Encounters With Christ

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon interprets part of Micah’s prophecy to refer to pre-New-Testament sightings of Jesus. He gives the examples of Abraham, Jacob, Joshua, and the three heroes of Babylonian Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Observe for a moment here, that each of these four great occurrences happened to the saints when they were engaged in very eminent duty, or when they were about to be engaged in it. Jesus Christ does not appear to his saints every day. He did not come to see Jacob till he was in affliction; he did not visit Joshua before he was about to be engaged in a righteous war. It is only in extraordinary seasons that Christ thus manifests himself to his people. When Abraham interceded for Sodom, Jesus was with him, for one of the highest and noblest employments of a Christian is that of intercession, and it is when he is so engaged that he will be likely to obtain a sight of Christ. Jacob was engaged in wrestling, and that is a part of a Christian’s duty to which some of you never did attain; consequently, you do not have many visits from Jesus. It was when Joshua was exercising bravery that the Lord met him. So with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: they were in the high places of persecution, on account of their adherence to duty, when he came to them, and said, “I will be with you, passing through the fire.” There are certain peculiar places we must enter, to meet with the Lord.