The story of Judges starts with the Israelites doing evil in God’s eyes. As a result, God disciplines them by placing them under the control of the Philistines for 40 years.
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years (Judges 13:1).
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I have been going through the Bible for the past few months. We started in Genesis and are now in Judges. During this time, we keep recalling God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12.
God promised to bless Abraham and bless the world through him. Despite God’s people turning away, in His mercy and fulfilling His promise to Abraham, He rescues them again.
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.
Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:2-5).
In today’s YouTube video, Rudy Ross explains the Nazirite vow. I remember when Rudy had long hair because he took a Nazirite vow to serve God with greater devotion. Unlike Samson whose vow was to be life-long, Rudy ended his according to the Biblical mandate a few years ago.
A key part of a Nazirite vow is not cutting your hair, which is highlighted in the story of Samson. Another part of the vow is avoiding anything from grapes. This means no wine, grape juice, or grapes.
Additionally, you must not touch anything unclean. Other than cutting his hair, Samson seemed to disregard all of the other aspects of being a Nazirite.
The Angel Returns
Manoah was not present when the angel spoke with his wife. He wanted clear instructions and the angel graciously gave them to the couple a second time.
Manoah wanted to present a gift of food to the angel. At this point in the account, he didn’t know the messenger from the Lord was an angel. There was an interesting conversation between Samson’s parents and the angel.
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you.”
The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)
Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?”
But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful” (Judges 13:15-18).
Hospitality was a key part of how ancient people welcomed visitors into their homes. Manoah told the strange messenger from the Lord that he wanted to prepare a meal for him. The messenger said he wouldn’t eat the meal but suggested Manoah offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord instead.
Manoah then asked for his name. Knowing someone’s name can sometimes mean having control over them. The angel, whom Manoah thought was a man, refused to give his name, saying it was too wonderful.
Samson’s parents must have felt immense awe when they placed the young goat on a rock as an offering to the Lord. The offering caught fire by God’s power, and they watched the angel ascend to heaven in the smoke of the fire.
So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders.
When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground (Judges 13:19-20).
Manoah and his wife experienced the presence of God through the angel of the Lord and wondered if they would die.
The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it 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 (Judges 13:21-23).
Samson had a promising start. He was born by the will of God to a woman who couldn’t have children without His help. As he grew, the Spirit of God was with him.
The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.
The Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol (Judges 13:24-25).
Everything seemed set for success until self-will took over.
Reflections
The Bible tells honest stories about its heroes. Samson was meant to be a great hero in Israel’s history, but he ended up being a tragic figure because he was focused on himself. He used the gifts from God for his own purposes instead of for God’s plans.
We can learn from Samson’s story. It reminds us not to use God’s gifts just for ourselves. These gifts are blessings meant to help us and to bless the people around us.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed the beginning of Samson’s story on YouTube today.
Real Voices 