Verse 18 says, "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." This child was given two names, one from his mother and one from his father. Benoni means "the son of sorrow." Rachel gave him this name because she was suffering and in sorrow. But Jacob immediately changed his name to Benjamin, which means "the son of the right hand." In this whole universe there is only One who is both the Son of sorrow and the Son of the right hand—and that One is Christ. On the one hand Christ is Benoni, and on the other hand He is Benjamin. Christ is a wonderful Person with these two aspects. No one has suffered as much sorrow as Christ, and no one has been exalted as high as Christ. Isaiah 53:3 describes Him as "a man of sorrows," Acts 2:33 says that He has been "exalted to the right hand of God," and Hebrews 1:3 says that He is seated "on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Firstly, Jesus was the Son of sorrow, the Son of suffering. Rachel was not the only one to experience this sorrow; Mary, the mother of Christ, also experienced it. According to Luke 2:35, her soul was pierced by the sufferings of her son. But after thirty-three and a half years, in resurrection and ascension Christ became the Son of the right hand of God. Hence, no one can deny that Benjamin was a type of the suffering and exalted Christ.
Suppose you had been Jacob. Would you have been willing to gain this Christ at the cost of losing the desire of your heart? As long as you stay in the church, experience Bethel, set up a pillar, and pour yourself out upon it as a drink offering, you will have no choice. Rachel must die that Benjamin might be born. Hallelujah, Rachel has gone and Benjamin has come!
More than fifty years ago, I heard messages and read books about expressing Christ and manifesting Him. But I was bothered by the fact that I did not know how to lift up Christ or to express Him. For many years I was not able to find the way. Some said that in order to express Christ we must be crucified. But how can a person crucify himself? It is impossible for anyone to nail himself to the cross. Eventually I learned that the way to lift up Christ and to express Him is in the church life. Through the church life "Rachel" will have a marvelous and encouraging delivery, dying that the wonderful Christ may come forth. I have tried every way to uplift and express Christ, and I can testify strongly that none of these ways has been effective. However, after I came to the church and stayed here for a period of time, my "Rachel," my natural choice, was taken away, and Benjamin was brought forth.
The record in the Bible of the death of Rachel and the birth of Benjamin is surely admirable. What a wonderful record it is! Why did Rachel's death not come before Jacob's experience at Bethel? Certainly this was according to the sovereignty of God. In God's sovereignty, Rachel's death occurred right after Jacob's marvelous experience at Bethel. In verse 16 Jacob must have been full of joy from his experiences at Bethel. Also, he eagerly anticipated the birth of another child of his beloved wife, Rachel. But as Rachel's child was being born, Jacob's natural choice was dying. Although Rachel named her second son Benoni, a name of sorrow, Jacob immediately changed the name to Benjamin, a name of encouragement. The fact that Jacob changed the name of his son proves that he was not disappointed or discouraged by the loss of Rachel. Instead of being despondent, he was filled with assurance, faith, and hope. Jacob seemed to say, "No, his name must be Benjamin. He is not the son of sorrow—he is the son of the right hand." What faith and hope Jacob had! However, if this had taken place before Jacob's experience at Bethel, he would have said, "Amen, his name must be Benoni because he is a son of sorrow. Indeed, this experience is sorrowful." But after his experience at Bethel, Jacob was a transformed person.
Verse 21 indicates that Jacob had truly been transformed: "And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar." Here, after the death of Rachel and the birth of Benjamin, Jacob is actually called Israel for the first time. We are not told that Jacob journeyed, but that Israel journeyed. By that time Jacob had become a transformed person. Prior to this, his name had been changed from Jacob to Israel (32:27-28; 35:10), but he had never actually been called by his new name.