Judges 13:1-25


God is a God of promises and He graciously makes promises to His people in order to give them hope in the midst of difficult circumstances.  Israel has once again strayed from the will of the Lord and has begun to be oppressed by the Philistines.  Despite the fact that they have been through this cycle over and over again, they find themselves in difficult times due to their own sinfulness.  God, once again, steps in and brings them hope by announcing the birth of a prophet whom He plans to use to set Israel free.  God has continually revealed promises to us so that we can have hope in the midst of the difficult circumstances in which we live.  God begins to prepare the life of Sampson through his parents and He reveals to them part of God’s plan for them and their son.
MANOAH’S WIFE RECEIVES NEW INFORMATION: This couple was barren and seems to be older in years to the point that they had lost hope of being able to have children.  God always seems to use people who are in situations like this in a special way.  When God wants to do something special He will often do so in the midst of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.  I believe it is because He wants us to be dependent upon Him.  The Angel of the Lord appears to Manoah’s wife and reveals to her that she is going to have a special son who will be greatly used by God.  He also warns her to follow the law as it applied to being a Nazirite because this child was to be a Nazirite from the womb.  God is clearly planning to do something special in this situation and graciously reveals this to this couple.
MANOAH REQUESTS CLEAR INSTRUCTION: When Manoah hears about this revelation from his wife the first thing he does is requests more instructions so that they can be sure to keep the will of the Lord.  He is excited about becoming a father and does not want to mess things up in any way.  He prays that the Lord will return and give him the clear instructions that he needs to be able to fulfill the will of the Lord.  If only all of us as parents had this as our main concern in raising our children.  Our greatest desire as parents should be to raise our children in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and according to the will of the Lord. We have the Word of God and should faithfully study this revelation from God so that we can raise our children in the way that the Lord would have us to do.
MANOAH REVERES WITH INSPIRATION: The Angel of the Lord returns per Manoah’s request and gives them the instruction they need.  Manoah is so grateful that he offers to prepare a meal for this Messenger from the Lord, but He refused and so Manoah takes the meal was about to prepare and offers it as a burnt sacrifice and he Angel of the Lord is pleased with this sacrifice and literally “goes up in the smoke.”  Manoah then realizes that he has seen the Angel of the Lord and is overcome by great fear.  There are so many today who speak of being in the presence of God in such flippant ways.  There is such a lack of reverence in so many of our hearts.  The presence of God should inspire us in amazing ways but must always be revered.

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