His Name is Wonderful

“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)

                Maybe you’ve heard the story of Samson – the guy with the really long hair who was one of the strongest men to ever live.  Samson’s story is like a roller coaster – he experienced some amazing highs and some really bad lows.  While you may be familiar with Samson, you might not know much about his parents.  Manoah (Samson’s father) and his wife (unnamed in Scripture) were both very sad because they were not able to have children.  That’s when the Angel of the Lord showed up.

                The Angel of the Lord visited Manoah’s wife to let her know that she would conceive and have a son who would deliver Israel.  Unfortunately, Manoah was not present when the Angel appeared to his wife, so he prayed that God would resend the Angel to him as well.  God answered his prayer and when the Angel made another appearance, Manoah was able to hear the good news for himself.  Before the Angel departed, he asked Him for His name, something you rarely see in the Word of God.

                Today’s verse provides the Angel’s response – “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”  The word translated “wonderful” is pilee, and it describes something that is “incomprehensible or extraordinary.”  Most evangelicals believe that the Angel of the Lord is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ.  That explains the Angel’s response!  When it comes to Jesus, the old hymn says, “His Name is Wonderful.”  JESUS is the most wonderful name ever given to mankind!