An Old Testament theme I have noticed recently is how often angels of God turn up at a rock.
In Genesis 28, Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending, and in response sets up the rock (stone) which he had used as a pillow and anoints it with oil.
In Judges 6, the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, and in response he prepares an offering on a rock, which the angel touches with his staff and fire comes from the rock and consumes it, and the angel disappears.
In Judges 13, the angel appears to Manoah's wife, and in response Manoah prepares a burned offering on the rock, and the angel ascends in the flames.
I guess it should be no surprise because the typology of "the rock" is clearly explained in the New Testament.
For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. (1Co 10:4)
In the New Testament, it is not "the rock" that the angels of God ascend and descend upon, but on Christ himself, of whom the rock was just a type and shadow.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (Jn 1:51)
It is also interesting in this last Scripture, that these words to Nathanael occur just after Jesus changes one of his other disciple's names... from Simon to Peter, and Peter, of course, means... "rock".
Now, I know there is more obvious significance to Peter's name change, but it is interesting, not only in the context, but in light of the fact that now Jesus is ascended to heaven, the ones the angels are dispatched to are his disciples:
And to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?" Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Heb 1:13-14)
Just like Jacob, the ministering angelic multitude are ascending and descending all around us whether we perceive them or not.
Showing posts with label meditations/judges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditations/judges. Show all posts
30.8.06
29.8.06
Between Zorah and Eshtaol
And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. (Judges 13:24-25)
The book of judges is a tragic tale of a repetitive cycle of judgement and deliverance for the people of God. The people would neglect God, fall under judgement and become subject to the cruelty of the neighbouring peoples. In their despair they would cry out to God, and he, in his mercy, would hear their entreaty and send them a deliverer who would drive out the nations because God was with him and went like a hornet before them [Ex 23:28, Jos 24:12]. Yet after the death of the judge, the people would return to their own ways, and the sorry cycle would begin again.
The details in the call of Sampson are interesting [to me!] He, as an individual, seems to embody the state of the nation. He too oscillates in his ministry between compromising with the enemy, and driving them out in the power of the Spirit. So it grabbed my attention when I discovered that the places he was between when the Spirit stirred him - Zorah and Eshtaol - mean "Hornet" and "Entreaty". God meets the man where he is, and meets the nation as it is; in the state where they are the Spirit begins to stir.
Although the tale of Sampson is an account of victory, and contains great typology of Christ, the end of the account I find sobering:
Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. (Jdg 16:31)
Sampson dies, the cycle begins again, and not only have the people not moved on, but the deliverer himself is back where he started.
It's sobering, because today's move of the Spirit does not guarantee tomorrow's victory. We can be stirred by the Spirit - blessed, touched, refreshed, delivered, healed, equipped, envisioned, empowered - and yet afterwards still be in exactly the same place that we were before.
God meets us where we are at, but to break the cycle we have to move on.
It's not enough to be stirred by the Spirit's movings, we must be moved by the Spirit's stirrings.
The book of judges is a tragic tale of a repetitive cycle of judgement and deliverance for the people of God. The people would neglect God, fall under judgement and become subject to the cruelty of the neighbouring peoples. In their despair they would cry out to God, and he, in his mercy, would hear their entreaty and send them a deliverer who would drive out the nations because God was with him and went like a hornet before them [Ex 23:28, Jos 24:12]. Yet after the death of the judge, the people would return to their own ways, and the sorry cycle would begin again.
The details in the call of Sampson are interesting [to me!] He, as an individual, seems to embody the state of the nation. He too oscillates in his ministry between compromising with the enemy, and driving them out in the power of the Spirit. So it grabbed my attention when I discovered that the places he was between when the Spirit stirred him - Zorah and Eshtaol - mean "Hornet" and "Entreaty". God meets the man where he is, and meets the nation as it is; in the state where they are the Spirit begins to stir.
Although the tale of Sampson is an account of victory, and contains great typology of Christ, the end of the account I find sobering:
Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. (Jdg 16:31)
Sampson dies, the cycle begins again, and not only have the people not moved on, but the deliverer himself is back where he started.
It's sobering, because today's move of the Spirit does not guarantee tomorrow's victory. We can be stirred by the Spirit - blessed, touched, refreshed, delivered, healed, equipped, envisioned, empowered - and yet afterwards still be in exactly the same place that we were before.
God meets us where we are at, but to break the cycle we have to move on.
It's not enough to be stirred by the Spirit's movings, we must be moved by the Spirit's stirrings.
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