The scene here with the angel of the Lord is a mishmash of
Biblical allusions. Manoah and his wife
want to prepare a young goat for a feast for the man/angel. Remember back in Genesis 18 when the three
men appear to Abraham at his tent and he prepares a feast for them? Next, the man says no, I won't eat but
prepare a burnt offering, just like what happened with Gideon in our reading a
few days ago. Finally, Manoah asks the
man's name, just like Jacob at the Jabbok when he wrestled with the angel and the
angel refused. The man says his name is
wonderful, not to give the name but to describe it. There are so many little hints within this
story to the man's identity it is difficult not to believe it is a theophany, a
pre-incarnational appearance of Jesus. The
scene also has some early Genesis connections but this time the word of the Lord
came to the woman and not the man and she, not he, seems to have the true
insight into things. The details here
and how they seem to echo the past and also, from a Christian perspective,
presage the future, should cause us to pay attention.
As many of you know, I love this interaction with the woman
at the well in Samaria. I think it is
perhaps the finest piece of evangelism I have ever seen. Jesus sizes up the situation, a woman at a
well in midday means that she isn't welcome there when the other women come to
get water, she must have done something to cause them to ostracize her. She is talking freely with a foreign man who
is not her husband, she must have somewhat loose morals and not share the
ethics of the Samaritans who would never talk to such a man, particularly a
Jew. She is the one who notices that
detail about Jesus first. This must be
painful for her to be in this place at this time. She is an outcast in her own community and he
connects the water with the pain of being an outcast and speaks to the
heart. He knew of her what he knew of the
men of Jerusalem, what was in her
heart. Yes, He is Jesus but I believe
there is more at work here than this, He paid attention to the details and did
good missiology. Additionally, Jesus is
clear about truth. He leads with grace,
offering her water of life but truth is essential. She has had many husbands but now she lives
with a man and her theology is wrong, salvation comes from the Jews and you
worship you know not what, you're completely wrong. She is willing to hear because He has appealed
to her heart's desire.
The apostles find themselves stretched too thin with
administrative duties to do the work they were given to do in the Great
Commission. They, like Moses, have a responsibility
but they find themselves unable to do the most important thing so they delegate
some of the work, overseeing the feeding of the widows who could not provide
for themselves. Deacons are deputized to
do this work, they were chosen by the people with only a few qualifications
necessary, they had to be "men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of
wisdom." Immediately after they are
chosen for the work of waiting on tables as the apostles describe it, one of
the seven deacons, Stephen, is seized because he was doing great wonders and
signs among the people. Not exactly what
he was anointed for is it? All must be prepared
to share the Gospel, no matter what task they are given. Availability is all we have to offer.
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