His Name Is Wonderful

Judges 13.13-18

wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary

I went to Albany for my nephew's graduation yesterday. Ticket on my cell phone. Brought my iPad, skyped, watched a few TV shows,

Virgin Airlines has a spacecraft which will doing passenger flights to the moon and back within 18 months. The price is $200,000. Already 500 people have booked reservations.

Some might describe this as wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary. It is nothing in comparison to the Name of the LORD.

Psalm 102:27 But you remain the same,and your years will never end.
Jeremiah 10:7 Who should not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.
Psalm 99:1-3 The Lord reigns,let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name—He is holy.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.


Genesis 32:27-30 The man asked him, “What is your name?”“Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Manoah, Samson's father, desired to know his name (v. 17), and of what tribe he was, not as if he doubted the truth of his message, but that they might return his visit, and be better acquainted with him (it is good to increase and improve our acquaintance with good men and good ministers). I have benefited from my associations with men and women of God. All my life I have been close to my pastors, until I became one, then still I kept in touch with them, still do, in fact, although they are all retired now.

I have kept in touch with all the pastors of our church I knew as a young man. Many of them are with the LORD now. Several still serve.

He has a further purpose: "That when your sayings come to pass, we may do honor, celebrate you as a true prophet, and recommend others to you for divine instructions,—that we may call the child that shall be born after thy name, and so do you honor,—or that we may send you a present, honouring one whom God has honoured.’’ But the angel denies his request with something of a check to his curiosity (v. 18): Why askest thou thus after my name? Jacob himself could not prevail for this favour, Gen. 32:29. Note, We have not what we ask when we ask we know not what.
Manoah’s request was honestly meant and yet was denied. God told Moses his name (Ex. 3:13, 14), because there was a particular occasion for his knowing it, but here there was no occasion. What Manoah asked for instruction in his duty he was readily told (v. 12, 13), but what he asked to gratify his curiosity was denied. God has in his word given us full directions concerning our duty, but never designed to answer all the enquiries of a speculative head. He gives him a reason for his refusal: It is secret. The names of angels were not as yet revealed, to prevent the idolizing of them. After the captivity, when the church was cured of idolatry, angels made themselves known to Daniel by their names, Michael and Gabriel; and to Zacharias the angel told his name unasked (Lu. 1:19): I am Gabriel. But here it is secret, or it is wonderful, too wonderful for us. One of Christ’s names is Wonderful, Isa. 9:6. His name was long a secret, but by the gospel it is brought to light: Jesus a Saviour. Manoah must not ask because he must not know. Note, (1.) There are secret things which belong not to us, and which we must content ourselves to be in the dark about while we are here in this world. (2.) We must therefore never indulge a vain curiosity in our enquiries concerning these things, Col. 2:18. To be willingly ignorant of those things which our great Master refuses to teach us is to be at once ignorant and wise.


1. Asking to Satisfy Curiosity Is Denied.

Acts 1:6-7 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

God has not told anyone when Christ will return! Many have asked and said they have received an answer. They have one thing in common: They have all been wrong!

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
There are some things we will simply not receive an answer for. Prayer with pastors this week. Several young men dying, leaving wives and children. Sometimes there are no answers given.

Curiosity if sanctified can be a powerful force:
1 Samuel 14:6-12 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.” So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.” The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.”So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”

This was for God's glory.


2. Asking That Hinders A Faithful Walk Is Not Wise.

We are not to know everything.

I like the way the LORD grows us. Little by little.
Exodus 23:29-30 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

If He gave us the insight before our time pride would come in. We learn through walking and struggling. Fast growing plants do not produce fruit. The seeds I planted a few weeks ago will take time to grow, some much of the spring and into the early summer.

We must learn to live with unanswered questions, particularly the question, "Why?" This is walking by faith.
Right now we know in part. This is walking by faith.

Faith that overcomes is described in the lives of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Even if He does not...


3. The LORD Does Not Withhold Any Good Thing To The Ones Who Walk With Him.

He doesn't withhold answers if they were for our good.
Mark 9:28-29 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting."

His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. He taught them the LORD's Prayer.

We know His Name Is Wonderful.
We know He is good, loves us and is in control.
We do not know a lot of things. We wait for Him to come and reveal all things to us. One day...
For now the prayer of Jesus is being answered, John 17:11
" I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name, the Name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are One."