Call me Benji

 

 

Benji, as you know,

Is the short for Benjamin

As in the Animal Farm satire

Also made into a film.

 

Call me Benji if you like

Since this case is not formal

And as you know,

Donkeys are not people.

 

I played a support role

In a number of Bible events

But two in particular

Better illustrate my intent.

 

 

I could speak of Saul

Who became Israel’s first king

And his search for asses…

Oh boy, isn’t that a thing?

 

 

 

I could talk of Balaam

And about his talking jackass

That had more sense than he,

Boy, wasn’t that class?

 

I carried a king twice:

To his birth and to his death,

If you read the Bible often

You’d know the rest.

 

I belonged to Joseph;

He was a respectable man

Thus, one of my supporting roles

Was in redemption’s plan.

 

Mary was pregnant

But they had a problem

And because of a Roman census

They went to Bethlehem.

 

 

I had to carry Mary

And her unborn child

Whom many would refer to as,

Jesus meek and mild.

 

At the time of the census

I did not know this

But carrying the Christ child,

I’d never want to miss.

 

That was some honour,

Oh, it was so sweet,

God’s mode of transportation

Was Benji’s footsure feet.

 

Call me a jackass

But I felt like a king

When I carried the King of kings!

Wasn’t that something?

 

I was in the stall too

When the shepherds came,

They were joyful and happy

Praising Jehovah’s name.

 

No wisemen were there;

Not in that stall,

Contrary to popular belief,

There were none at all.

 

Some years after

A close relative of mine

Also played a supporting role

In an event in his time.

 

 

His name was also Benji

Just like most donkeys

So, I will let him tell his experience

For posterity.

 

I was tied up

When these men came,

I believe they spoke to my owner

And mentioned a name.

 

All I heard was master

And having need of me,

And then thy took me away

This master for to see.

 

None had sat me before

So this was an honour,

Just four spindly legs

But I was carrying all power.

 

Jesus was fully grown then,

Not a baby anymore

But Benji, the second, back then,

Was just as footsure.

 

At Jesus’ birth

The town was Bethlehem

But this was the capital city,

Specifically, Jerusalem.

 

I walked on palm leaves

And on people’s clothes,

Nothing like as with Balaam

Delivering those blows.

 

I can still hear shouting

As the people rejoiced

Not knowing a few days later

They’d be another choice.

 

 

“Hosanna,” they shouted,

As I carried him

But later it was “Crucify him!”

Though he had no sin.

 

 

 

No fault had been found

But Jesus had to die

And so, “Hosanna in the Highest”

Changed to “Crucify!”

 

Two life-changing events

In fulfilment of prophecy:

The latter: The Triumphal Entry

The former: The Nativity.

 

Two premiere events

In which Benji took part

So next time you see a jackass,

Please have a heart.

 

Stewart Russell © December 10, 2024

 

God and Elections

 

 

To whom did God listen

If He listened at all?

No doubt both sides prayed;

Both on Him called.

 

Whose request was honoured?

Did God play a part?

Did he actually set it up

From the very start?

 

Did He cast a vote

Not one but two

And did He influence the voters

In the voting booth?

 

Would it have been fair

In your opinion

If God took a side

In this recent election?

 

Did He decide

The victor and the vanquished

And tell me, if you can,

Did He grant your wish?

 

I would imagine

That Christians prayed

And they voted preferentially

As is the democratic way.

 

However, one side lost

And another won,

Why should not the losers feel

They were undone?

 

Did their faith play a role

In the victory wrought

Hence the lesser faith of the two

Defeat on them brought?

 

All these are questions

That we need to ask

But who can answer them?

Who’s equipped for the task?

 

 

“God puts up Governments

And He takes them down”,

You must have heard this one

Making the rounds.

 

But given its context,

Is this so today?

Does a theocracy and a democracy

Work in the same way?

 

Did the Israel of old

Operate like we do today?

Did they hold general elections

Allowing people a say?

 

And while it is true

The “ayes” favoured Saul,

Concerning the selection of a king,

Was it so for all?

 

Certainly not for David,

The prophet Samuel can attest

And in Father Jesse’s mind

David was not his best.

 

Not a shepherd boy

Who was not in war skilled

Even though a lion and a bear

He had killed.

 

Oh, and by the way,

He had slain a giant too

And put to ignominious flight

The entire Philistine troop.

 

 

No ballots were cast

As in general elections today

And unlike today, generally,

The people had no say.

 

We must not blame God

For the choices we make

When things begin to fall apart

And our hopes dissipate.

 

For while we vote

As is our democratic right,

Christians can only pray and hope

Our leaders see the light.

 

That divine light,

That “thus saith the Lord”

That is the hallmark of leadership

That follow God’s Word.

 

For given the “separation”

Between state and church,

The church is basically regulated

By legal experts.

 

They meet in Parliaments

And they pass the laws

That the church must abide by

Even though flawed.

 

 

God is not a politician

Out begging for a vote

And with that said I will end

On this sober note.

 

Stewart Russell © November 6, 2024

 

 

The Ending Matters

 

 

He was not the second king

And he was not the third

Can you guess which one?

Check it out in God’s word

 

He came from a tribe

A case of the last being first

And without much experience

Into kingship was immersed

 

He was up above all

As king he was quite tall

He was chasing after animals

When he first received the call

 

He was the people’s choice

Well, more or less

Since they rejected the King

That was their best

 

He started out well

But like many his end was not

He was finally dethroned

But he suffered a lot

 

 

He rejected God

And sought his successor’s life

After giving his daughter

To this champion to wife

 

He became very jealous

Of the younger prospect

That received more praise than he

And much greater respect

 

He disregarded the prophet

And offered the sacrifice

And as a consequence

He paid a hefty price

 

God rejected him

It was the final straw

He would finally seek advice

From a witch at Endor

  

Quite a dismal story

I am sure you would agree

Name the king inferred

If you are not too blind to see

 

He fell on his own sword

After his amour-bearer refused

But an Amalekite took the claim

And his life too did lose

 

 

This king erred exceedingly

He had played the fool

This was his very sentiment

Even while he ruled

 

At which verse did you guess?

The first was meant to mislead

But if you guessed it by verse 3

Then you are up to speed.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2019

 

A Huge Challenge

 

 

Boy, he was huge

And just boasting all the time,

More than seven hundred pounds

Standing about nine feet nine.

 

Silhouetted against the sky

He presented an ominous sight

And even the best of our men

Cowered before him in fright.

 

In terms of his strength alone

No other man could compare

And for my people and their leader

He was their greatest nightmare.

 

 

If his stature were not enough

His armour was impregnable

And there he was standing tall

Challenging our best to a battle.

 

He was a champion of champions

The best that they had

And we had no one to match him

To me that was sad.

 

For forty days he challenged us

To send someone to fight him

But none of our men were bold enough

And victory appeared dim.

 

I was aware of all this

As I took some lunch to my brethren,

I was taken off my shepherd’s duties

To go and check on them.

 

Me? I was just a shepherd boy

And the youngest of the children

But I too had my challenges

And God took care of them.

 

Nothing messed with my sheep

You could ask that lion and bear

And for these ungodly people

I didn’t have the slightest fear.

 

I spoke to a couple of my brothers

But their report was none too good,

They said I should get back to the sheep

But right then I didn’t think I should.

 

There were two things about the giant

And both I’ll share with you,

He was a Philistine and uncircumcised

And that is all I knew.

 

“I’ll fight Him,” I told King Saul

And for them that was a laugh,

The king did put his armour on me

But for me that was not my path.

 

  

“I’ll be back in just a while,”

And I wended my way to the brook,

I chose five stones out of the water

And put them in the bag I took.

 

When that giant saw me

He looked at me in disdain,

I was just a youth and ruddy

And he began his taunts again.

 

“Am I a dog?” he barked,

“That you come to me with staves?”

Then he said what he would do to me

And he continued to rave.

 

I did not say an awful lot

This was not the time for that

But I trusted in the name of the Lord

That was the extent of our chat.

 

I reached into my bag

And from there I took one stone

And with my sling I took my aim

And next was stone on bone.

 

The giant fell to the ground

And there he lay quite dead

But to make sure he won’t get up

I just removed his head.

 

Next the Philistines were put to flight

As the armies of Israel pursued,

God had wrought a great victory

I made sure that everyone knew. 

 

A staff, a slingshot and God

Faith and an undying trust,

A tiny hole in the enemy’s armour

And he fell headlong in the dust.

 

Not by might or power says the Lord

But by the Holy Spirit,

David knew of this quite well

For it was his daily habit.

 

A lion, a bear and a great giant

Each challenge God brought him through,

Trust in Him is good advice

And He will do the same for you.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2018

 

Of Ignorance and Arrogance

 

 

If we were true to ourselves

We would readily confess our ignorance

But alas, that would be too deflating

Since we are so full of arrogance.

 

Ignorance and arrogance

From all appearances walk hand-in-hand

Where ignorance is the default

And arrogance the product plan.

 

The outcome is precious little

But a litany of woes and failures,

The only success there being

The square peg in a round hole picture.

 

Ignorance we can understand

Everybody is to some extent

But what gives us all the creeps

Is ignorance with an arrogant bent.

 

We are all particularly familiar

With the term “wrong and strong”,

How oft have we had to use it?

Almost daily as we walk along.

 

It is rife among politicians

Especially them that have lost their way

But it is also prevalent in the church,

We see it each and every day.

 

 

Said the sparrow to the dove

Let me teach you to build a nest,

Said the dove to the sparrow

At that I am truly the best.

 

To this day the dove is nest-less

Unlike the sparrow of course,

Ignorance was the dove’s hallmark

And its arrogance made it worse.

 

It’s “not knowing that you know not”

But believing that you do

And making those that probably know

Believe that you know too.

  

Arrogance is a pseudo confidence

Or confidence in appearance,

It is the dangerous kind of ignorance

On account of its unsuspecting pretense.

 

It has toppled many a Government

And has caused many a defeat

Often to a less capable opponent

Whom the proponent did regularly beat.

 

 

Arrogance is over confidence

The battle is as good as done,

One’s ignorance of his opponent

Makes him feel the battle is already won.

 

Goliath, will you stop and answer?

Your name has just been called,

You under estimated a shepherd boy

And you experienced a horrific fall.

 

How often we are guilty of this!

Ignorant and arrogant too,

No need for another’s counsel

Considering we have a watertight view.

 

King Saul in the Bible comes to mind

He was ignorant and arrogant too

Consistently ignoring Samuel’s instruction

While blinded by his uninformed view.

 

 

Solomon is an example of the opposite

His ignorance he readily confessed,

He yearned for wisdom and understanding

And God graciously granted his request.

 

The LORD is the source of true wisdom

And as such arrogance has no part,

Ignorance is progressively deleted

Which promotes an understanding heart.

 

Let us then be true to ourselves

And readily confess our ignorance,

Trust Almighty God to lead the way

And do away with our silly arrogance.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2018

 

 

God Chooses Broken Vessels

I was listening to a message

And I concluded the preacher was right,

God chooses broken vessels

Brokenness is every human’s plight.

We get so big up in our Christian life

As though we have reached the mark

Forgetting our common brokenness

And when we were in the dark.

We forget we are still broken

And the Potter still works with us

And our perfection is not our own

But our perfection is in Jesus.

That we are being made to conform

To the image of Jesus Christ

And that nothing in our self

Will ever be good enough to suffice.

That the same way we started out

Is the same way we must continue

And that our born again experience

Must be lived through and true.

King Saul messed up and David too

Did God not see this would happen?

Yet Samuel was told to anoint them

Didn’t God see both men were broken?

God made Solomon a King over Israel

And also the wisest man on earth,

Did he not see Solomon’s folly

From the very first day of his birth?

God chose Eli and Samuel too

And He revealed to him Eli’s problem,

But did you realize that the same thing

Also happened to Samuel’s children?

Both these men were priests of God

And they served in the temple faithfully

But as they came to their latter years

Their children did wickedly.

Did God not foresee all of this?

Like you, I have no doubt He did,

The Almighty God sees everything

And nothing from is view is hid.

But God chooses broken vessels

Vessels like me and like you,

It is He who qualifies the chosen

Starting with a life made brand new.

So when you see a brother sliding

You may be sliding too

But since your slipping is different

His may be the only one in view.

For it is natural to look out for blame

But look in when we seek praise

But every born again believer

From a broken vessel was raised.

In a real sense we are still broken

Though we have had a perfect birth,

But we will still be a work in progress

As long as we live on this earth.

Our rate of maturity is different

Even though our Craft Master is the same,

You see He works with what we give Him

Thank God in Jesus’s name.

Some vessels are broken and proud

While others are broken and humble

But brokenness is common to both

And as a result both are prone to stumble.

However, never let your brokenness

Stop you from worshipping God,

Making you feel unworthy to worship

Is another trick of the wily Fraud.

God treats us not according to our worth

For in ourselves we have none

But notwithstanding our brokenness

He sees us through His Son.

He looks not so much at what we are

But what in Christ we can be

And while I look on your brokenness

Christ in all of us is what God sees.

So the valued lesson for me today

Is that I am still a broken vessel

But one day God will perfect what He’s begun

And I will be perfectly special.

Stewart Russell (c) March 2019