The last week was terribly busy and I didn’t get to post much, but did manage to finish reading one of the three books I am currently juggling.  Asher Intrater’s Who Ate Lunch with Abraham has been a most enjoyable read.  I should have expected such, considering the 38 reviews of the book on Amazon average 4.9 stars out of 5!!

My regular readers know that I have had a fascination with The Angel of the Lord appearances in Scripture.  As I came into the Messianic/Hebrew roots of the faith, I knew that the Messiah was Yeshua (Jesus), but I initially had trouble putting the pieces of Scripture together because I was suddenly seeing things in Scripture that did not square with my seminary training and Reformed Presbyterian inculcation.  So, I set out on a mission…

Yeshua said, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”  (Jn 5:46)  If, indeed, Yeshua was right, then I should be able to find Him throughout Moshe’s writings (Torah).

In my studies I found numerous ways in which the Messiah was manifest in the Tanakh, not the least of which is the Angel of the Lord passages.  Intrater has put together a terrific little book that explores not only most of the Angel of the Lord passages, but also delves into multiple other clear manifestations of the visible Elohim.  As a Messianic Jew, his book is written to a dual audience from both Christendom and Judaism.  It is an interesting fence to straddle considering many Jews struggle mightily with the physical manifestations of Yehovah as Metatron, while Christendom loves the ‘Christophanies,’ they just don’t pursue the thought to identifying who gave the Torah from Sinai.

There is enough meat in Who Ate Lunch with Abraham to satisfy even the seasoned student, but the general tenor is a bit more basic in laying a firm and broad foundation for further study.  Besides the Angel of the Lord, Intrater explores other Divine manifestations such as the Captain of Hosts in Joshua, the One Isaiah saw seated on the throne, the man in the fire in Daniel as well as the man with whom Jacob wrestled.

Truly, Intrater and I see eye to eye on a number of things…  until, he wandered into a chapter arguing that non-Jews need not be concerned with the civil and ceremonial parts of the Torah.  Honestly, this is the one major disappointment in the book, where he essentially pulls out his thoughts on bilateral ecclesiology, something that we, on multiple occasions, have demonstrated to be contrary to Scripture.

As a good primer concerning the physical interactions of The Lord in the Tanakh and how they should be understood, Intrater has a gem.  His twelve appendices add much depth and additional information, while still keeping the book under 175 pages.  One is left wanting more but with the tools to dig for oneself.  I recommend the book highly with the cautious caveat that before you hand it to someone searching that they need a pretty good grasp on the fact that Yehovah has One Standard for all people, not unequal weights and measures.

Shalom!!