The Bible Proves Itself! Barak the Son of Abinoam
Introduction
Many people, particularly in our day, scoff at the idea that the Bible is the Word of God. Some are even now willing to use the Bible as a football for social media videos to show their disdain. Regardless of such actions against the Bible, does this in anyway invalidate the Bible? Absolutely not!
In fact, if people would take the time to study the Bible, they might find some surprises, which actually show how the Bible can prove itself, and therefore that the following is also true…
- The Bible was supernaturally crafted (by God the Holy Spirit), and
- There is indeed a God as He describes Himself in the Bible, and
- That God will be sending most people to Hell for their sins, and
- Yet God offers The Way of escape in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as is also described in the same Bible through the sharing of Jesus’ Gospel.
On the Road to Emmaus
In Luke 24:27, we read about the extraordinary account where Jesus, after His resurrection, meets up with two distraught disciples leaving Jerusalem on the Road to Emmaus. The disciples did not recognize Jesus…and this is because the whole account is a “metaphor” for the fact that the entire Old Testament (the only Holy Scriptures that the two disciples were familiar with at that time) was a closed book to them.
After some discussion about the recent crucifixion of Jesus (which the disciples did not understand), Jesus explained why things happened the way they did, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Jesus referred back to what were the only scriptures available at the time, the Old Testament, to point to His Person and His Work. This is unequivocally telling us that the Old Testament was really all about Jesus.
The many Bible studies, which can be found on this website, show how it is possible to corroborate Jesus’ own teaching, that the Old Testament scriptures refer to Him, when we look at the many “types” in the Old Testament. Some are more obvious than others, like Isaac, Joseph, and David, but let us look at one particularly extraordinary example that proves how the Bible is self-validating.
Barak Is a Portrait or “Type” of Jesus Christ (as the Ultimate Judge)
When we take a close look at the historical account in Judges 4&5, which tells us about the Deborah the Judge and Barak, we will find another of the Bible’s many Historical Parables. We can derive that Barak is a “type” of the Lord Jesus Christ from several points of reference. In Judges 4:6 we read the following about Barak, “And she (Deborah) sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, [saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?“
This is the first reference to the man, Barak, in the Bible. Barak (בָּרָק (bārāq)H1300), interestingly enough, means “lightning“, but also “glittering sword“, but the word “barak” is found many times.
When we search the Bible for where the word, barak, is found we find it In Exodus 19:16, where we read of when Moses was on Mount Sinai and God made His presence known to the people, “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings (בָּרָק (bārāq)H1300), and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in the camp trembled.“
Moreover, we find in Psalm 77:18 and Psalm 97:4 the following declarations of the LORD reigning and His works and judgments, “The voice of thy thunder [was] in the heaven: the lightnings (בָּרָק bārāq)H1300) lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.” and “His lightnings (בָּרָק bārāq)H1300) enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.”
God uses “Lightning/Lightnings” to Describe Jesus, and His Second and Final Coming, in the Bible
Remember how, in Matthew 24:27, we read where Jesus Christ tells us directly that His coming on Judgment Day will appear as lightning, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Note the harmony with Psalm 77:18, “The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings (בָּרָק (bārāq)H1300) lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.” Clearly this points to Jesus being both the Light of the world and the Judge of the world.
In Matthew 28:3, describing “the angel of the Lord descended from heaven”, we read that, “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:“Luke 17:24, “For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one [part] under heaven, shineth unto the other [part] under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.”
Revelation 4:5, “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and [there were] seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.“
Revelation 8:5, “And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast [it] into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”
Revelation 11:19, “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”
Revelation 16:18, “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [and] so great.
Finally, back in Deuteronomy 32:41, the same word Hebrew word “barak” is alternatively translated as “glittering sword”, “If I whet my glittering sword (בָּרָק bārāq)H1300, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.” We this also in Job 20:25, where God has just outlined what will happen to the wicked and the hypocrites of the world on Judgment Day, “It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword (בָּרָק bārāq)H1300cometh out of his gall: terrors [are] upon him.”
What about Barak’s father, Abinoam?
We were also told in Judges 4:6 that Barak is also the son of Abinoam.
If the typological/allegorical methodology of interpretation (otherwise known as the “hermeneutic”), that has so far been employed in this study, which claims that Barak is a clear and unequivocal allegorical “type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, is Biblically valid (e.g, That it is entirely God ordained and true), then should we not also expect to find Biblical evidence that Barak’s father, Abinoam, is typological representation of God, The Father, in Heaven?
In other words, we have a sound basis, or “scientific” means, to both “test”, and hopefully “prove” that the methodology of allegorical interpretation is correct or not, and show whether it is God ordained or not, and in the process prove whether the Bible is self-validating or not!
We start with the theory based on previous evidence found in God’s Word (1 Corinthians 2:13), and now, using deductive reasoning, we are enabled to make a prediction using that theory. In this passage of scripture, regarding Abinoam, we can put the theory to the test.
If the prediction (i.e. that Abinoam should be a clear “type” of The Father in Heaven) is validated, then likewise the theory is also validated and the Bible is self-validating!
In PERFECT CONFIRMATION, with the above prediction, we find that Abinoam means “father (אָב (‘āḇ)) H1“ of “beauty (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278” or “father (אָב (‘āḇ)) H1 of pleasantness (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278).” Both progenitive attributes, “beauty” and “pleasantness“, as translated from the original Hebrew texts, can be shown to be unequivocal references to Jesus Christ, therefore, the “father” of those attributes (“beauty” and “pleasantness”,which unequivocally point to Jesus Christ) must be a “typological” representation of God the Father in Heaven!
Can this be proven? It most certainly can! Let us look at how Noam (“Beauty”), the name of the first staff in Zechariah 11, is used in the Bible to represent the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Psalm 27:4 we read, “One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278 of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” Also in Psalm 90:17 we read, “And let the beauty (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278 of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.“
But some could argue that the above is merely anecdotal, coincidental, or circumstantial evidence, and not “proof.”
However, it is EXTREMELY significant to find that God also tells us this in Zechariah 11:10-13*, “And I took my staff, [even] Beauty (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it [was] the word of the LORD. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” Note, specifically, that it was the “poor of the flock that waited on me” … it was the believers who knew that it was the Word of the LORD! The believers who wait upon God must “know” that it was Jesus who was cut asunder, and that the price paid by the chief priests was thirty pieces of silver, because Jesus is the Word made flesh as we read in John 1:14.
These prophetic verses also describe exactly what happened to Jesus Christ, because we know that Jesus, Who Is The WORD of the LORD (as we read in John 1:1) was cut asunder, and that Jesus was broken by God for all believers. This was so that the first covenant of works would be fulfilled, in order that the new covenant of grace could be instituted. The thirty pieces of silver were the price given to Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus, and that Judas “cast down the pieces of silver in the temple” (“The house of the LORD“), and which were later used to buy “the potter’s field, to bury strangers in“!
Note to the Reader: There is widespread agreement by theologians and Biblical scholars that the passage in Zechariah 11, regarding the broken staff named “Beauty” (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278 and its price, the thirty pieces of silver used to buy the potter’s field, prophetically points to Jesus Christ, but this is only because there is an explicit reference/description of it being fulfilled in both Matthew 27:3-10 and Acts 1:15-19. But we can now see that there is additional proof to validate that understanding of Zechariah.
Moreover, In the Matthew account, Judas is seemingly filled with remorse for betraying Jesus, and he tries to return the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests (Matthew 27:3). When the chief priests and elders refuse to accept the money, Judas casts the thirty pieces of silver to the temple floor and leaves and hangs himself (Matthew 27:4&5). Not wanting to put “blood money” into the treasury, the priests use the silver pieces to buy a potter’s field (Matthew 27:6&7). “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.” (Matthew 27:9).
It should also be noted that Exodus 21:32 lists “thirty shekels of silver” as the price the must be paid by an owner of any ox that gores another’s manservant or maidservant (hence it is the established value by God for a servant’s life), and we all should know that Jesus’s earthly life was one of servitude and that Jesus is also known as the “Suffering Servant”.
But what about “pleasantness“? In Proverbs 3:17, God, through King Solomon, is describing wisdom and understanding (again clear references to Jesus Christ) where we read, “Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness , and all her paths [are] peace.” [Note: Don’t let the feminine gender reference confuse you, because in the very next two verses, we see wisdom equated to “the tree of Life” and “that by wisdom the LORD founded the earth.” We know, therefore, that “wisdom” has to be referring to Jesus Christ because of what we read in John 14:6, and Revelation 2:7 and Revelation 22:2, and John 1:1-4.] Also, given that all of wisdom’s “paths are peace”, we should bear in mind that Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” according to Isaiah 9:6.
Conclusion: The Bible Is Indeed Self-Validating!
The above exposition reveals yet another excellent example of the perfection of God’s craftsmanship of both the actual history, and the recording of it in the Bible, to convey spiritual truth which can be found out if sought for like hidden treasure (see Proverbs 3:13-15).
- Barak in the Hebrew (meaning “Lightning” or “Glittering Sword”), as well as God’s use of “barak” in Biblical scripture, make clear that Barak is a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ (and this particularly so when we look at the descriptions of Barak, e.g., 10,000 men coming with him into the valley of Megiddo to slay all of God’s enemies as we similarly see in Jude 1:14-16).
- If “beauty” and “pleasantness” (נֹעַם (nōʿam)) H5278 represents Jesus Christ, then Abinoam (אֲבִינֹעַם (‘ăḇînōʿam))H42, which means the “father of noam“ must unequivocally represent The Father of Jesus Christ, hence God the Father in Heaven. And please remember that “noam’s” price was “thirty pieces of silver” that were cast down in the house of the LORD (the temple) and given to the potter in Zechariah 11:10-13, which Jesus fulfilled in Matthew 27:5-7.
Because Abinoam is the father of Barak, Barak is again seen (from a new perspective, beyond the meaning of Barak in the Hebrew and God’s use of barak in Biblical scripture) to represent Jesus Christ, the Son of God, The Father.
Perhaps most importantly, the prediction was correct and therefore, likewise, the methodology is also proven to be valid. We have thus all been clearly shown a proven means of interpretation of the Bible from the Bible! (and it was all simply done by only comparing spiritual things with spiritual things according to 1 Corinthians 2:13…by comparing scripture with scripture, because the Bible is Spritual). The Bible has proven itself to be true and trustworthy and is therefore self-validating!
Note to the Reader: The above post is an excerpt of a much larger post on Judges, Chapter 4 and 5 that can be found here.
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