Angel Mis-identification
Judges 13:17-23
Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.
"We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"
But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."
It's interesting how when Samson's parents meet the angel, they don't immediately recognize that the angel's an angel... maybe because the angel was appearing in disguise as a human? But I guess it was pretty shocking for the couple once offering went up in flames and the angel rode the fire back to Heaven. They only recognized the angel after something miraculous happened. It's also funny how the man is the one who's more freaked out than the husband... the wife is the reasons that they're not going to die.
On a personal note, I wonder how often I pass people by and fail to recognize that they may be in the process of serving or following God. Outside of church and my group of friends, I don't really feel like I interact much with any other Christians. I wonder if that's good or bad.
Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.
"We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"
But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."
It's interesting how when Samson's parents meet the angel, they don't immediately recognize that the angel's an angel... maybe because the angel was appearing in disguise as a human? But I guess it was pretty shocking for the couple once offering went up in flames and the angel rode the fire back to Heaven. They only recognized the angel after something miraculous happened. It's also funny how the man is the one who's more freaked out than the husband... the wife is the reasons that they're not going to die.
On a personal note, I wonder how often I pass people by and fail to recognize that they may be in the process of serving or following God. Outside of church and my group of friends, I don't really feel like I interact much with any other Christians. I wonder if that's good or bad.
posted by G @ 11:31 PM
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