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Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd.   P.O. Box #3762   Gillette, WY  82717   (307) 686-1516

 

- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 -

 

 

 

SIXTH PERIOD (20YRS): SAMSON AGAINST THE PHILISTINES (13:1-16:31) (13:1)

Judges 13:1-25, 11/27/13

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

I.     A NEW CYCLE BEGINS (JDG 13:1)

A.    The new cycle is not a better cycle because each cycle begins with the all too familiar phrase, “the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD” (Jdg 3:5–7, 12–14; 4:1–3; 6:1–2; 8:33–35; 10:6–9).

B.    It is presumable that their evil was the worship of false gods. In Jdg 10:6 God accuses Israel of worshipping the “gods of the Philistines” (Dagon) among others. In Jdg 10:7, we see that in the Lord’s anger, He delivered Israel into the hands of the Philistines.

C.    The Philistines had lived in Palestine since Abraham’s time (Ge 21:32–34; 26:1–6). Shamgar had a great victory over the Philistines, at least temporarily (Jdg 3:31).

D.    The Philistine domination went on for “forty years” (Jdg 13:1) until God decided to raise up another deliverer, by the name of Samson. We do not read that Israel cried out to the Lord. In fact, we do not see the Israelites cooperating with Samson against the Philistines. The Philistines would continue to trouble Israel until the early years of the reign of David (2Sa 5:17-25).

II.    THE ANGEL OF THE LORD VISITS MANOAH’S WIFE (JDG 13:2-7)

A.    Manoah and His wife (2)

1.     [2] Members of the tribes of Dan and Judah were in Philistine territory and the first to come under domination (Jdg 15:11). A man named Manoah, from the tribe of Dan, lived in Zorah, located in the foothills about fifteen miles west of Jerusalem..

2.     Similar to Abraham’s situation, Manoah’s wife would be barren until a divine intervention.

B.    The Angel of the Lord

1.     [3] The Angel of the Lord is once again introduced into the book of Judges. As was previously stated and will also be shown by the context of Jdg 13:8-23, the angel of the Lord was the pre-incarnate ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

a)    The name God and the Angel of the Lord were used interchangeably (Ex 3:1-4 cf. Ac 7:30-32).

b)    The angel of the Lord spoke to Moses on Mt Sinai (Ac 7:38 cf. Ex 20:1, 22).

c)     Other passages that confirm the identity of the Angel of the Lord as God (Ge 31:11-13; 48:15-16; Ex 13:21-22 cp. Ex 14:19; Jdg 6:11-15ff; 13:21-22).

d)    If the Angel of the Lord is deity, then He must be a member of the Trinity. Which member? It would be the One who is the visible image of the invisible God, the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 1:15; He 1:1-3; Jn 14:9).

2.     The Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and declared to her that she would “conceive and give birth to a son.” This very expression was a divine prophetic blessing given several times in the Scriptures (Ge 16:11; 17:16; 18:10; Is 7:14; Lk 1:35).

C.    Samson would be a Nazirite

1.     [4] The Angel of the Lord instructed Manoah’s wife #1- not to drink wine or strong drink, not eat anything unclean (Mosaic Law), #2- nor use a razor upon his head (5).

2.     [5] The reason was that Samson was to be a Nazirite to God from the womb.

a)    The word “nazirite” (nazir) means to dedicate or consecrate (Nu 6:8).

b)    It was a vow that was made by a person to the Lord; Samson’s case was the exception. It included the two restrictions given to Samson’s mother (cf. Nu 6:2, 8, 12, 18, 21). #3- A third major restriction for a Nazirite was the prohibition of coming in contact with a dead person (Nu 6:6).

c)     God’s purpose in making Samson a Nazirite from the womb was to convey that Samson was God’s chosen deliverer against the Philistines.

d)    Samson would inevitably break the Nazirite vow, which would lead to his downfall.

3.     [6-7] Afterwards, Manoah’s wife told him everything that happened and everything the Angel of the Lord said.

III.  ANGEL OF THE LORD VISITS MANOAH (JDG 13:8-23)

A.    [8] Faced with the responsibility of what he just learned, Manoah entreated the Lord to teach them how to raise this child, which was to be dedicated to the Lord.

B.    [9-10] God heard Manoah’s prayer and the Angel of the Lord visited a second time. Though Manoah was not present, his wife went and told him about the visitor (10).

C.    [11] Manoah asked the Angel of the Lord if He was the one that spoke with his wife before. The Angel of the Lord affirmed that it was. Up to this point, Manoah’s wife referred to the Angel of the Lord as a “man of God” (6, 8). The term “man of God” with the “appearance of the angel of God” means a chosen prophet or messenger sent by God (Dt 33:1; 1Sa 9:6; 2Ch 8:14), not necessarily the actual Angel of the Lord.

D.    [12-14] Manoah asked about his son’s mode of life and vocation. The Angel of the Lord answered by reiterating that Samson was to be a Nazirite, dedicated to the Lord. The Angel of the Lord was careful to gain the woman’s attention. Not only would these restrictions apply to Samson, but also to Samson’s mother (“she”) while she carried the child. God wanted the parents’ dedication as well, so that they would have an influence on Samson’s upbringing.

E.    [15-16] Manoah offered the Angel of the Lord food, but He asked instead for a burnt offering to be offered to the Lord. A key insertion is the phrase, “For Manoah did not know that He was the angel of the Lord.”

F.     [17-18] Manoah also asked the visitor’s name in order to honor him. The visitor replied that His name was a wonderful name. He did not mean that His name was one of the better names among men. The word “wonderful” (pali) can mean incomprehensible, in that His name was not a name understood as a mere human name but of a divine nature (cf. Is 9:6).

G.    [19-21] After Manoah offered the sacrifice on a rock to the Lord (cf. Jdg 6:21), the Angel of the Lord performed “wonders” (pala - same root as “wonderful” vs. 18), i.e. miracles that could only be ascribed to God. The flame from the offering rose toward heaven, which was a sign that the offering was accepted by God. Then the Angel of the Lord ascended with the flame to heaven and Manoah and his wife “fell on their faces to the ground.” Since the Angel of the Lord did not return but stayed in heaven, Manoah and his wife understood that He was not a mere “man of God” but the Angel of the Lord, God Himself.

H.    [21-23] Understanding that he saw and was speaking to God, he feared that they would die. Because man is sinful, when he comes into the presence of God, he understands that he should be destroyed from God’s holiness (cf. Jdg 6:22-23). Not with arrogance, but with good reasoning, Manoah’s wife deduced that if God were going to kill them, then He would not have revealed His plan for the birth of Samson with them.

IV.  SAMSON IS BORN (JDG 13:24-25)

A.    [24] Manoah’s wife gave birth to a son and named him “Samson” (Shimshōn fr. Shemesh) which means “sun,” possibly as in the sun was made for man’s blessing in light and heat. Samson was raised as a delivering blessing for Israel.

B.    [25] While in Mahāneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaōl, the Spirit of the Lord began to “stir” (pagain - thrust or impel) Samson with a burden to trouble the Philistines.

V.    OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A.    A Model for Parents - Manoah and his wife become an example on raising children dedicated to the Lord. This was illustrated by Manoah’s prayer for wisdom to raise Samson, as well as his wife’s vow of dedication. There must be a commitment not only to raise children to be dedicated and useful for the Lord, the parents themselves must be an example of what a dedicated life looks like. Some things are caught as well as taught (Ep 6:4; Pr 31:29).

B.    The Presence of the Lord - A repeated theme in Israel’s history was that the Lord was present with His people. The appearances and interactions of the Angel of the Lord demonstrated that God was continually with His people, guiding, providing, and protecting them. Since Christ was the Angel of the Lord and He was with His people, it should bring encouragement to believers today to know that Christ will be “with us always, even to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20; Ac 18:9-10).

C.    God Makes the Son to Shine on Us - In a time of darkness, God sent a deliverer to Israel, to bless them and cause the “sun” (Samson) to shine on them. In a greater way, in man’s darkness of sin, God sent the Deliverer to sinful man, to bless the believer and cause His Son to shine on them. The phrase to “make His face shine on you” (Nu 6:25) means that God blesses us with His grace and favor. Sinful man can only find God’s grace and favor in Christ. He who has the Son, has God’s grace and favor (Jn 1:17; Ro 3:24; Ep 2:5 cf. 2Ti 1:2; 2Jn 1:3).