Judges 13:1-25
“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.” (Judges 13:1)
This is the sixth time Israel has done “evil in the sight of the Lord” as a nation. In the four hundred twelve years since Cushanrishathaim of Mesopotamia first conquered them in Judges 3, they had been enslaved six times because the nation as a whole turned away from God. About every eighty years or so, as Judges 2:10 states, “…all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” As long as there were enough of the old fogies left with power to stop them and tell them what was right, there was at least a modicum of serving the Lord. When the old fogies died off they forgot what they had been taught, and each time it led them into captivity.
Always before, the Philistines had just been opportunistic raiders or terrorists, striking unprotected farms, and villages. This time they brought an organized and cohesive force and actually conquered the land, ruling it for forty years.
“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:2-5)
About twenty years into the captivity, God began to prepare another Judge to lead Israel back to him. He sent an angel to announce the miraculous birth of a young man who would deliver Israel. The young man was to be dedicated to God as a Nazarite from his youth. Numbers 6:2-12 tells us what was entailed.
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.” (Numbers 6:2-12)
Because Samson was to be a Nazarite from his birth, Samson was to be trained to live his entire life as a Nazarite. Even before his birth he was not to be exposed to anything made of Grapes. It has been discovered that children whose mothers drink during pregnancy often become addicted even before they are born. Just one drink may trigger full blown alcoholism. God ensured Samson would have no such problem.
“Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.” (Judges 13:6-7)
The woman didn’t recognize the angel as such, describing him as a man of God, although she recognized something was different about his face. Our world usually portrays angels with wings and a halo, but most of the times when they appear to humans they just look like other people. In Genesis 19:1 we find, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.” At the time Lot thought they were just men, as did the other people around, who wished to sexually abuse them in Genesis 19:5. “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
The next morning they still appeared as humans in Genesis 19:15-16, although it is very obvious they were angels. “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
“Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. Jud And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman?
And he said, I am.
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” (Judges 13:8-11)
Manoah didn’t doubt his wife’s word, but he wanted to be sure they knew exactly how they were to raise the child to please God. God answered his prayer, sending the angel again talk to them and repeat the message.
“And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.” (Judges 13:13-16)
Still not recognizing the angel as such, Manoah asked him to stay while they prepared a special meal for him. The angel agreed to stay, but refused to eat the food or accept it as an offering, insisting that it be given to God instead. Hebrews 13:2 instructs, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” We probably will not recognize them.
“And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar.
And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD." (Judges 13:17-21)
A messenger or angel that is truly from God will focus attention on god, rather than on himself. The angel refused to tell them his name or allow them to honor him. When they offered and offering to the Lord, he ascended toward heaven in the flame. Manoah was terrified when he realized what they had seen, thinking it might be God himself.
“And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.” (Judges 13:22-23)
His wife was thinking more clearly, reminding him that if God intended to kill them there was no point in telling them how to raise their son, nor would he have accepted their sacrifices.
“And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.” (Judges 13:24-25)
Samson grew up in the area around Zorah and Eshtaol, very close to Philistine territory, and the Lord used him occasionally in confrontations with them. He seems to have developed an attitude similar to what is so often seen in slums today.
“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.” (Judges 13:1)
This is the sixth time Israel has done “evil in the sight of the Lord” as a nation. In the four hundred twelve years since Cushanrishathaim of Mesopotamia first conquered them in Judges 3, they had been enslaved six times because the nation as a whole turned away from God. About every eighty years or so, as Judges 2:10 states, “…all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” As long as there were enough of the old fogies left with power to stop them and tell them what was right, there was at least a modicum of serving the Lord. When the old fogies died off they forgot what they had been taught, and each time it led them into captivity.
Always before, the Philistines had just been opportunistic raiders or terrorists, striking unprotected farms, and villages. This time they brought an organized and cohesive force and actually conquered the land, ruling it for forty years.
“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:2-5)
About twenty years into the captivity, God began to prepare another Judge to lead Israel back to him. He sent an angel to announce the miraculous birth of a young man who would deliver Israel. The young man was to be dedicated to God as a Nazarite from his youth. Numbers 6:2-12 tells us what was entailed.
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.” (Numbers 6:2-12)
Because Samson was to be a Nazarite from his birth, Samson was to be trained to live his entire life as a Nazarite. Even before his birth he was not to be exposed to anything made of Grapes. It has been discovered that children whose mothers drink during pregnancy often become addicted even before they are born. Just one drink may trigger full blown alcoholism. God ensured Samson would have no such problem.
“Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.” (Judges 13:6-7)
The woman didn’t recognize the angel as such, describing him as a man of God, although she recognized something was different about his face. Our world usually portrays angels with wings and a halo, but most of the times when they appear to humans they just look like other people. In Genesis 19:1 we find, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.” At the time Lot thought they were just men, as did the other people around, who wished to sexually abuse them in Genesis 19:5. “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
The next morning they still appeared as humans in Genesis 19:15-16, although it is very obvious they were angels. “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
“Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. Jud And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman?
And he said, I am.
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” (Judges 13:8-11)
Manoah didn’t doubt his wife’s word, but he wanted to be sure they knew exactly how they were to raise the child to please God. God answered his prayer, sending the angel again talk to them and repeat the message.
“And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.” (Judges 13:13-16)
Still not recognizing the angel as such, Manoah asked him to stay while they prepared a special meal for him. The angel agreed to stay, but refused to eat the food or accept it as an offering, insisting that it be given to God instead. Hebrews 13:2 instructs, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” We probably will not recognize them.
“And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar.
And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD." (Judges 13:17-21)
A messenger or angel that is truly from God will focus attention on god, rather than on himself. The angel refused to tell them his name or allow them to honor him. When they offered and offering to the Lord, he ascended toward heaven in the flame. Manoah was terrified when he realized what they had seen, thinking it might be God himself.
“And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.” (Judges 13:22-23)
His wife was thinking more clearly, reminding him that if God intended to kill them there was no point in telling them how to raise their son, nor would he have accepted their sacrifices.
“And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.” (Judges 13:24-25)
Samson grew up in the area around Zorah and Eshtaol, very close to Philistine territory, and the Lord used him occasionally in confrontations with them. He seems to have developed an attitude similar to what is so often seen in slums today.
I always enjoy reading of the life of Samson. There was an old movie based on this section of the book of Judges, which I watched a couple of times in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a very happy and prosperous new year ahead.
Frank.
Thanks, Frank.
DeleteUnfortunately I fear a lot of us get caught up in Samson's heroic feats and miss the lessons God wants us to see in his life.
I probably would have had the reaction Manoah did, since the senses can be so easily overwhelmed by such displays. I think it's funny that the man panicked while the woman, who many say is more emotionally seated, remained calmer.
ReplyDeleteWe have been taught so many stereotypes that cause problems. Women will often react in fear to things that a man considers irrelevant, while being unfazed by things that panic men. It is part of the difference in the way their brains develop as a result of the different hormones. They feel the same things but react in different ways, as God intended. As a result one or the other is able to deal with almost any situation that arises.
ReplyDelete