had
married Rachel, but, in fact, we had embraced Leah — the law! And do
you know what the law brought forth? The law brought forth ten sons. How
many commandments are there? Ten! "Ten" always speaks of the law and
testing. These ten sons came forth from Leah and the servant-girls. The
servant-girls were called "bondwomen", so all the fruit of
the law came from Leah and the bondwomen, and it genders to "bondage."
All the time that the law and the bondservants were being very prolific, poor
Rachel is barren. She is so embarrassed and humiliated. One day she
couldn’t handle it any more and she pleaded with Jacob, "I must
have sons! Give me sons or I die!"
He answered impatiently,
"Woman, do you think I can be God to you? Why do you talk like that
to me?" He felt as desperate as she did. He wanted to bring forth
by spiritual principles. He wanted to bring forth after grace,
but that part of him was barren and unfruitful. He couldn’t bring forth
anything from spiritual principles, or from grace because the law had taken
preeminence. Remember, Rachel speaks of spiritual principles of the gospel
age, and when she felt so badly about being barren for so long, she said
she had "suffered reproach." She suffered reproach because she
could not reproduce His image within her. Do you hear it? And we
have been barren for a long time — desiring to reproduce the
image of Christ in us, but we didn’t see His image coming forth. We were barren.
We could not reproduce His image! But the day came when ". . God
remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her. And she conceived and bare a son;
and said, God hath taken away my reproach: and she called his name
Joseph, and said, The Lord shall add to me another son" Gen.
30:23,24.
The name Joseph means "adding."
It was a prophecy that the Lord was going to add to her another son. I
wonder whom that will be? Joseph is always a beautiful type of Jesus.
When Joseph came (or Jesus), there were no more sons born through the law or
the servants. That was all over! After Jesus gave Himself in sacrifice on the
cross for us, the ceremonial law ceased. By dying for us, and giving us of His
Spirit, He takes away our reproach and gives us power to produce His
image in us.
After Joseph came, the law and
the bondmaids were finished bearing. That source of life could no longer be
fruitful and multiply, for there was a change of order. Joseph (Jesus) was to
rule over all Egypt and come into his glory through the things that he
suffered. And then, in due time, Rachel became pregnant with Benjamin. Jacob
had, by this time, become greatly increased with flocks and herds and was
longing to go back to his homeland. He said to his wives, "I just want you
to see my homeland. It’s called the Promised Land and it’s a very fruitful
place, flowing with milk and honey. I want to take you home to my
land."
When he had first come to
Mesopotamia, he had come to take back a bride and now he was leaving
with two wives, eleven children, and numerous flocks and herds. Herein hangs a
tale! When we, who have been born in that fruitful realm of the spirit,
return to Babylon, it is to labor until we are able to take the Bride and
flocks (sheep), and cattle (some bestial natures who have taken on our
hue rather than Laban’s) to that realm of spirit that is our home
and our inheritance. They journeyed until "there was but a little
way to come to Bethlehem (Ephrath): and Rachel travailed, and she
had hard labor." It looked like they could lose her and perhaps even lose
the baby also, but the midwife said, "Fear not; thou shalt have this son
also." And she did. She had Benjamin, but she died in the birthing. And
therein is a tremendous lesson — a crystal-clear picture of us!
Here we have Rachel, who speaks
of the gospel dispensation, returning to the Promised Land. The
immediate destination was Bethlehem, but she died just a short distance from
it. Bethlehem means "the house of bread," or "fruitfulness."
This speaks to us that this Church Age is going to pass away just short of
fruitfulness. It’s not quite going to reach "the house of bread"
before it brings forth Benjamin. In her dying cry, Rachel called, "Benoni!
Benoni!" She named the child "the son of my sorrow."
Have you noticed that the
wives, both Rachel and Leah, chose the names of each child? Jacob had never
interfered with their choice, but this time he did. He said, "He shall not
be called ‘Benoni.’ He shall not be called ‘the son of my sorrow.’ His
name shall be "Benjamin, the son of the right hand."
I want you to know, saints, as
far as the church system is concerned, in every generation, those who have been
a part of this remnant company (and our generation is no exception!), the
church that is yet a mixture — part law and part grace — considers us "the
sons of their sorrow." They wonder, "Why can’t they fit in with
us? Why do they have to be so different? Why do they always have to be so
discontented? Why can’t they be satisfied with our forms and rituals and
the traditions we learned from our fathers? Why do they have to want Jesus with
all their hearts?" Yes, we are the sons of the church’s sorrow.
I had to leave the church
system (and I didn’t want to leave), after I prophesied in the church.
This Pentecostal Church was quite cold and no one ever prophesied there, so I
was given the choice either to keep quiet or to leave. I felt this was no place
for me, so I said, "I’m out of here!" They were not yet ready for any
manifestation of the Spirit. Leah was still alive and well and in
authority there, and I had embraced Rachel. There was no way I could go
back to Leah. I just couldn’t stand those "weak eyes" that
didn’t have any vision, that couldn’t see what God was doing! And Rachel is so
beautiful. I had embraced her spiritual principles and I couldn’t let her
go.
Rachel travailed and brought
forth this son, "the son of the right hand," a little short of
the house of bread, a little short of the fullness, a little short
of fruitfulness. Christians are grieved when they consider that we’ve had the
Holy Spirit for these 2000 years and we have churches on every corner, yet
there are so few believers. Why is it that the world has become so
wicked and the church doesn’t have that much power to influence it? Why is it? It
is because Rachel is dying. She didn’t make it to fruitfulness. She didn’t
make it to the house of bread. But it’s all right, for that one that she
brought forth — that remnant, is going to make it! Yes, he is! Yes, we are! In the
volume of the book it is written of us.
I want to go back a few steps
to consider something. What city did Rachel and the others leave
to go to the Promised Land? They were living at Bethel when they set out
on this journey. Bethel means "the house of God." Why would
anyone want to leave "the house of God?" Isn’t it blasphemous
to talk like that? Look at it this way: they were leaving the old way of
thinking, the old mind set, the old traditions of men to go with Jesus.
They were going to go with spiritual principles. They were on the way
to fruitfulness when Benjamin was born, but they had still "fallen
short" , for they were yet "a little way" from
Bethlehem.
This second son is from the
same source of life as the first one. Jacob is his father, and Rachel is
his mother. He is born of spiritual principles — a new way of thinking, and
this son — this remnant company, is given a new name by the father. To a
specific remnant is given the promise of a new name. It is not given
to everyone, but to him that overcometh. Rev. 3:12 tells us: "Him
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God
." Where is His temple? Do we have to go anywhere to go to it? We
are the temple! He will make of us a pillar — steadfast, strong,
sure, tried and tested. "And he shall go no more out . . " Out
of where? Out of what? He shall go no more out of the realm of
the spirit! We are tired of going in and out of the spirit-realm. The Lord
says, "Come in and go no more out!" He is preparing a
people who will abide in the realm of His Spirit and not come out of it.
It shall be their constant habitation, their dwelling-place — they live
there! They are not moving out today or tomorrow — they are going to abide
there. They are overcomers!
And what else? "I will
write upon him the name of my God." What is the name of my
God? His nature! With the holy Finger of God, with the moving of His
Spirit, with trials and testings, He is writing upon us His nature. "And
the name of "the city of my God", which is new Jerusalem"
is that which is coming down upon us from above — that birth of the spirit that
is from above, from a heavenly realm. This city "cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." It’s new because
we’ve never known it before. All we’ve known is Mr. Adam and his ways, but this
new man Christ within, and His ways, we have not known — but we’re beginning
to taste that new name. It is given to the overcomers. In every
generation "the son of my sorrow" (as the church has called us), has
been excommunicated, tortured, slain and burned at the stake. Their names have
been cast out as evil. Yet, in God’s sight they have never been
"sons of my sorrow." The Father said,; "This shall not be! They
shall be the sons of My right Hand." The right hand is the
authority of God. This remnant company shall have the authority of the throne
because they have been willing to let the spiritual principles of God rule in
their lives.
At times we have felt like we
were "Benoni", the son of sorrow. We felt, "I’ve missed
it. I’ll never make it!" We acted like we were Benoni instead of Benjamin
— but you’re not Benoni — you’re Benjamin, the son of my right hand. Oh,
glory to God!
Now the plot thickens! We are
moving on to: Scene Two: IN THE PALACE
The setting of this part of the
story is in Egypt, and the time is about 17 years after Jacob and his family
had returned to Canaan. Benjamin, I understand, was 17 years old in this scene.
We all know what the brothers did to Joseph because he had dreams of ruling.
He saw his father, mother, and brothers bowing down to him. Do you have any
dream of ruling and reigning? If you do, your brethren would probably like to
put you in a pit, too. And, verbally, they may do so because you have dreams of
ruling with God. Their accusation is: "Just who do you think you
are!"
We all know what his brothers
did to Joseph and the cruel, unjust treatment he suffered for many years. Yet,
through it all, he learned a mighty lesson (which we are in the process of
learning) — he learned to remit sins. He learned to forgive! He
didn’t wait until his brothers came and apologized to him. He must have
forgiven them long before he saw them again, or he couldn’t have acted as he
did.
In every situation in which he
found himself — whether in Potiphar’s house, or in the prison, he was the ruler
of it. He ruled over every situation, even though he was in bondage. He may
have thought, "Lord, this doesn’t look very good, but You put me here and
I’m going to do the very best I can." He was learning to be an overcomer.
He learned obedience in the way way that Jesus did — and we do —
"through the things that he suffered." Don’t despise the cross, for
it teaches you obedience. It does a good work in your heart.
The Lord intended all the time
for Joseph to rule over all Egypt, but He couldn’t trust him to rule in
his fleshly, carnal mind, so He set the whole stage so that he would be brought
down. He came through suffering unto glory. What are we looking for
at the Feast of Tabernacles? We’re looking for glory — for His image and
likeness to be produced in us, so don’t think it some strange thing if
you suffer along the way. It’s part of the route to the throne. God
meant it unto Joseph for good. Sometimes we forget that when
rough times come. We cry, "O Lord, have I sinned, or displeased You? Are
You mad at me?" We suffer rejection when things are hard because the
church has taught us that if anything goes wrong in our life, we must have
sinned! They do not understand the making of an overcomer. Daniel says,
"They are purified, made white, and tried."
If something comes to us that
is not too good, the Lord is often testing our attitude and proving how
we will respond to the things that He sends. Will we respond in love, in
forgiveness, in remitting sins? If we can’t, there will be another
"go-around" and another until you begin to face your own
heart-attitude and cease blaming everyone else for the problem. Learn to see
what God is doing in your situation so that you will be able to co-operate
with Him in it. Remember, God meant it for good to Joseph — and not only
that, Joseph said He did this to him so that he would be able to save many
alive when there would be famine in the land. ". . God did send me before
you to preserve life . . to save your lives by a great
deliverance."
Yes, He’s going to use us to save
many alive when the famine is in the land. Look around you and know that
the famine is here! There is a great famine today of hearing the Word of
the Lord — a famine of spiritual substance that will cause you to be fruitful
and multiply, and that will take you to the House of Bread. There is a famine
for the Word that makes overcomers! The Word that is being promoted is
that which would encourage God’s people to escape from this world, when
they haven’t even come into their inheritance. They are willing to leave it all
to the heathen just so that they will not need to suffer.
Before the famine came, Joseph
was called in to interpret Pharoah’s dream. And when he told him about the
coming years of plenty followed by famine, he advised the Pharoah to set
someone to supervise the harvest and to store it up. The Pharoah declared,
"Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is?"
He then put his ring of authority upon Joseph and called every man to bow
before him. He made him ruler over all the land of Egypt! Joseph, by the
wisdom of God, knew what to do. He needed to store up the corn. Have you
been storing up some corn? I’ve been storing up corn for so long that sometimes
I think I’ll burst at the seams. Some of you are the same and have no one to
whom to feed your corn — no one who is hungry for it. Don’t worry, saints, it
won’t be long before you will begin to have people come and ask you for some
corn — some word of life. You’ll answer, "Yes, I have bought this at a
great price, but I will gladly give it to you freely." They’re going to
come to us and say, "How come you’re at peace? How come your countenance
is shining with joy and gladness? I want that corn and that wine and that oil
that you have!"
Joseph stored up for the years
of famine, and in time the famine was sore upon all the land — even the
Promised Land where his family lived. Finally, Jacob called his sons together
and told them that he had heard that there was corn in Egypt. They must go down
there and buy food for the family.
The brothers presented
themselves before Joseph and he recognized them, but they did not recognize him
dressed in his rich royal robes and carrying in his person all the authority of
the throne. They didn’t relate him at all to that stripling they had thrown
into the pit. The story does not tell us that Joseph at this time fell on their
necks and wept with joy to see them. No doubt he had already forgiven them, but
sometimes the Lord works in a little judgment to bring a person to a
place of repentance before forgiveness is realized. Joseph spoke sternly
and accused them, "You are spies! Throw these men into prison at
once!"
Three days in prison brought
some guilt to the brothers’ hearts and they remembered how they had treated
their younger brother and had shown no mercy when he cried unto them.
Joseph came again and declared
that one of them would remain in prison and the rest could go home with the
food, but only on condition that they return with their younger brother.
Simeon was taken from their midst and was bound before their
eyes. He would remain bound until Benjamin would come to where Joseph
was!
The names of people in
scripture are always full of meaning for us. Simeon means "hearing."
He imprisoned the "hearing" so they they could not hear! This is what
has happened to the brethren who walk in the mixture of law and grace: They
can’t hear what the Spirit is saying — and they won’t be able to
understand until Benjamin comes to where Joseph is. Benjamin, that
remnant company, must come to the realm of spirit where Jesus is walking.
Benjamin must come here! And until he comes to this place, the hearing of
the church is bound. The reason the traditional church fights God’s movings
is because they cannot hear — their hearing is yet bound.
When Benjamin comes to that
place in the spirit that the Lord has for them, the church will be set free.
They will be able to hear because we won’t simply be telling them
truth or teaching them doctrines, but we’ll be living it —
walking it out! The Spirit of the Lord shall be alive and well in us. He will
have produced His image in us. We will no longer be barren and
unfruitful. We will have been to "the House of Bread" where He has taken
away our reproach and made us fruitful.
When the brothers arrived home,
they discovered their money in the mouth of their sacks of grain. Fear filled
their hearts. It was bad enough to be accused of being spies, but now they
would be counted as thieves also. Then they had the heart-rending task of
telling their father, "The man told us, ‘You shall not see my face,
except your brother be with you."
Jacob cried, "My son shall
not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left — if
anything happens to him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the
grave." Reuben, the eldest, was moved with compassion for his father and
said, "Slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee." He was
putting his own life — his own flesh and blood on the line here.
The famine continued unabated,
and in the process of time, their supplies of grain were getting low and Jacob
called upon his sons once again to go to Egypt to buy food. They reminded him,
sadly, that they couldn’t buy any grain unless Benjamin was with them.
When Jacob protested again,
Judah offered to be surety — a guarantee — for the return of Benjamin. If
anything happened, he would bear the blame for ever. A different kind of heart
is beginning to come forth in the brothers. Those who had no compassion for
Joseph are now showing compassion and offering up their self-life to be taken,
if need be. They are beginning to embrace ‘the way of the cross.’ What a
necessary process this is — yielding up self — if we would "come to where
Jesus is."
As soon as Joseph heard that
his brothers had come again, he sent word to them that they were invited to
come and "eat with him at noon." "Noon" signifies
"the highest place of light". Our Joseph is saying, "I’m going
to show you My glory. Come and eat with Me!" They could not have come to
that place if Benjamin had not been with them. Because Benjamin was
there, Joseph said, "Now you can come to this realm of spirit."
When they came in, the
Egyptians were eating at one table because their law forbade them to eat with
the Hebrews. Joseph sat by himself at his table. There was a table for the
brothers by themselves and it was arranged in order from the eldest to the
youngest. They looked at this and the fear of the Lord came upon them. Who
could have known about all their ages?
Joseph kept a stiff upper lip
when he asked them, "Is your father well? Is this your younger
brother?" And he blessed him, "God be gracious unto thee, my
son." (He called his brother his son! We are both brethren and
sons unto the Lord, if we have gone on unto maturity). Joseph’s heart so
yearned for his brother that he had to leave and weep in another room before he
could compose himself. God was working in his brothers’ hearts, and he waited
until that work was done before he revealed himself. (How we cry, "Oh
Lord, I want to know You and He weeps because He knows there must be
some more work done in our hearts before He may reveal Himself to us at noon).
When the food was set before
them, the brothers wondered why Benjamin’s portion was five times as
much as any of theirs. He was only a young stripling and couldn’t eat all that
food! The Holy Spirit has something quite profound to show us here. "Five"
is the number of "grace". That remnant company has been
granted five messes (large measures) of God’s grace, much more than their
brethren, and they have learned to bestow that grace upon every man. This grace
doesn’t come naturally to us. It has to be worked in us by the
spirit, by suffering, and by being brought low in the eyes of our brethren. It
comes as we learn to die to self and let Christ rule within.
I talked to someone recently
about "remitting sins" which Jesus commanded His disciples to
do as soon as He breathed upon them and they were born again. This brother agreed
that he would remit a person’s sins against him if he apologized to him and
repented of what he had done. I realized that "the law" had
spoken. But this "five messes of grace" that are given to
Benjamin tell us that this remnant company must remit their sins right now
— while they are still angry at you, throwing darts at you and casting your
name out as evil. Remit their sins immediately. You have plenty of grace to do
that — you have five measures — much more than any of the other brethren
have who are under the law!
The ones who are throwing
stones at you are yet under the law and don’t have enough grace yet to
repent, but you can do that and set them free so that God can work that grace in
them. If you don’t remit their sins, they are still in bondage to
that offense and will not be able to rise above it until you release them from
your resentments and unforgiveness.
I know this Benjamin Company
when I meet them, for I see them partaking of five measures of grace. I
see it working in their lives. They are learning to remit sins!
At this noon feast — at the
highest point of light — Joseph allows the brethren to see that Benjamin
is eating this abundance of grace. They are looking at him and realizing that
he has something more than they have! Do you remember that Jesus spoke
of His portion of food as, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent
me, and to finish his work." Jn. 4:34.
Oh, what a marvelous lesson the
silver cup has to teach us! Joseph commanded his steward, "Restore
their money again to each man’s sack. And into the sack of the youngest, put my
own silver cup and his corn money." This was not just a small drinking
goblet that he put in the sack. It was a large silver cup from which Joseph poured
out wine to others. This was the cup that was put in Benjamin’s sack!
Off the brethren went, feeling
mixed emotions: they had food, Benjamin was safe, and Simeon was released.
Things looked pretty rosy, but somehow they didn’t have peace. Their worst
fears were grounded when they heard a horseman coming behind them in hot
pursuit. "Off your camels!" he spoke to them roughly. "Why have
you repaid evil for good? The silver cup of our master is missing and we must
search every sack to see if you have done this wicked thing."
The brothers protested,
"We brought the money back that you put in our sacks. We are honest men.
God forbid that we should steal silver or gold out of thy lord’s house! If you
find the cup with any of us, let that one die, and we will be your slaves."
The steward searched each man’s
sack from the eldest, to the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack!
Then they tore their clothes and returned to the city to face Joseph. Joseph
refused their offer of being his bondmen. He didn’t want that at all. His
judgment was: ". . . the man in whose hand the cup is found, he
shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your
father." Joseph wanted the one who had his cup in his sack!
Remember when the "sons of
thunder", James and John, entreated the Lord to let them sit, one on
either side of Him in His glory? His answer was, "If you can drink My
cup, you can sit there!"
It’s the same with the cup He
gives each one of us. If we can drink it, we can be "the son of the
right hand" and share the authority of His throne. We can’t just take
a few sips, for He says, "Drink ye all of it." Our cups have
all come in different sizes and different measures, but we have all been
called to drink that cup. We didn’t ask for this cup to be put in our
sack! We didn’t ask to go this way of the cross, to experience things
the average churchgoer never experiences. And, while we’re going through it,
they are looking down on us and calling us "Benoni", the
"son of my sorrow."
Although we didn’t ask
for this cup, our Joseph did it to us. Jesus did it! He knew what he was doing.
He put His cup in the sack of the remnant, the ones who had come forth from
Rachel — not the ones who had come forth from the law. There is no cup in their
sacks. It is in the sack of the one who was "added" unto
Joseph. Joseph’s name means "added" and Benjamin was added unto him.
Simply, Joseph is Jesus and we are that company that is being added
unto Jesus. He is the Head and we are the Body. The Body grows up into the Head
to make one Body. We are that remnant portion that is first added
unto Him.
He didn’t add the whole
body of believers all at once. He added first the remnant company, typified by
Benjamin. The Lord didn’t want us to think that by dint of numbers, we
could enter into this new realm of spirit. As always, He has a small number
whom He plans to put through the fire and bring them forth as pure gold. The
brothers, unwittingly, spoke the truth when they said, "With whomsoever
the cup be found, let him die." This one would not be sent to the
gallows. He would be brought into a lifetime of dying-to-self, to his own ways,
to his carnal nature, until Christ was fully formed in him. At this time, he
would come to be in the realm where Jesus is!
You have to not only know the
cup is within your sack, you have to take it in your hand. You have to
say, "Yes, Lord, I will bear this cup. I will drink from it. I will drink
whatever You put in it. I will take the cup of the Lord." When we
are willing to drink His cup, then He reveals Himself unto us in all His
glory.
On hearing that Joseph would keep Benjamin as his bondman and send
the other brothers home, Judah took courage to speak. In great anguish of soul
he pleaded for Benjamin. "My lord, you asked us if we had a father and a
brother. And we told you we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old
age; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his
father loves him. You told us ‘Except your youngest brother come down with us,
we would see your face no more.’ Now, when I come to my father and the lad be
not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life, he will
die."
My friend Faith once asked the
Lord, "Why did You call the Benjamin Remnant first and not the whole
church?" (It seemed to her a little like favoritism, and she didn’t like
that). The Lord answered, "Simply because I have set My Love upon
him!"
Judah said of his father:
". . . his life is bound up in the lad’s life." Not to say that we
are above others, but we are that remnant in whom He is first inworking
His nature and that is so special to Him. He has this pregnant Bride who
is with child of the Holy Ghost and He is waiting for this child to be born
that looks just like Him! This is more special to Him than one who is
yet a babe and has not yet learned obedience to Him. His turn will come later,
in his due order. No one is going to be left out.
"Our father has already
lost one other son, beloved of him. If the lad returns not with us, we will
bring down the gray hairs of our father with sorrow to the grave. I have become
surety for the lad unto my father. Please, I beg of you, let me serve you as a
slave and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I stand to see the
evil that shall come on my father if the lad does not return?"
Joseph could restrain himself
no longer when he saw his brother’s repentant heart. He sent all his courtiers
out of the room while he made himself known unto his brethren. He wept aloud
and called them to come near to him. "I am Joseph, your brother whom ye
sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that
ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life . .. and to
save your lives by a great deliverance. "And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s
neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed
all his brethren, and wept upon them, and after that his brethren talked with
him."
The "neck" signifies "the
will," so when Joseph and Benjamin wept upon each other’s neck, it
was showing the will fully yielded to one another. Isaiah says, ".
. . the government shall be upon His shoulders.’ Where are His shoulders? They
are on His Body, even those who are putting on the mind of Christ. His head
is upon our shoulders. Our neck is upon His neck — our will fully
yielded unto His will!
The whole issue of this story
of the remnant has to do with FOOD. From beginning to end, food is
the issue because there is a famine in the land. There is a lack of
food. No food could be forth-coming until Benjamin came to where Joseph was (to
where Jesus is!)
At the beginning, I told you
that word that the Holy Spirit spoke to a sister: "Benjamin is coming! And
there will be no more food until Benjamin is released by the
Father" (to come where the Father is, to walk in the realm of the son
of the right hand, in the authority of the throne).
To understand more clearly the
calling of this remnant company, we need to know the prophecy that Jacob had
for Benjamin as he was dying. He had a word for each of his sons, but the word
to Benjamin will tell us what our Father is saying about us! He said,
"Benjamin shall ravin (as) a wolf; in the morning he shall
devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil"
Gen. 49:27.
At first glance, the prophecy
doesn’t look too favorable. It compares Benjamin to a wolf! In the
original manuscripts, the word "as" is not there. It was
inserted by the translators. That makes a big difference! Benjamin is not
the wolf — he is going after the wolf! That puts an entirely
different perspective to the prophecy. "Benjamin shall ravin a
wolf." What does that mean? "Ravin" means "to tear in
pieces and feed." What is the "wolf" that he is attacking? The
wolf is the beastly, carnal teachings of man’s system of religion. Benjamin is
going to tear them to pieces and turn them into food for the
hungry. He will tear down the beastly teachings of men’s carnal minds.
We heard Benjamin ravining this
morning. One brother said, "Before I came up here, the Lord told me, ‘I
want you to know My Heart.’" I said, "Lord, how can I know Your
heart?" After he had listened to Gary Sigler ministering this morning
about God’s true heart and His true nature, this brother said to
me, "I heard God’s heart! I understood His nature like I’ve never
seen it before." Gary Benjamin was fulfilling his prophetic calling. He
was devouring and tearing in pieces that spirit of carnal teachings that would
devour the sheep and keep them in bondage! ". . . in the morning he
shall devour the prey . . " What time are we in? We are in
the morning of the New Day.
What does it mean "to
devour the prey?" To "prey on" means "to hunt or kill
for food; person or thing injured; victim, to be a strain upon; injure; rob;
plunder." Ezekiel, chapter 34, brings out this thought very clearly.
Verses 8 & 10 say: "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my
flock has become a prey and my flock became meat to every beast of the
field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for
my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and not my flocks . . . I will
deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for
them."
Benjamin is going to devour
those carnal doctrines that keep His sheep in bondage! One we particularly like
to devour is the teaching that you have to have some church — some
pastor — to be your "covering", as if the great Shepherd and
Bishop of our souls is not able to "cover us!"
". . . at night he
shall divide the spoil." We have an abundance of spoil (things won
in battle) that the Lord has given us. In the night — in the darkness in which
we find ourselves — we are going to share with those who are in that darkness.
This remnant is in the morning, and are devouring that which has
preyed upon the people — to take away their peace and their confidence in God.
We’re going to devour those carnal teachings and bring light into their
darkness and set them free to walk in the spirit.
We’re going to divide with them
all the spoil that we have won in battle, and in our many "dying"
situations. We’ll say, "Here! I’ve gone up and I’ve got this spoil — these
treasures of truth to share with you. I know they are true for I have
learned them as I "learned obedience through the things that I
suffered." They have been written upon my heart by the Finger of God, for
the Holy Spirit has been my Teacher, as He said He would be.
In John 4:34, Jesus tells us
what His meat, or His food, is: "My meat is to do the will
of him that sent me, and to finish his work." And that is our meat,
our food, also. That is the food of the remnant: to do the will of Him
that sent them, and to finish His work.
I see, by the spirit, that the
storehouses of His Word that have been stored up in His remnant people, are
being opened up because the famine is sore upon the land. The hungry are coming
and asking us for food from this realm where we walk with our heavenly Joseph!
COME TO WHERE I AM
After their joyful reunion,
Joseph told his brothers that they were to hurry home to the land of Goshen and
tell their father that God had made him lord of all Egypt. He wanted all
his family to come to where he was, to dwell with him so that he could
provide for them throughout the next five years of famine.
Pharoah was pleased that
Joseph’s family should come unto him. He said, "And take your father and
your households. . . and I will give you the good (i.e. the best) of the
land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land . . . take you wagons out
of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your
father, and come." Besides providing land and food for them, Joseph also
sent gifts which are quite significant in the spirit. Before we can understand
this, we have to know what it means when we say, "Joseph ruled over all
Egypt." We say that so glibly, but we need to consider what it
means to "rule over all Egypt." "Egypt" means
"straitness" — "that which is narrow and confining" — in a
word, the sense realm, the realm of seen things, of outward
things. Jesus, our heavenly Joseph, rules over all the sense realm! And
He calls us, His Benjamin company, to rule over all that sense realm also —the
carnal mind, the emotions, the will, the desires and affections. All the
outward things that would entice us away from following the new creation man,
are Egypt — and we are to rule over them!
This is why Joseph had to wait
for Benjamin to come to "where I am", for he also must rule
over Egypt. In this place, the natural man (who operates in the sense realm) is
subdued at last, and in all his parts is governed by the spirit. The
spirit is no longer "straitened" or confined by the senses. It has
liberty to be what the Lord has ordained it to be. The soul is yielded to let
the spirit rule! None of the other brothers ever ruled over Egypt — only Joseph
ruled, because he had come through suffering unto glory.
The gifts that he sent back
with the brothers are very significant. First, each man had a change of
raiment. ". . . but to Benjamin he gave 300 pieces of silver and five
changes of raiment." We keep running into this "five" all
the time in connection with Benjamin. The changes of raiment given are, again,
the number of grace.
Are you aware that we wear
different garments in the spirit at different times? When we come before the
Lord to worship Him, we have on our holy garments of the High Priest. When
we’re with the world, or on the job, we don’t wear that garment. They couldn’t
stand to see it, for the Shekinah glory is upon it. We wear another garment for
the world to see.
We don’t really understand
about these garments, for they are spiritual. One time, a friend (who is a
Benjamite) went to see her doctor. She was pregnant and very ill, and she was
wondering if she and the baby would pull through alive. Her Catholic doctor put
her on the examining table and then left the room for some time. He told her
later that such a bright light was coming from her that he was afraid to come
back into the room. He said, "The light lit up the whole room!" The
Lord permitted him to see the glory of her holy, priestly garment which she
wore even though her flesh body was very low! Think about it!
I learned this when we called a
dear friend as we were passing through her city, and asked if we might drop by
for a visit. "Oh, " she said, "I feel so bad. Some of my family
are coming today. I’d love to ask you to come too, but they don’t know anything
about this spiritual walk. They would want to talk about natural things and I’d
want to talk about spiritual things with you and Bill. I don’t know what to
do."
I said, "Sister, don’t
give it a second thought! It looks like the Lord has told you to wear your garment
of accommodation today, for your family’s sake. We wouldn’t come to your
place with our holy garments on when you have on your garments of
accommodation. We will come another time. The Lord arranges these things."
She said, "That blesses me so much to know that I am to wear my
garment of accommodation today to meet my family where they are. And I am sure
you will not feel any rejection over it."
I replied, "I wear that
garment often. Sometimes we wish we could put it off and just wear our holy
garments all the time. We do wear these different garments so that people
cannot see who we are. We can tell who they are, but they do not know
us. We look just the same as anyone else, except our countenance is brighter
and our eyes are shining and we have a smile on our face. There is a lot of
difference that way, but we do not really expose ourselves unless the Spirit
gives us liberty to do so.
Benjamin was given five
changes of raiment, so he had an abundance of grace to enable him to help
people wherever they were — to meet them at the lowest or the highest place. We
must not ever think ourselves too high that we cannot condescend to someone of
low estate — to a child, or to an immature one. And if we have opportunity to
be with the priests, we’ll all put on our priestly garments and have a
wonderful time. Benjamin has enough garments to be "all things to all
men", that he might win some.
Each man — the men of the law —
has a change of raiment, but Benjamin has five — he can go from grace to
grace, to grace! He also gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver. 300 means
"perfect wholeness." Jesus gives us "perfect wholeness"
when we come to where He is. He gives us a sound mind (the mind of Christ!) and
a sound, loving heart that loves with His Love. This is a gift. Remember the
alabaster box that the woman brought full of precious spikenard to anoint Jesus
for burial? Judas rebuked her for spending all that money. He called it a waste
and said it could have been sold for more than 300 pence. It was the
price of "perfect wholeness."
There is another 300 in
Noah’s Ark. The dimensions of the ark were 300x50x30 and that means complete
deliverance for the mature. 30 is the number that signifies maturity. If you
recall, Jesus could not minister as a priest until He was 30. That is
the age of maturity, of eligibility to the priesthood. So — He gave to his
Benjamin Company 300 pieces of silver — complete deliverance for the mature.
In King Solomn’s record there
is another interesting 300. He had 300 shields, which is complete
deliverance from war — complete deliverance from the war that rages within
us — flesh against spirit, spirit against the flesh; the carnal mind against
the spiritual mind. He gives us complete deliverance from war!
When the second generation was
preparing to go into the Promised Land, Joshua said that they had to remain in
the wilderness until — was it until all the older, faithless generation
had died? I used to think it said that. But it doesn’t. It says,
"when all the men of war have died." Have you been a man of
war? If so, that man of war must die before you can possess this new realm of
spirit. You can’t take him in with you!
Another well-known "300"
was Gideon’s small remnant army which brought complete deliverance for
the whole nation! Benjamin is given the inheritance of the heathen because
Joseph is in the midst and rules over all that sense realm.
To his father was sent
"ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden
with corn and bread and meat for his father by the
way." All of these: corn — the Word; bread — the Bread of Life; meat — the
strong meat of the Word, did Joseph give unto his family to strengthen them to
rise into a new place in Godwhere they would be able to behold
the face of their Joseph, and beholding Him, be changed into His likeness. O,
glory to God!
***********
Although this message is
complete, I want to share with you several prophecies the Lord has given me
concerning His Benjamin company. I heard the Spirit call "Benoni,
Benoni" in my spirit. He had my immediate attention!
He continued, "It is time
to return unto thy place, O son of My right hand — to leave thy father’s house
in Goshen and to meet Me as thy King and Lord over all — to know Me in a new
dimension, even as conqueror and ruler over all of Egypt, even that realm that
had bound you in long, hard servitude.
"I am presently calling My
Benjamin Company to come unto Me where I am, to behold Me as I Am unto them, in
a new relationship, in a new dimension. It is time for Me to serve thee thy "five
messes" of food from My Hand that thou wouldst know the fullness of My
grace unto thee and unto all mankind, which thy brethren have not known. "And
did not Joseph’s brethren behold him with great amazement mixed with fear and
dread? But he who was also of the Beloved Wife (Benjamin) rejoiced to see My
Day even as thou dost rejoice at this time. Know that this is the time of the
fulfillment of the "adding" unto Joseph those brethren who are
appointed to be "the sons of My right hand." (As Rachel’s soul was departing, she called
his name Benoni; but his father called him Benjamin, the son of the
right hand.)
As I was writing this little
booklet, I was being tremendously blessed at all the wonderful truths for us
to enter into in this day. I glanced down at my Bible that was open beside
me to this story of Joseph and Benjamin, and suddenly giant tears started
rolling down my face. I couldn’t understand that, but it was the Spirit moving
upon me. I heard Him say to me: "What a rich heritage is thine, My people!
What a rich heritage I have given unto thee! Yea, I have given men for thee and
thou hast not known it. (Isa. 43:4, "Since thou wast precious in my sight,
thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life.")
"I have written My plan of
the ages upon the lives of My servants for you to read and to
understand. When the time has come for My holy remnant to enter in, they may
step forward in My Spirit in great assurance because of all that has transpired
in the lives of My set-apart ones in former days. Yea, even those who knew Me
not and honored Me not at all, did I use to bring forth My purposes and to show
forth My power to deliver in the face of all the evil that man could do.
"Learn to speak of My
family with great familiarity, learning from all their downsittings and
uprisings, for you are to be possessors of those things that they saw
very dimly or not at all. Rejoice that I have washed your eyes with eyesalve
that you might see, and circumcised your ears that you might hear.
"These are indeed the days
that have been foretold by the prophets. . Walk softly in them
while I perform in you My good pleasure and bring forth that remnant son that
is to be added unto Me — even My Benjamin son!"
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