Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 6-23-17

The Samson narrative in
Judges (chapters 13-16)
is filled with rebellion, sexual immorality, anger, revenge, disappointment, heartache, and finally a glimmer of hope.
That being said, Samson judged Israel for 20 years (Judges 16:31). Most of the Samson narrative is negative. But we must remember that we know only a sliver of his actual life. In addition to this, he defeated the Philistines at almost every level. In the end, he defeated more ene- mies with his death than he
did with his life (v. 30). Per- haps most significant of all is that he is included in the faith chapter (Hebrews 11:32).
However, the lesson is about Samson’s parents. Manoah and his wife did their best to dedicate Samson to the Lord’s work. Samson frustrated that effort many times, but his parents cannot be blamed for not trying.
Dedicated from the Womb | Judges 13:1-5
The narrative begins with the same broken record—Is- rael did evil and God deliv-
Samson (Judges 13-16)
ered them into the hands of their enemies (Judges 13:1). This time it was the Philistines. The punishment by God via the Philistines lasted forty years. In fact, the Philistines became a noose around the neck of the Is- raelites for generations (way into the times of the kings).
The severity of this pun- ishment was evident by the barrenness of Manoah’s wife.
The angel of the Lord (who is described in v. 6 as a man of God who looked like an angel) appeared to Manoah’s wife and made a birth announcement. The angel promised a pregnancy to Manoah’s wife and then gave instructions about her life and the baby’s life.
Samson’s mother was to drink no wine or other fer- mented drink. Neither was she to eat anything unclean. In addition to this, the baby was never to cut his hair. Samson was to be a
Nazarite—this means dedi- cated or consecrated. Those words were to describe Sam- son’s life, but in the pages that follow, those words were compromised in a big way.
The section ends as it began, with a word about the Philistines. First God deliv- ered Israel into their hands. Next he would raise up a judge who will deliver Israel from their hands.
Dedicated to the Tomb | Judges 13:6, 7, 24, 25
Manoah’s wife had to be terribly excited. The shame of her barrenness was to be removed, and the child was to be special. She told Manoah that the angel who visited her was awesome. There were details that she did not think to trace (where he was from and what his name was)—something Manoah wanted to pursue (Judges 13:17, 18). But she remembered the most im- portant part of his message—
she would be pregnant and have a son. She also remem- bered to tell Manoah about the Nazarite vow for Samson. This dedication was to last until the day of Samson’s death.
In the nonprinted part of our text we learn that Manoah really wanted to meet this strange visitor. The angel showed up again, re- newed the commitment con- cerning Samson’s dedication, and what started out as a meal of hospitality ended up as a burnt offering for the Lord. The angel went back to Heaven in the midst of the burnt offering.
In time Manoah’s wife gave birth to Samson. In words that make one think of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1:80; 2:52), Samson began to make his debut. The Holy Spirit began to stir him for his ministry of 20 years. Samson was a loose cannon, but it was not due to the ef- forts of his parents.
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