Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass, we may honor You?" And the Angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?"
--Judges 13:17-18 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on May 2, 2013 of Psalm 83; Mark 7:1-23; Judges 12-14.
The children of Israel had again done evil in the sight of the Lord, so He raised up the Philistines to have dominion over them. After the Philistines had ruled over the house of Jacob for forty years, we are introduced to a man of the tribe of Dan named Manoah and to his wife who is not named in the text. She is barren and they have no children. But then the Angel of the Lord appeared, first to her, saying she would bear a son. He warned that she must be very careful of what she ate and drank, avoiding the fruit of the vine, for the child is to be raised as a Nazirite (please reference Numbers 6:1-8), dedicated to God all his life. Since her husband was not present when He first appeared, Manoah prayed that God would send His Angel again to explain how the boy should be brought up. God heeded the request and the Angel appeared to the wife again. This time she called out to Manoah and he joined them. After a brief conversation, today's focus verses recorded a very interesting exchange.
When Manoah asked His name, the Angel replied, in effect, "My name is wonderful". Now the Angel of the Lord wasn't saying that "Wonderful" was His name. He was using the word "wonderful" to describe His name. We can view this as perhaps the Angel is telling us, "My name itself doesn't matter. All you need to know is that My name is something wonderful." This brings to mind the words of the great prophet Isaiah who said, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Please see Isaiah 9:6.)
"His name will be called Wonderful." Isaiah wrote these words some 300 years after this conversation between Manoah and the Angel whose name is wonderful. We clearly understand that Isaiah was describing the coming Messiah in that passage. This, and a number of similar correlations in the Bible, lead us to infer that the Angel of the Lord referred to in the Old Testament is nothing less than the preincarnate second person of the Holy Trinity (God in three persons). The Angel of the Lord is never mentioned again after the birth of Jesus, after His incarnation into the body of a man. So any time we see the Angel of the Lord referred to in the Old Testament, we can take comfort in knowing this was Jesus before He walked among us as one of us. The Apostle John tells us Jesus was with God from even before the very beginning (John 1:1-2), and all these correlations verify it for us, strengthening our belief. His name is wonderful indeed. Amen.
Wonderful Christ Jesus, Your name is above all names. Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace... these You truly are, and so very much more. You are our all, our everything. We see You in the pages of our Old and New Testaments, and in our very lives. Thank You, blessed Savior, for always being with us. In the wonderful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
When Manoah asked His name, the Angel replied, in effect, "My name is wonderful". Now the Angel of the Lord wasn't saying that "Wonderful" was His name. He was using the word "wonderful" to describe His name. We can view this as perhaps the Angel is telling us, "My name itself doesn't matter. All you need to know is that My name is something wonderful." This brings to mind the words of the great prophet Isaiah who said, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Please see Isaiah 9:6.)
"His name will be called Wonderful." Isaiah wrote these words some 300 years after this conversation between Manoah and the Angel whose name is wonderful. We clearly understand that Isaiah was describing the coming Messiah in that passage. This, and a number of similar correlations in the Bible, lead us to infer that the Angel of the Lord referred to in the Old Testament is nothing less than the preincarnate second person of the Holy Trinity (God in three persons). The Angel of the Lord is never mentioned again after the birth of Jesus, after His incarnation into the body of a man. So any time we see the Angel of the Lord referred to in the Old Testament, we can take comfort in knowing this was Jesus before He walked among us as one of us. The Apostle John tells us Jesus was with God from even before the very beginning (John 1:1-2), and all these correlations verify it for us, strengthening our belief. His name is wonderful indeed. Amen.
Wonderful Christ Jesus, Your name is above all names. Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace... these You truly are, and so very much more. You are our all, our everything. We see You in the pages of our Old and New Testaments, and in our very lives. Thank You, blessed Savior, for always being with us. In the wonderful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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