Comes the Word of Yahweh in Parables
Prophecy for Today

Comes the Word of Yahweh to Benoni

Thus comes the Word of Yahweh to Benoni¹, saying, “Ben-Adam², what do you see?”

Answers Benoni, saying, “I see a child, crying in the night.” Comes again to Benoni the Word of Yahweh, saying, “Ben-Adam, raise your eyes and look. Why does the child cry?”

Answers Benoni, saying, “I cannot see, for it is night, and the darkness covers the child.”

Comes once more to Benoni the voice of Yahweh, saying, “Are you not a seer? Open your eyes and look upon the child. Why is the child crying?”

Answers Benoni, saying, “I cannot bear to speak! Allow me to be silent.”

Comes the voice of Yahweh to Benoni, saying, “Speak, for behold, I am commanding you.”

So Benoni raises his voice to Yahweh, saying, “It pains me to speak, for the child is my own. I know his voice when he cries in the night, but I would not look, for the pain is too great. He cries in the dark to hide his grief. He grieves for his life that is taken away from him. His mourning is deep within him, for he is ripped away from his people and taken into exile into a strange and foreign land. He grieves the loss of his friends, his tongue, his land, his sense of being and belonging. He grieves the breach of faith and trust in a man who calls him friend and beloved. I see his pain. I feel his pain. He is my son, and his grief is my own as well.”

Then comes the Word of Yahweh to Benoni, saying, “Peace. Is I AM not with you? This child, too, will I carry. Though your grief overwhelm you, it is not for you to bear alone. Hold this child in the darkness. I AM will hold you. You are not Benoni, you are Benjamin³, and my joy will cover you even as we grieve together.”

Comes the Word of Yahweh yet to Benjamin, saying, “Seer, lift up your eyes and look. Tell me what you see.”

Benjamin answered Yahweh, saying, “I see clouds of rain washing down upon the face of the earth, flooding the streams and swelling the rivers.”

Answers Yahweh, saying, “Behold, Ben-Adam, that is not rain. They are tears springing forth from heaven. They are shed in grief for your pain, the pain of your child, my own sorrow. Raise your eyes, o seer, and look again and tell me what you see.”

And Benjamin raises his eyes and looks. And he says, “Behold, I see a rainbow.”

Comes to Benjamin the voice of Yahweh, saying, “That also is for you.”

Thus is the Word of Yahweh come to Benjamin, the seer.

¹ Benoni: "Son of My Sorrow"

² Ben Adam: "Son of Man"

³ Benjamin: "Son of My Joy"

—©Copyright 2005 Christopher B. Harbin