The Third Picture - Judges 14
Interpretation
Samson - The third picture - a puzzle through the bible
The title of the script resulted from the cognitive process. In the first run, I tried to understand what the plaintext provided in terms of information. In the course of the studies I realized: the texts are gap texts. Their spaces in between want to be filled with content. And what are gap texts now? The individual verses or parts of sentences are independent statements. They are put into a meaningful order by the author. But the text raises questions again and again like e.g:
Simson goes to Timnath together with his parents, the lion roars and father and mother don't notice?
Simson is a Nasiräer (Nasir). But why does he touch the corpse of a lion who is already considered unclean alive?
Only when we have found the answers to the questions can we fill the blanks.
At the end of the first round it became clear that without personal reflection on what I had read I would understand little and certainly not close the gaps. But I was afraid to react to the text with my inner feelings. And why? I didn't want to do anything wrong, not to go beyond what the Bible says. And so the Lord came to my aid.
After three days of study the Lord made it clear to me: Yes, you may judge and describe the text with your heart. Immediately I put aside the notes of the first passage and started again from the beginning. But I also broke off the second "tour" when I was allowed to recognize that there is a great secret hidden here. And very slowly the veil was removed from my eyes.
In the first passage I saw the human Samson, in the second I could feel his feelings for the Philistine, that what moves his heart. And in the third run, also for this reason the title "the third image", I recognized the Messiah of Israel, who as savior and judge in the shape of Samson does everything to win the Philistine for himself.
The secret of Samson lies in the riddle
The word riddle, Hebrew Chidah´, occurs eight times in the text, as well as the word Samson is mentioned eight times in verses 1 to 19. The 8 stands for the new beginning. Prophetically it is told how God offers a new beginning in a third attempt to give the Jewish people his righteousness and thus eternal life. Because the words Samson and Mystery are mentioned eight times in verses 1-19, both have something to do with the new beginning. At present, however, the following still applies: The riddle is Samson and he is a riddle to all.
What was to be done?
- understand the metaphors correctly,
- to help you with the words in all their meanings,
- examine the words used in other scriptural passages in context and at the end
- complete the cloze texts meaningfully.
In other words: Puzzle correctly!
Now there are four methods in the Jewish interpretation of the Bible. They are called the acronym PaRDeS.
Peschat - (פשט )- "simple", the literal meaning of the text, the story itself, as I read it out with my mouth - פ -;
Remez (רמז ) "allusion", the allegorical narrative level; in my head I have to think about it, make new connections - ר -; not connect my own thoughts, but with other things of the scriptures;
Derasch (דרש ) "interpretation", the interpretation of the text; the correct interpretation opens the door to the secret to me - ד -;
Sod (סוד ) "mystery", esoteric level (mysticism); not the esotericism, but ס reveals the mystery, lets us see and recognize the silhouette - ס -. In a session with the Samech I learn the song of the bow;
The four letters:
פ Pey - mouth;ר Resh - head;ד Dalet - door;ס Samech - thorn;
miss summer due to hatred of the empty grave? Or use the summer because of the joy of the empty grave.
What is the difference between the traditional Jewish interpretation and this work?
1. Read and understand the literal text, then:2. recognize and interpret the story behind the story; from this follows:3. the appropriate interpretation and as a consequence:4. the unveiling of the mystery.
All four methods of PaRDeS - פרדס - belong together. They build on each other and form a unity. Therefore they must not be used separately from each other. The aim of our correct interpretations is the revelation of secrets, which then still correspond with the plain text, even for the uninformed reader, both of the text passage under consideration and of the entire Holy Scripture. In addition, we need an important tool, the Creation, which is the whole Creation. Both heaven and earth tell of his hands' work. Heaven serves, as it were, as a mirror for things on this earth. It is not the heavens that must be interpreted, but the parts that are on the earth; these are then reliably reflected in the heavens.
! Important remarks:
The book of judges must be prophetically placed in the time of the end.In addition, the story seems to begin from behind, i.e. the narratives take a reverse course. From Samson to Jephta, then Barak and Gideon and finally Othniel.The appendix, Judges 17 to 21, is both prehistory and finale, for it is hot: In those days there was no king in Israel. Shortly before the Messiah returns, the things described repeat themselves more dramatically than ever before. The Holocaust must be seen as a semi-final.The stories of the respective judges run forward. If we take the story of Samson, then chapter 13 describes the miracle of the Incarnation of the Messiah. This happened 2000 years ago. Chapter 14 describes in particular our time. The 15th chapter describes the time around 70 A.D. and also the time of the end; including the three and a half years of the last week of Daniel. And the 16th chapter ends our age. The glory of the Messiah becomes increasingly visible again at the end, symbolized by the regrowing hair. And what is his glory? It is the glory of the one - echad - God, already recognizable by the judge Ehud. God intervenes visibly, but remains invisible himself.
Introduction
Samson is the last judge in the Book of Judges. His narrative points to the final actions of the Messiah. At the end he provides the thirty journeymen with changing clothes, which symbolize the wealth that the Messiah has acquired. But the comrades do not receive new robes, although they were also part of the bet. Why not? Well, the robes are the undergarments worn directly on the skin, pointing to the white dresses of Revelation. White linen stands for justice. No spot can be found on the righteous saints. The thirty men still lack that, the righteousness that counts before God. Did Samson return to the Father's house with anger because they did not want to put on the robes?
! Remark: Whenever the name Samson is used in the script, it is also synonymous for Jeshua HaMashiach, for Jesus Christ.
Judges 14,1
And Samson went down to Timnath;
and he saw in Timnath a wife of the
daughters of the Philistines.
The first verse alludes to Proverbs 30:4. "Who ascended into heaven and descended? What is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest it?" The verse speaks of two persons, the Father and the Son. The question Agurs after the names of the father and the son is not answered in the Old Testament, the Tanakh. Why can't we find an explanation there? They are names that express a close and deep relationship and can therefore only be answered in the New Testament. Only the New Testament, Hebrew HaBerit HaChadashah (הברית החדשה), that is the New Covenant, the names are revealed. Only then can a person enter into a relationship with the Father and the Son. In this new connection a person may say to God "my Father" and to the Son "Jesus, my Lord".
Just as Samson went down to Timnath with a concrete intention, so also the Messiah left heaven and went to earth. Both see a woman and make an important decision in their hearts. If the Philistine agrees, she will call Samson her "Lord," and the earthly Jerusalem will recognize Yeshua as Lord and King.
to go down stands for:
- his appearance in the Garden of Eden - Genesis 2 and 3;
- his incarnation 2000 years ago;
- his first visit to Jerusalem and the temple at the age of twelve;
- for his speech in the last week of Daniel (but also during the time of Christianity, because the bees had built a beehive in the dead lion, which symbolically stands for the third temple, a spiritual house, of which the Messiah is the cornerstone (that is the dead lion); see ordering structures
- his coming to finally marry the Philistine (the earthly Jerusalem; she is the concubine, described in Judge 19).
Judges 14:2
And he went up and told his father and his mother,
and said: I saw in Timnath a woman of the daughters
of the Philistines; and now take her to be my wife.
After the son was in the Garden of Eden, he returned to the father's house and told the "parents", who symbolically represent God here. Let us listen to their dialogue. We do not listen to a dispute, but hear statements from Her Majesties. The son says: "Take this woman for me, for she is right in my eyes." The election of Israel from the foundation of the world. For this the family tree Jesus according to Luke 4, verses 23 to 38. The genealogy does not end with Adam, but with God.
23And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
24Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,
25Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,
26Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,
27Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,
28Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,
29Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,
30Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,
31Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
32Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
33Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,
34Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
35Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,
36Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
37Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,
38Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
God the Son returns to heaven after Timnath's visit. He loved the Philistine and all his love and attention belongs to her.
Samson will go down to Timnath four more times in our story, as can be seen above in the enumeration.
Father and Mother - Symbolise God
Father and Mother - Symbolise God
Excursus I -
They symbolically represent God here. This can be well explained by some of the texts of Scripture. Even if the fact does not yet seem to be really conscious and known to everyone, we learn in the deep study of the Bible the close interlocking of the worship of God with the reverence for the parents.
The following section serves to explain this as well as possible. And if we take a close look at the individual indications and put them together, at least one thing becomes clear: God has given the parents a high position and a responsible role model function. The fact that the father and mother of Samson symbolically represent God is now explained in detail. We begin with Exodus 20. Here we find a first hint. Not immediately recognizable at first glance, but if we look at the facts without reservation and are prepared at least to consider this thought, we understand many other narratives, both in the Book of Judges and in the other writings.
In Exodus 20, from verse 2, the so-called Ten Commandments are listed, which we divide into two groups. The first commandment is: "I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods beside me." The other three "commandments" also regulate the relationship with God and in the fifth commandment the Lord says:
Honour thy father and thy mother:
that thy days may be long upon the
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
The first five commandments belong to the first group and the other five to the second. God gave Israel 10 commandments, which he engraved on two stone tablets. We can enumerate them with our ten fingers. The right thumb represents the first commandment, the index finger the second, the middle finger the third, the ring finder the fourth, and the fifth commandment to honor the parents, the right little finger.
For the left hand, the thumb represents the sixth commandment - you shall not kill. The other fingers stand for the further commandments, up to the tenth - You shall not covet ... The little left finger thus represents the tenth commandment.
Now we place the two groups on the scales of the right. The first group on the right pan and the second group on the left. What happens? The scale of Justice is in equilibrium. If we violate only one commandment, including the derived laws, the beam of the Libra will be in an imbalance. The guilt has thrown the law out of balance. Both scales have moved, one downwards and the other upwards. All commandments are affected by our transgression. No commandment remains unaffected by guilt. The commandments may have different degrees of difficulty, but if we become guilty, the balance will be out of balance; whether more or less, then it does not matter. Guilt remains guilt.
Well, the thumb is our most important finger, as well as the first commandment contains God's most important demand on us not to worship any other gods, to make them like the God of the Bible, to raise them to the same level of worship. The little finger represents the commandment: Honor father and mother ... This commandment may bring less weight on the scales, but it does bring weight. If we break the fifth commandment, the beam on the left side tilts and the right side rises. On the right-hand weighing pan there is no redemption of God's demand: Glory to Father and Mother. The right pan has become too light.
Why does Samson now go down to Timnath? Only the Hebrew word reveals the secret. It becomes visible in the word root manah (Strong No. 4487 for מנה). The word stands among other things for "weigh out". Samson's order is: Bring the balance of the right back into balance. As a son, he brings things back into equilibrium as the son of man. Through a human being the scales became unbalanced and through a human being they must be brought back into harmony.
The word "manah" also means forgiven; therefore Samson could say to his parents about the Philistine: "She is just in my eyes," because he forgave her. He could forgive her because she was sincere in his eyes. The word "manah" also means counting. God counts! And what did he count? Our sins! The multitude of our sins lies on the bowl, they must be judged. Forgiveness and atonement are necessary. This is where Samson personally brings himself in. He throws all his weight on the other bowl, pays the debt with his life and restores legal peace.
Samson's parents are symbolic of God? The following is a series of examples from Scripture that bring the facts closer to us. A symbol stands for something else; it is a means to vividly paint the object before our eyes. A symbol is not the thing itself. If we equate the symbol with the symbolized object, here the deity, this leads to absurd conclusions, which in the extreme case leads to false doctrine. And yet the symbol is related to the symbolized.
First argument
Because the fifth commandment, in my understanding, is assigned by God to the first group.
God assigns the 10 Commandments to two groups. The first five commandments into the first group and the other five into the second group. The "commandments" six to ten regulate the relationships with our fellow human beings, these are the "neighbors" of whom the Messiah speaks. It must be said and emphasized: The "neighbors" are not the parents, as we will see.
Second argument
The Visible Representation of God for the Invisible Weights
As human beings we see only the horizontal plane, therefore we now look at a list of the Lord from Mark 10:19; Jesus speaks:
You know the commandments:
"Thou shalt not commit adultery;
Thou shalt not kill;
Thou shalt not steal;
Thou shalt not bear false witness;
Thou shalt not withhold anything;
Honor thy father and thy mother."
Here the Lord chooses a different order and directs our gaze to the horizontal plane. All six commandments regulate the relationships among us human beings. On one side there are the "neighbors" and on the other side there are our parents. Let us take the beam scale known to us and lay down the commandments. The former five commandments on the left side of the scale and the commandment to honor the parents on the right side.
An interposed question: Where is the vertical dimension, the relationship to God? Was everything okay there? Let's take a closer look at the weights on the scales.
The Lord says among other things: "Thou shalt not steal". When a person steals, sin is placed on the left weighing pan and the balance is tilted, isn't it? The relationship with the parents is then also disturbed, because the right weighing pan has moved upwards to the same extent as the guilt of heaviness brought to the left pan. The distance of both scales has even doubled here. The theft does not only affect the stolen one, but also the relationship to father and mother. By stealing, the child has abused the trust of the stolen child and at the same time infuriated and discredited the parents.
We can also conclude the following from the list of commandments. If the five commandments of the second group regulate our relationships with our neighbors, the commandment of the first group to honor the parents must have something to do with the relationship with God, because it is visible to us and lies alone on the right balance. Here the worship of the parents weighs equally heavily, like all the other five commandments together, it seems. But the fifth commandment is directed to the visible and thus horizontal plane and can be seen by all people. The weight of the fifth commandment also represents the first four commandments.
The worship of God and the reverence of the parents weigh together as much as the perfect relationships with our neighbors. If this is so, then the scales of justice are in balance; everything is in order. But when sin comes into being, all relationships are affected. But because sin, especially against God, can often not be seen by us, is hidden from our eyes, we cannot even perceive the tilting of the beam. Why? Because not only God is invisible, but also his weights. Therefore, the weights of the first four commandments are represented by the weight of the fifth commandment, because the observance or non-observance of the fifth commandment is at least seen by father and mother.
The "more" for God
Jesus says: "The one who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me. The emphasis here is on "more". The love of the children for their parents and vice versa is a very special love. God has placed it in us, almost implanted it. But it must not be placed above the love for Jesus. Now love expresses itself fundamentally in obeying, that is, in listening to God and listening to one's parents. Who do we listen to more when it matters? To the Lord or to the parents? Or addressed to the parents: do you love your child more than God? Also for the parents the question arises: Do I obey the Lord or do I lean my heart more towards the children? The love for the children remains nevertheless preserved, for without love it is not possible; but the "MORE" belongs to the Lord.
Argument 3:
God and Father are woven together; the days in the land are prolonged.
We go back to Exodus 20, verse 12. There is an important aspect in the fifth commandment and it is very comprehensive. It says: "... that your days may be prolonged in the land... “. Let us look at a similar place.
My son, do not forget my teaching, and your heart keep my commandments. For length of days and years of life and peace they will increase you. What does it mean to prolong the days, to increase the length of the days and years? In order to answer this question, we must first clarify other questions. Who speaks in Exodus 20? And who speaks in Proverbs 3? Who can promise a son that his days and years will increase if he keeps his father's teachings and keeps his commandments? Do we recognize the speaker? Let us once again listen attentively: Listen, my son, to your father's teaching, and do not leave your mother's teaching! Who speaks here?
Perhaps we hear the speakers here more clearly? My son, keep my words, and keep with you my commandments; keep my commandments and my teaching as your eyeball. Tie them around your fingers, write them on the table of your heart. Was the voice of the speaker recognized? I mean: yes!
God speaks to us as sons, just as our fathers speak to us. We are called to hear both as sons of God and as sons of our fathers and mothers. God has priority. Why? The answer can be found in the genealogy of the Gospel of Luke. The forefathers of Jesus are enumerated in reverse order and do not end with Adam, but with God. God is the Father of all. Why? Because we have become through him. Honouring parents also means honouring God.
First hear, then obey
"to which you live" and "the length of days and years shall increase" and thus your "days shall be extended in the land". These words want to tell you infinity in the imagery of the Bible.
When words are pure and clear,
we see a lovely picture here.
The day 's related to the sea,
deriving from the very root, could be
As far as my eyes can see
Due to the wide waters of the sea
but whispering cheerful is my heart
it knows, behind horizon is no dark
So far east is away from west
eternity will give me rest.
We hear from the verses the sound of eternity, which echoes in the poem here. That your days may be prolonged presupposes the necessary condition, our right doing. "In the land", points to the habitation. Either one dwells in the house of the Father or on the new earth.
(Explanation: Day, Hebrew: Jom; Sea, Hebrew: Jam; both words are written with the same consonants, Jud and Mem. Jom - יום - and Jam -ים.)
Honouring parents means acknowledging that one has become through them, as it were an image of the act of creation, and includes subordination. If parents are wrong, they are responsible to God. The limits of our obedience to parents are defined by the commandments of God.
Hearing and then obeying is a lifelong exercise for all of us, for children and for parents.
Argument 4:
The father and mother are distinguished from the neighbor.
Let us return to the question we asked at the beginning. Father and Mother of Samson a symbol of God?
Let us look at another scripture. Luke 10:27:
"You shall the Lord, your God,
love with all your heart
and
with all your soul
and
with all your might
and
with all your mind,
and
your next as yourself."
The first part refers to commandments 1 to 5 and the second part to commandments 6 to 10. Again, we take our beam scales and place the weights on them. On one bowl there are the commandments that regulate our relationship with God and on the other bowl there are the commandments that regulate our relationships with our neighbor.
Right balance: To love God with all that I have and am.
This has nothing to do with rules, but expresses a love relationship. In such a relationship it means with heart and mouth: You are the most important thing to me. The Lord also longs for such an intimate friendship with us.
Left weighing pan: Love your neighbor as yourself! This commandment is also quite simple. Everything good that I do for my own sake, I wish to do for my neighbor and act accordingly. Nothing of the good that I treat myself to, I would like to withhold from the other.
If the Lord says in the second paragraph: and your next as yourself, then the nearest are our neighbors, the schoolmates, the work colleagues, etc., but not the parents. The neighbor can be anyone, but not the parents. They are and remain father and mother, they are our producers, through them we have become.
Argument 5:
One commandment -almost five commandments together.
In Mark 7 the Lord speaks and quotes Isaiah: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Then the LORD said in verse 9, You are to keep the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, " Honor thy father and thy mother," and, "Whoever curses father or mother shall die." Here the Lord combines the worship of God with the reverence of the parents and almost both together in one commandment. Jesus' reproach is directed against the Mishnah, these are the traditions of the Jewish scholars. The criticism culminates in the comparison of the gift, also called sacrifice, which a human being offered to God. The word Korban refers to such a sacrifice for God. But that man should have better provided for his parents with the money sacrifice instead of bringing it to the temple. This kind of sacrifice is an abomination to God, which is why Jesus says: "You excellently abolish the (one) commandment of God." The word commandment is here in the singular, refers to only one commandment. And of what commandment does the LORD speak? Perhaps we already suspect it!
But let us look at a similar passage before we can clearly give the answer. This time it is the Lord who answers: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind". This is the great and first commandment. But the second is like: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
"The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
When the LORD says here that the whole law depends on these two commandments, then the fifth, from Exodus 20:12, depends on the first commandment, and the commandments six to ten depend on the second commandment. The LORD binds the first five commandments together, and the remaining five commandments together, and says, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And as I said before, the parents do not belong to the group of "neighbors. The fact is now underpinned. In Matthew 19 we hear his explanation.
But Jesus said, "This one: Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; honor the father and the mother; and love thy neighbor as thyself.
In the above list of commandments, the commandment to honors one's parents is distinguished from the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself. The Lord's answer makes it clear that our "neighbors" are all, except our parents. The commandment: Honor father and mother... is subordinated to the commandment to love God.
The verses of Proverbs 1:5-8, as indicated above, also indicate the closeness of parents to God's authority and promise the obedient the increase in knowledge and understanding of the intertwined speech and puzzles (riddles).
The wise shall hear and know, and the understanding shall acquire wise counsel; to understand a saying and intertwined speech; words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; the fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, the teaching of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother!
The fear of the Lord is here connected with the teaching of the Father and the teaching of the Mother. They are parents who follow the way of discipleship. The Lord is their way. This means: Follow Him! And so the instructions and teachings of such parents can be of best use to the child.
Argument 6:
Father and mother represent the right comprehensively
Now another important argument, that the parents are quite suitable as a symbol for God. Samson is a judge. He is called by God and endowed with authority and the power of God. The Hebrew word for judge is שפט (Schofet). For the word judge the term -אלהים- Elohim is also used. As a rule we translate the word into English with God (Gods).
In the judge's book we find a third term. According to judge 3:15 the LORD gives the people a saviour מושיע (mo-shi-a). The sound of the name reminds us of Moses and he said in Dt 18:15:
And the LORD thy God shall raise up unto thee a prophet from among thee, from among thy brethren, like me: ye shall hearken unto him.
So we can use the following terms for Samson:
Elohim (God),Moshia - savior- ,Prophet,Brother and of courseJudge.
This Elohim was subordinate to his parents in his youth. Very remarkable or not? The word "subordinate" finds an exciting addition below.
God warns
Here in Exodus 22:28 two essential nouns meet, Elohim and Nasi; and moreover two verbs, blaspheme and curse, each with "you shall not", that is: "you shall not blaspheme" and "you shall not curse". And to whom shall not the hearers curse and blaspheme? The Elohim and the Nasi.
If Samson was a Nasi, a prince, and an Elohim, a judge, then what were his parents?
The Hebrew word for blaspheme ארר (a-rar') means curse, loathe. The Hebrew word for swearing קלל (ka-lal') means to be sharp or disgusting or to dismiss as insignificant. Both words can also be translated with curse. But what is it to swear to another? We learn again and again from our Lord. In Matthew 5:21 we read how the LORD interprets the law: "You have heard that it is said to the elders, Thou shalt not kill; but whosoever shall kill shall be subject to judgment."
When Jesus uses the phrase, "You have heard that it is said unto the elders," he refers to the law of Moses. The Messiah here interprets the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill."
He who kills shall be subject to judgment. Which judgment exactly? This question arises when one considers that the Lord is making a twofold increase here. In verse 21 he still speaks of judgment and uses the term in verse 22a again, but then in 22b he uses the word "synedrium" and in 22c he uses the expression "the hell of fire". There are three kinds of judgment, instances, as it were.
Jesus specifies: But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment; but whoever says to his brother, "Raka! Whoever says, "You fool," will be in danger of synedrium. but whosoever shall say, You fool, he shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:22 The verse shows the gravity of sin in things that seem so small. It entails judgment. Both in verse 21 and in verse 22 the same Greek word crisis is used for the word judgment. What kind of crisis is at stake here we see after the explanation of the word "kill".
The expression "kill" αποκτεινω (a-pok-tei-no) means destroy, completely kill or kill. The term used here in verse 21 for killing is φονευω (pho-neu-o) "to be a murderer". A blasphemer and a curser are given the same judgment by the Lord, the court (crisis), as the murderer. And according to the law the crisis is final, because it says: "And whoever curses his father or mother shall certainly be killed."
We say: Anyone who has ever "merely" thrown a fool at the head of another, "has fallen into hell". The Bible therefore calls condescension towards one's parents cursing and blaspheming. This kind of speech also to our superiors, be it private or public, at home or at work, in the congregation or in society, has violated God's right. For the balance of justice to return to equilibrium, action must be taken.
Let's have a look at one more text.
"Whoever sheds the blood of man, through man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God he hath made man."
When a man is murdered, the scales of righteousness are greatly unbalanced, for the deed weighs heavily, very heavily even. The deed can only be balanced with an equal weight and then we receive balance. All things in this world can be replaced, except life. A great need is now opening up. How can the balance of justice be restored? If we have caused damage to something, we can usually adjust it appropriately. Property damage is often easy to repair, but who can restore the life of a murdered person?
A traffic accident usually results in property damage. If people are injured as a result of an accident, the public prosecutor's office investigates; and if one of the accident victims dies, then it must be determined to what extent the opponent has behaved incorrectly in road traffic and what proportion of responsibility he bears. Normally it cannot be assumed that an assassination has taken place, therefore the other party to the accident is at most guilty of grossly negligent causing of death and receives his appropriate verdict according to the extent of his joint responsibility for this accident.
If the relatives of the fatally injured person were to kill the other party to the accident on their own authority, they would be murderers in the aforementioned case. They shed innocent blood. Only an ordinary court may judge the accident and then determine an appropriate penalty in the verdict, otherwise nobody. Again! Only a judge may make the verdict.
But when the Messiah returns, then righteousness will reign on earth. What the expression "ruling righteousness" means and who then rules is indicated in the following verse.
"And it will happen when a man further prophesies, his father and his mother, his producers, will speak to him: Thou shalt not live, for thou hast spoken a lie in the name of the LORD! And his father and his mother, his producers, will pierce him when he prophesies." Zechariah 13:3
With the thirteenth chapter of Zechariah we are prophetically in the kingdom of peace of the Messiah. In verse 1 it is said that in that time a spring will be opened for sin and uncleanness. At the source the sinner and unclean can have his sins washed away and thus becomes clean. The LORD will also remove the spirit of uncleanness from the land. What is this spirit? Here the occult spirit is alluded to, which finds its expression in the Jewish Kabbalah. An esoteric system that approaches the divine things by means of demonic twists, promises self-deification and self-redemption and yet always ends in "spiritual derangement".
To such a son the producers, the parents, will say: "You must not live, for you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord!" The father and mother judge and condemn their son. They then, without trial, carry out the sentence provided for in the law themselves and pierce the son. Here the parents are accusers, judges and executors, and they also fulfill a very important condition of the law: every matter is confirmed by two or three witnesses. If this Son does not go to the Source to be cleansed of this sin, he will be "pierced" by his parents.
We turn another round and take with us the 6th commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." We go to Genesis 4. Also then, i.e. before the flood, the commandment, you shall not kill, was valid. God warns Cain. He should beware of himself. And so God speaks to him and says: Why are you angry, and why has your face lowered? Is it not the case that it rises when you do well? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And his desire will be for you, but you will rule over him.
Thou shalt not kill,
keep you out of it,
and not rage about your brother.
and blow fire in silence,
to make your anger race,
to get angry
and glow like that,
to the worst
tangled winds
in the barks of your brain
and your heart.
Blow out the wrath candles.
Cain strikes the warnings in the wind and Abel to death; the unjust kills the righteous. Nevertheless, God does not permit revenge. Although Cain knew very well that he deserved death, God made sure that no one was allowed to touch him. No man has the right to slay Cain, for it says: "And the LORD said unto him, Therefore every one that smiteth Cain shall be avenged sevenfold. And the LORD made a sign unto Cain, that whosoever findeth him may not perish".
We conclude from this: The only one who has the right to kill is God. And because we see here in Zechariah 13 that the parents carry out the judgement, it points to the messianic legitimation. Jesus, who was also pierced 2000 years ago, the true Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham, the son of Adam, the son of God, possesses judicial power and will use it lawfully and will also delegate it to his faithful and sincere ones, as for example here to the parents.
The Thumbs of the Adoni Besek Judges 1
In this context now an interpretation of an ingenious and yet simple narrative from the Book of Judges. Every child can understand its interpretation, which is also nowhere to be found, but nevertheless true. We read from the beginning of the land seizure. In the text this is described as "going into the lot". Questions to the text are always useful and so we ask: Why is the land seizure reported in Joshua and then again in Judges 1? This question often buzzes in the back of our minds when we read the books of Joshua and Judges. Is the land of Canaan conquered twice? So far I have not found a conclusive answer with any of the "weighty exegetes". What was overlooked?
Now to the interpretation of the king of Canaan. His story is a vivid account of the Ten Commandments and how they were rendered ineffective. The king's thumbs were cut off from his hands and feets. The hands speak of our actions and the feets of our ways, that is our lifestyle.
Who was this king? His name can be translated as follows: (my) Lord of Lightning. What an enlightening name. The thumbs of the hands and feet of such a king were cut off. Because he also did it with 70 kings? And why seventy kings? Who were they? To answer the questions well, must we do what again? Puzzles!
First we look for the number 70. We find it in Genesis 10. The chapter contains the so-called table of nations. The number of the listed names adds up to 70 and represents the peoples of the earth.
The Book of Judges points to the Era after the Rapture.
Therefore, their time window is quite small, their deadline set at seven years. In fact, they have only three and a half years left, because night falls in the second half of the seven years. The church of Jesus is no longer on earth. It is the last stage of a long foreign rule that is symbolically described with the 70 years of Babylon. The Jews must conquer the land of Canaan for themselves in three and a half times. It is the conquest of spiritual things, which at the end of the night, when the dawn brings healing, then become visible for all the world.
In Judges 14, Samson grants his comrades seven days to solve the mystery. The comrades stand for the Jews. After three days they realize that they cannot solve the riddle. The first three days stand for the time in which the Messiah had personally spoken to the Jews. That was 2000 years ago. The three days symbolize the first half of seven years, i.e. three and a half years. God speaks to each one two or three times. The second time, these are the first three and a half years of the last week of Daniel, the Messiah speaks from heaven directly to the Jews. The first three and a half years, that is the time of the Messiah on earth, and the first three and a half years of the last week of Daniel are also seven years. Therefore Paul writes: "See to it that you do not reject him who speaks! (Jesus in verse 24)
For if those who rejected him who gave the divine sayings on earth (that was at his first coming 2000 years ago) did not escape (from the wrath of 70 A.D.): how much more we not (today) if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven! (His speech today is indicated by the so-called Sermon on the Mount, which prophetically alludes to his speech today.)
Now Job says: "But God speaks in one way and in two ways, without any attention being paid to it." Job 22:14
Behold, God does all this two or three times with the man, to turn away his soul from the pit, that it may be enlightened by the light of the living. This is what God says to a man whose name means "hated". This is how many Jews feel, hated by Christians. But what does the text say? God wants to enlighten them with the light of the living, the true Christians who know that they are loved by God and meet all people in this love: the Jews first and also the Greeks.
God speaks in one way and in two? What does that mean?
The linguistic expression "in one way" indicates the Trinity of God, the Father, the Son and the Spirit, for the word "one" is echad in Hebrew and indicates a composite unity. And "in two" refers to the Tanakh and the HaBerit HaChadashah, which are the two rivers in Mesopotamia, the land of the Old and New Testaments. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit speak with one voice there. And no one can explore the springs, spy the depths of the waters with his mind. Only the Spirit of God explores the depths of God.
The Secret of Adoni Besek - First Interpretation -
Who's the king now? Satan! The text reads: "Then said Adoni-Besek: Seventy kings, whose thumbs of their hands and feet had been cut off, read on under my table.
Question: Does the text tell us who cut off the thumbs of the kings? No, he does not say. We have to close this gap ourselves. In the first variant, our interpretation, it is Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet.
They have then (in the future) taken away the whole law of the Lord from everyone, for the thumbs represent the two commandments on which the whole law depends. The Anti-Christ, also a "king", will do this radically and with all violence. He will force everyone to worship the idol of Revelation 13:15. With this he cuts away, now figuratively, his right thumb, which represents the first commandment "I am -alone - Yahweh, your God". Those who refuse to worship the image are killed, and the false Jesus cuts off his left thumb, which represents the sixth commandment: "Thou shalt not kill."
Adoni-Besek terrorizes the governments of the world in such a way that he cuts off all the kings of the earth, those are the 70 thumbs, both hands and feet. The hands speak of our actions and the feet of our change, of our ethical-moral way of life.
The Anti-Messiah, very kind at first, looks like a little lamb: innocent. But he is a liar. He denies God and thereby cuts off his right thumbs; at the same time he makes himself God. He speaks of peace, soon begins to persecute and kill those who believe in Jesus, and at the same time separates his left thumbs from his hand and foot. All the thumbs of his hands and feet, figuratively speaking, he had already cut off himself before the Messiah completely cut him in two at his apparition. (Matthew 24:51)
We remember Matthew 22:38, the two commandments on which all the law hangs? The thumbs are the symbol of those two commandments.
Are the thumbs and the two commandments the same?
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment" - right thumb. But the second, like him, is: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" - left thumb. The whole law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
! Note:
The Greek word hang, kremannumi -κρεμαννυμι-, actually means hang. What do the commandments hang on? They hang on the beam scale of the right.
Just as Adoni-Besek completely rejected the Word of God, so did the 70 kings, under duress, but they did it and that counts. Therefore, Adoni-Besek represents one or all three persons from Revelation: the Anti-Christian, the false prophet, Satan; all three have completely rejected the good Torah of God. I am inclined to identify him primarily as the Anti-Christian simply because he is the King who makes himself the object of worship. But behind him is an even greater king: Satan! This description also applies to him. Satan has always stood behind the kings and lands of the enemies of Israel - even the false prophet has the same evil traits.
The Adoni Besek who died in Jerusalem gives us an indication of Golgotha. There Jesus Christ defeated the king of Canaan, Satan. And how this victory happened is told to us veiled by the story of the judge Ehud; and of course also in the New Testament.
The battle that is described here and in the other judge's narratives is always also a spiritual battle. Visible disputes always find an invisible spiritual equivalent.
The hands and feet symbolize our actions and our way of life. Without thumbs we are crippled. We are severely handicapped in our walking and therefore hard to use. Without the two commandments, of which the Lord speaks in Matthew 22:38, we have completely departed from the word of God, because the whole law depends on these two commandments. The Lord calls the part of the ungodly leaders that twist the law viper's brood. They are the sons of the serpent. The commandments of which they speak bear their anti-Christian or anti-Messianic character already in the germ.
The statement of a Jew that commandments 6-10 apply to the nations and commandments 1-5 to Israel are thus taken ad absurdum. So Israel and the nations are to go "crippled" through the world? The balance of justice for both will forever be in an imbalance.
The deeper secret of Adoni-Besek - Second interpretation
The story of the king of the Canaanites still holds a secret. Only again a short explanation. In Revelation 19:10 the angel says, "The Spirit of truth is the testimony of Jesus." Who is meant by spirit? This is the Holy Spirit, one of the three persons of the Godhead. God cannot lie and deceive; he is truth. This is also witnessed by the Son of God himself when he says, "I am the way and the truth and the life." John 14:6
In another passage all three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, are mentioned in one verse: But when the administrator, (God the Holy Spirit), whom I (God the Son) will send you from the Father (this is God the Father), the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, has come, he will testify of me.
All three persons are involved in the mission of the administrator. The Son sends the Spirit that proceeds from the Father. There is only one central theme that the Spirit brings: Truth! Who or what is the truth? Jesus says: I am the truth. The truth is the Son of God. The whole Scripture speaks truth, speaks of the Son. This is the testimony, the written description, of Jesus Christ.
Where Jesus obviously speaks for Himself, we have no difficulty in recognizing Him. But where he comes veiled it becomes more difficult; where he hides we do not see him. To recognize the Son we have to look for his hiding places and unlock them. Children love to play hide and seek, don't they? I mean, even the children of God love to seek the hiding places of their Lord.
The unwanted hiding place of Adoni-Besek
Let's read the text:
And they found Adoni-Besek, and fought against him; and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And Adoni-Besek fled; and they chased after him, and seized him, and cut off the thumbs of his hands and his feet. And Adoni-Besek said, Seventy kings, whose thumbs of their hands and their feet had been cut off, gathered up under my table; as I have done, so God rewarded me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
If the soldiers of Israel found Adoni-Besek, then they must have sought him first, or not? And where did they find him? They continue to fight against him. Only against him? After the disputes, how long after that is not said, they beat the Canaanites and Perizzites. What does "beat" mean? And who are the Canaanites and Perizzites? The king flees, but Israel pursues him, reaches him and arrests him. Immediately after he is captured, they cut off his thumbs from his hands and feet and bring him to Jerusalem, where he dies.
Here, as so often in Scripture, we have an allegorical pattern. Two people are described by the veiled speech about King Adoni-Besek. Only in the allegory is it possible to write with the same words about two so different persons. The Antichrist has already been unveiled above. Now the interpretation of the allegory follows the Messiah. It does not happen arbitrarily, but with the help of our learned way of working: we puzzle. And they found the Adoni-Besek and fought against it; often the Pharisees and scribes have argued with the Lord and they beat the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
We often associate the Canaanites with evil people, but when we look at the meaning of the word, the Canaanite dictionary explains: "Merchants who went through the country with their caravans and sold their goods. The Perisites were inhabitants of an "open country". This meaning also sounds positive, even if too much openness is a danger. The merchants and inhabitants of the open country are beaten. If we are in the realm of the allegorical narrative, the beating can be understood both literally and figuratively.
And Adoni-Besek fled
How often did the Lord escape from the pursuits of his enemies, from those who secretly planned his death and publicly demanded more and more, and they chased after him.
On the night of betrayal everything had to go very quickly, because the fine elite wanted to celebrate Passover and not get their hands dirty at the festival. and ran with a large crowd (with their feet) caught him:
- Jesus arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
- and cut off the thumbs of his hands and feet.
Grounds for accusation: He makes himself equal to God - right thumb - first commandment. They kill him, left thumb - sixth commandment - away. The Pharisees are guilty of the whole law, because they denied the deity of Jesus and killed him. They cut both their thumbs off on their hands and feet.
But what about the king's thumbs? How and above all, who cut them off, figuratively?
An important question that only the scene in the courtroom can explain to us. To convict a criminal you need witnesses.
In the case of Jesus many false witnesses appeared, but they, the judges, found none among them who could have become dangerous to the accused. Then it says in Matthew 28, verse 60:
Finally, two false witnesses came and spoke: He said: "I can break down the temple of God and build it up in three days."
The drama hurried to its climax and the high priest to the middle, in addition to the accused:
- Do you answer nothing?
- What do these testify against you?
- But Jesus was silent.
And the high priest lifted up and said to him, "I beseech you by the living God to tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God!"
Jesus said to him, "You said it. But I say to you: From now on you will see the Son of Man at the right hand of the power and come upon the clouds of heaven."
And the high priest rent his clothes, and said, He hath blasphemed; what need we witnesses? Behold, now have ye heard the blasphemy. And what do you think? But they answered and said: He is guilty of death.
The false witnesses are seductive witnesses, evil men with a hidden motive, deceitful servants; and the high priest realizes: "In three days".
The three days indicate a dry spell. Whenever the expression is used, in three days, they speak of fasting, toil, need, hunger, sickness, plague, darkness, Sword and death.
Had the accused not said about three years ago: "An evil and adulterous generation desires a sign, and no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Jesus had answered all the questions with silence until the high priest appeared. Only when the chief judge summons him, that is, puts him under oath, does the accused make a brief statement.
Why did Jesus remain silent until this moment? He knew their intentions, for he reproaches them: If I told you (that I am the Messiah), you would not believe. It was useless to answer the Synod, so Jesus gave the reason for his silence and said, "You would not believe!" He continues: "But if I asked, you would not answer me." Why would the venerable judgment not answer? They had already made their verdict, and they had done so unanimously. If one of those present had stood up as a witness for Jesus, it should have been judged in favor of the accused, but that had been ruled out from the beginning.
The high priest felt threatened in his position as chief priest and chairman of the supreme court when he realized that the accused wanted to demolish the house and build a new one. And so he took recourse to the only means left to him, putting Jesus under oath: I beseech you by the living God to tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.
The high priest knew from the Old Testament that the Messiah is the Son of God. Psalm 2:7: "I will speak of the decision: Yahweh has spoken to me: You are my son, today I have begotten you." Proverbs 30:4: "Who ascended into heaven and descended? Who gathered the wind into his fists? Who bound the waters in a cloth? Who has raised up all the ends of the earth?"
What is his name,
and what is the name of his son,
if you know it?
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