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What's Your Name?

              The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” (Judges 6:11-16)

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

I’ve heard that Gideon was so afraid of the Midianites that he was (as noted above) threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. I’ve also heard that angels are so intimidating that the first words out of their mouths has to be “Don’t be afraid.” But the author of Hebrews wrote about people having shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. So, I’m not saying that the things I’ve heard aren’t true, but as I read the main passage today, I have to question those assumptions. Was Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress because he was afraid of the Midianites? If he was afraid, was his fear unreasonable and therefore deserving of our (even mild) contempt? If he was afraid, would we be any less so in his place? Or was he clever? Or afraid and clever?

I’ve read that in Middle Eastern cultures, not only was hospitality mandatory, but in social transactions, it was customary to undervalue yourself and the thing you’re negotiating about. When Moses met God at the burning bush, he asked “Who am I…what if they don’t believe me...? So, was Gideon as down on himself as he seems to us, or is this a cultural norm? I don’t know.

What I find even more curious is the first line.  The angel of the Lord arrives and settles in beneath an oak tree, and Gideon apparently doesn’t notice. Maybe that’s possible. I don’t know about wine presses. Or, maybe the angel was invisible at the time  that he sat down. In any case, he appears to Gideon and issues what seems to be a ridiculous greeting. “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Eventually, Gideon defeated the Midianites and freed his people, so eventually, he seems to have deserved the appellation.

As I thought about the incident, I wondered whether the angel was being sarcastic, honestly impressed, prophetic, or sardonic. I also found myself thinking about those games on Facebook in which you get told what you’re like, or what your Bible verse is. You know the sort. If you or I clicked on the meme, what greeting would the angel of God give us? What name (as with Abram) or title (as with Gideon) would He give you, or me? I’ve been thinking about this a little over the past  couple of days. “Karen” is derived from Katherine. It means “Pure.” I can imagine the angel of the Lord appearing and greeting me as “Pure One.” I suspect I might laugh and ask, “Pure what?” Sometimes, I think He might call me something that has to do with my being seen by Him. I think that would make me cry. 

I suspect that what He would call us would have to do with what He’s calling us to do. One day, it might be “Mighty Warrior,” and the next, it might be “Peacemaker” or “Giver of Kindness.” What name do you think He might give you?

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