Judges 13:8-24- Samson Part 3

In John 4 Jesus has a discussion with a Samaritan woman. In this discussion Jesus reveals to her that He is the Messiah. After hearing these things the woman returns to her town and she begins to tell the people about her conversation with this man and asks if He could be the Messiah.

After hearing what she says, the whole town goes out to hear Jesus for themselves. They eventually invite Jesus to stay with them and He accepts their invitation. As a result, the people testify that in the beginning they believed because of what the woman had said but now they believed that Jesus was the Messiah because of the time that they had spent with Him over the last few days. (John 4:42)

In Judges 13 we see some parallels with that story in John 4. In Judges 13 the LORD comes to a woman and speaks to her. After she speaks to this man sent from God she goes and tells her husband about what she had been told. When Manoah hears his wife’s words, he prays and asks the LORD to let the man of God return again so that he could hear for himself what he had to say. In the end, the LORD reveals Himself to this couple and they know that they have seen the LORD.

With this in mind, let us read Judges 13:8-24, “Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson.”

The first words of our text are, “Then Manoah prayed to the Lord…”. After talking to his wife, Manoah prays. There are different ways that Manoah could have responded after hearing these things. For example,

• He could have been skeptical and disbelieving of the things he heard.

• He could have listened and then chased after this ‘man of God’.

• He could have become angry because his wife didn’t know his name or where he was from.

• We do read, “Then Manoah prayed to the LORD…”. This was his first and only response. He prays and then waits upon the LORD. Surly, this ought to be a discipline we reflect: hear the word, pray to the LORD, wait expectantly for His answer.

In this story we have seen that for forty years Israel has not prayed to the LORD and asked for His help. And yet, Manoah’s first instinct is to pray in this moment. In Manoah’s prayer we see seven characteristics we can highlight, “Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” (8)

• First, Manoah is quick to pray to the LORD, “Then Manoah prayed...”. After Manoah listened to his wife, his first response was to pray to the LORD. He did not discount or disbelieve her words. He did not get frustrated with her because she did not get His name or find out where He was from.

• Second, Manoah is reverent when he prays, “O Lord, please…”. Manoah’s prayer is fitting for one who is praying to the LORD. Manoah prays in a humble and courteous way. He does not speak with an ultimatum or make a demand of the LORD.

• Third, having acknowledged that last point we also see in those same words that Manoah is desperate. He looks to the LORD out of need, saying, “O Lord, please…”.

• Fourth, Manoah makes a request to the LORD, saying, “Please let the man of God whom you sent come again...”. Notice that Manoah knows that this man who appeared to his wife was sent from the LORD. Manoah is praying to see this man to believe, but to get further instruction from the LORD.

• Fifth, Manoah shows he is humble and teachable when he says, “Please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do…”. Manoah is humble enough not only to listen to his wife and receive her words, but he is humble enough to pray and confess that he needs wisdom and instruction from the LORD.

• Sixth, Manoah is teachable and willing to be obedient to do whatever the LORD says concerning their child. He says, “Please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do…”. Being teachable is not just about hearing what the LORD says, but it is also about doing what He says or not doing what he forbids.

• Seventh, Manoah shows that he believes that God will fulfill the promise that had been given to His wife, saying, “Please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” Manoah prays with a faith that knows that this promise will come true and he and his wife will have a son. Having a child is always a great responsibility, it must seem even more so when the LORD has said and done what is happening in this moment.

This is a simple prayer; and yet, it is filled with faith. It is not a complicated prayer; rather, it is short and spoken with humility and faith. Therefore, the next words are not a surprise, “And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again…”. (9) Observation: God’s people are not praying, but here we get to witness a beautiful prayer and see how the LORD answered it. Surly this ought to encourage us to pray.

We read about the arrival of the angel of God in verses 9-10, “...and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.”

If your like me, you may be wondering why the LORD shows up to Manoah’s wife instead of to him? After all, Manoah prayed this prayer, the LORD listened, it pleased the LORD to respond, but then the angel of God came to the woman instead of to Manoah. Two realistic possibilities came to my mind.

• First, I wondered if Manoah was around other people, so the LORD came to her first. I can think of many examples in Scriptures where God is careful about who He reveals Himself too. For example, after Jesus’ resurrection He was selective in regards to who he revealed Himself to. (1 Cor. 15:3-9- “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me.”)

• Second, maybe the LORD thought that it was important that this woman hear and witness all of these things again. She had heard this message once before, then she faithfully testified to her husband about it, and now she will hear it again. As a result, her faith would be strengthened. Application: we also need to read, and read again; hear, and hear again; obey the Word, then make it a habit and a way of life.

After He arrives the woman she runs to tell her husband, saying, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” When Manoah is told about this he does not hesitate to get up and go with her. We read, “And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man…”. (11) Those who are quick to pray as Manoah has, will probably be the quickest to recognize and respond in faith when that prayer has been answered. (2 Corinthians 1:11- “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

Manoah leaves what he was doing and went out to meet this man. This was now the most important meeting on his calendar for that day. When he hears this he immediately responds and puts aside every other priority that he had. Application: This is how our time with the LORD ought to be. We ought to say, “This is the most important priority that I have today. I must go to meet with the LORD in His Word and in prayer. The LORD has promised to meet with me there.” (Matthew 6:33)

When he arrived we read, “Manoah...came to the man and said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to this woman?’” The messenger of God replied, “I am.” Then Manoah says, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” (12)

• Observation: Manoah acknowledges that this child’s birth will be a miracle. He says, “Now when your words come true…”.

• Observation: This child’s birth will be a miracle, therefore, you can see why Manoah asks how they are to raise this child. He expects that there might be special instructions in comparison to other families. Therefore Manoah asks,

• NIV: “‘...what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?’”

• NKJV- “‘...What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?’”

• KJV-  “‘...How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?’”

• This child will be unique in that he will be a Nazarite from his his birth, however, he should be raised like any other child according to Deuteronomy 6:4-7, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

The messenger of God stresses this when He says, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.” (13-14; Numbers 6)

After this we read, “Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.’ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.’ (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)” (15-16)

Apparently it was the custom of the Philistines to offer meals like this to others so that they would be in their debt in some way. Many have suggested that Manoah, having been influenced by the culture around him, is attempting to place the messenger of God into this position. The angel of God, however, knowing this refuses his invitation for a meal, but he does give him the opportunity to prepare a burn offering for the LORD.

Now a moment ago we saw Manoah immediately leave with his wife when she invited him to meet this man. Now, however, when this man invites Manoah to offer a burnt offering to the LORD he does not immediately leave. Instead, he remains and asks, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” (17) The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” (18)

The LORD’s response reminds me of Exodus 34 where Moses is going back up to the top of Mount Sinai with the two replacement stones. In Exodus 34:5 we read, “The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.” In that moment the LORD made His name known to Moses. How did He do this? We read in verses 6-7, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.’”

In not revealing His name, ironically, the LORD revealed Himself to Manoah but he may not have understood it. If he didn’t understand this it was because he did not know that Word of God to make this connection. Observation: There is often a desire in us to see or hear God outside of scripture. But without a good grasp of scripture we may not see or understand those sort of things. The Word of God is not lacking anything to reveal the LORD to us!

When the LORD said these things to Moses He revealed Himself to him and we read in v.8-9 these words, “And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, ‘If now I have found favor in your sight, O LORD, pleas4e let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.’”

Next we read in Judges 13:19, “So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.” This is a beautiful scene were we see Manoah and His wife worship the LORD- the one who is wonderful and Who works wonders. As they watch their offering we read, “And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.” Upon seeing this, they understood Who they were with- the LORD. Like Moses, they immediately fell on their faces to the ground.

Then we read, “The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, for we have seen God.’” In this moment Manoah knew that they were in trouble. No one can see the LORD and live. Manoah’s name means ‘peace’ and ‘rest’. In this moment, Manoah is not experiencing either of these things. Manoah has this name but right now he is anxious, confused, and spiritually uncertain. The LORD does not come back down again to comfort him, but in this moment his wife is able to bring comfort by speaking truthful things to him. She has heard the word of the LORD twice by this time. She has a faith that sees and understands these mysteries; therefore, she says to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” It is only in the truth of these things and his faith in them that Manoah will find ‘peace’ and ‘rest’.

Finally, Judges 13:24 says, “And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson.” The LORD fulfilled His promise to the woman in Judges 3:3, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.”