His name is Wonderful

            What a morning I have had in the Scriptures! I don't even know where to start.  Well, it began in Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."  The word "present" means "well proved."  As I look back upon these last thirty years as a child of God, I can say that God has a proven record of delivering me from all my troubles...without fail!

            From the Psalms I had the opportunity to read with my mom this morning as we came to visit her for the fourth weekend.  From the Psalms we went to Isaiah 26:3, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."  Wait till I share about the word "mind" on the next blog!!!

            From there we went to Judges 13 and read about Samson and found some very interesting parallels to the life of Jacob...really amazing stuff...for example, it would appear that the Angel of the Lord who appears to Manoah and his wife, (parents of Samson) is none other than Jesus himself.  Why do I think this? First in Judges 13:11, when Manoah asks the "man" (same reference to a divine being in Genesis 32 when the man fought with Jacob) if he was the same person who spoke to his wife, he responds by saying those everlasting words, "I AM," the same words spoken to Moses by the Lord at the burning bush.  Next, in verses 17 and 18, Manoah asks the man/angel what is his name (Jacob asks the same question), the man/angel responds by saying that "Why do you ask my name; seeing it is wonderful?"  Some versions translate this as "seeing it is a secret?"  In Genesis 32, Jacob asks the exact same question, "What is your name?"  And the man responds by saying the same as the man/angle responds in Judges 13.  To Jacob He says, "Why do you ask my name?"  The parallel between Genesis 32 and Judges 13 is important because it gives insight into who this man really is.  He is none other than Jesus Himself. When Manoah and his wife realize that this Angel of the Lord is none other than God Himself, they respond by saying, "for we have seen God."  Jacob responds the same saying, "I have seen God face to face and my life has been preserved."  Manoah is so afraid once he realizes that he had just seen God he wails, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."  It is the same that Jacob said when he realized he just fought with God and "my life has been preserved.” Genesis 32  The only difference is that Manoah had to be snapped out of his fear by his wife as she wakes him out of his paralyzing fear by saying, "If God wanted to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted out offering or shown us all these things, or announced such things as these."  I think this might be the reason that the Angel of the Lord/Jesus appears to the woman and not her husband...she was a woman of faith...

            This also makes me think of Isaiah 9 where Jesus is again referred to as "Wonderful."  His name shall be Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father..."  What is your name?  It is Jesus…he is the same yesterday, today, and forever…he is everywhere in the Scriptures…His name is Wonderful…He appears when you least expect it…He wrestles with us, he delivers us, he brings us good news, he gives us a new name, he blesses us with children, he gives us instruction how to raise them (Judges 13:4), He blesses us, and presently is interceding for us.  He is a Wonderful Savior!