There are several examples and symbols of temple theology in the Book of Judges. I want to write about two occurrences of this.
First, we have the story of Gideon. His name literally means “hewer.” In the Old Testament, there are many references to trees. My last post explains how sacred trees can be symbolic of divine roles. Especially in Isaiah, trees represent people. We see this in Isaiah 10:18-19 where the destruction of Assyria is likened to the destruction of the wicked at the Lord’s Second Coming. The Assyrian army is likened to a forest:
“And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write (count) them.”
The chapter heading states, “Few people will be left after the Lord comes again.” There will be so few that a child could count them. This may be hyperbole, but it makes its point. Gideon is one of these hewers, who eventually cuts down the “trees” of the Midianite army. Thus, his name actually means “warrior.”
It’s a battle of grace and works. The Midianites had an army of 135,000 versus 32,000 Israelites. If Israel wins the battle, they might boast in their own strength. There were 22,000 who were afraid to fight (and I don’t blame them!). These were sent home. The Lord said that 10,000 was still too many. The Lord told Gideon to bring the people down to the water. Those who bent down on their knees and lapped the water with their tongues were also sent home. Judges 7:6 states, “And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.”
For the Lord to separate, or set apart, a group of people from the general population is a covenant concept. In Leviticus 11, there are strict dietary laws given, but there is probably not a health risk for eating pork, rabbits, or forbidden fowls, yet the Lord sets a mark on His covenant people. The only reason the Lord gives is “To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.” (Leviticus 11:47).
I have written considerably regarding hands and gestures, and we encounter this idea once again in Judges 7. The partially closed hand (kaph in Hebrew) is the receiver hand, as we receive blessings at God’s hand. This is what Bible scholars call “a gesture of approach,” as we prepare to come into His presence—the primary scriptural purpose of the temple. In this verse hand is yad, indicating the open hand. This scenario is a symbol, or sign, for consecration, which is composed of the two Hebrew words male’ and yad, meaning “to fill the hand.” That is exactly what these 300 men are doing. The gesture of hand to mouth also has sacramental overtones.
The hand is symbolic of power and direction, especially the word yad. The symbolic message is clear. As we live the law of consecration, we receive God’s power. The concept of grace wins out in the end. Gideon divides the 300 into three companies and equips them with pitchers, lamps, and trumpets. The trumpet was called a shofar and was a ram’s horn, which is another symbol of power. When the men blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and shouted, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon,” the scripture states that “the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow.” The Lord had fought their battle as promised in D&C 105:14: “I will fight your battles.”
The other story of consecration involves Samson and his parents. His father was Manoah. An angel appeared to Manoah’s wife, who was barren. We’ve seen this before with Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel. This seems to be associated with the Abrahamic Covenant. The angel tells her she will have a son, who will be a Nazarite, meaning he will be consecrated to the Lord (or at least he’s supposed to live a consecrated life). He must abstain from wine and strong drink, and he must not cut his hair. She relates this experience to Manoah, who petitions the Lord for another visit from this heavenly messenger. The angel appears again. This time Manoah asks the messenger to wait so they can make ready a kid for him. The messenger said, “If thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord” (Judges 13:16). The burnt offering (olah) gets its name from the smoke ascending to heaven. It represents the surrender of one’s will to God.
Then “Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name?” (Judges 13:17). Names are an important part of temple theology. Names are obviously used as identifiers, but they also convey eternal identities and divine commissions. For example, when Elijah was contending with the “prophets of Baal,” and fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering he had prepared, the people shouted, “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God” (1 Kings 18:39). They are actually reciting Elijah’s name, which means “my God is Jehovah.” Malachi’s name means “My messenger.” Malachi 3:1 states, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in.” In ancient Israel, it was illegal to give a child a bad name, although some prophets, such as Isaiah, were commanded to give names of warning such as Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning “to speed to the spoil, he hasteneth the prey.”
The messenger sent to Manoah and his wife responded in an interesting manner by saying, “Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” (Judges 13:18). We often speak of the things of the temple as being secret. But “secret” in the Old Testament is more often the Hebrew word cowd, meaning “an assembly or divine council.” The famous verse, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets,” (Amos 3:7) suggests those prophets were part of a premortal divine council. It’s not a secret if you were there.
However, the word for secret in Judges 13:18 means “wonderful, incomprehensible, or extraordinary.” It implies something which appears supernatural. These characteristics appear as names of Jehovah in other places, such as in Isaiah 9:6 where it says, “and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” The story bears this out. Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” This messenger was likely Jehovah Himself.
