MANOAH AND HIS WIFE Judges 13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the

Transcription

1 MANOAH AND HIS WIFE Judges 13:1 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. 2 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. As if from out of nowhere, we are introduced to this solemn home in one of the tribes of Israel. Indeed, it is as if we are being shown how the sombre state of the nation was being replicated in a very ordinary household circumstance. Forty years is a long time to be under the control of an enemy, but the reason for Israel s predicament was that they did evil again in the sight of the Lord. This was God judging them for their defiance towards Him. They were privileged more than any other nation because He was their God. He had freed them from out of Egypt, He had been with them through their arduous forty year journey in the wilderness, He had brought and settled them in the land of Canaan and yet, they had abused His goodness. And you will notice how the word again is full of weariness, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD How often can they keep doing this?! They are getting no better In fact, these people of Israel were habitual rebels against God, and yet He continued to love, and bring them back every time. When they first came out of the wilderness He blessed them with victory over the Canaanites, for example, Judges 1:2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. 3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. 4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. 18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof And they gave Hebron unto Caleb There were no disputed territories for God gave the land to the children of Israel. The main problem was, though, they were so easily-led by their idolworshipping neighbours, Judges 2:1 I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

2 2 As a consequence, God used their enemies as a rod of chastening against Israel. Instead of enjoying the privileges of the Promised Land, they became prisoners, 13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. And so, we are introduced to Manoah, Judges 13:1 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. 2 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. Here is some of the background The Philistines originally came from the Greek islands particularly from the island of Caphtor (Crete), Jer. 47:4 for the LORD will spoil the Philistines [Heb. Pelishtiy, immigrants ], the remnant of the country of Caphtor [ crown ]. Amos 9:7 Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor? They were known as the sea people, and they invaded and settled in many areas throughout the Mediterranean, including the eastern coastline, near Gaza. Philistia is the Hebrew word to describe them, but the Greek historian Herodotus ( BC) called the area Παλαιστίνη, from which we get Palestine. So, the region did not always belong to the Palestinians because originally they were invaders, immigrants. And these were the people God used to chastise the Israelites during those particular forty years. We are brought into the home of Manoah, v.2 a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah [ rest ]. He had a wife, but the only information we are given about her was that she was barren, and bare not (v.2). No name, no background presumably also from the tribe of Dan no other information except she couldn t have children. In those days that was an awful disgrace for everyone would have believed it was because of either her sin or her parents past sin, It was a blight on the family, and it would have been especially difficult when the angel of the Lord reminded her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not (v.3). She was all too painfully aware and you didn t have to tell her! But not only was this home in a hopeless state so also was the country and the people. And there was not a single thing anyone could do about it! She could not not be barren and the children of Israel could not get rid of the Philistines!

3 3 And it was affecting their relationship with God. No one thought to ask Him for His help yet, when no one went to Him, He came to them for after forty years He entered Manoah s home, spoke to his wife, and gave her a very special promise, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Here we have God promising hope a deliverer, - another deliverer This is what He had done on previous occasions. These deliverers were the judges He had established as governors ruling on His behalf over His people, in order to keep them faithful, and to drive out the enemy. It is interesting, though, He was choosing a family from the tribe of Dan What is wrong with the tribe of Dan? Why should we be surprised at God choosing one of them?! To understand, we need to turn to Gen. 49, where old Jacob gathers his sons round his deathbed. He speaks to them individually, starting with Reuben the eldest, and then Simeon and Levi, and Judah, Zebulun and Issachar. He speaks to Dan, and at first he seems to speak favourably, v.16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan is going to be a deliverer, a judge. But then Jacob continued, v.17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. What was that all about? What did this mean for Dan? Well, to have an insight into what was happening here we need to start back in what initially might seem to be an unrelated verse, Gen. 2:24, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. one flesh. Now, that was a very straightforward instruction, but not very long afterwards someone decided to disagree with God and redefine marriage and so we read, 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Polygamy was introduced. Now, this was downright disobedience! God intended one man and one woman not one man and two women, or any other configuration. So, Lamech was contradicting the order God had given in the Garden of Eden. Now, away back in the past, when Jacob was a young man, he was a bit of a rascal. He had tricked his brother Esau out of the birthright by deceiving their father Isaac when he was on his deathbed. When Jacob was found out, he had to run off and escape from his brother (ch. 29).

4 4 In the new country to which he fled, he came across a family and fell in love with a young girl called Rachel. He agreed a deal with Laban her father, who said he could have his daughter s hand in marriage in exchange for seven years work. And so he worked for seven years, married the daughter but on the wedding night, he discovered it was the wrong daughter Laban had tricked him for he had married the older daughter Leah, and not the one he wanted! Jacob had met his match in Laban, and he had to work another seven years before he could marry Rachel, the one he wanted. He married twice, - he had two wives, - contrary to God s word in Gen. 2:24 and you cannot expect anything but trouble when you ignore and disobey God. And here in Gen. 30:1 these two sisters, - Rachel and Leah, - were not getting on well together It was Jacob s fault because he should not have married the two of them! Rachel was jealous, she s getting hysterical, Gen. 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. But what could poor Jacob do about it! His life wouldn t have been worth living and he bit back, 2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Jacob didn t make much of an impression though for, - not surprisingly, - he didn t have the last word for Rachel had a plan, 3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. As if the household wasn t fraught enough, Rachel suggested adding another woman into the already complicated equation, Bilhah ( troubled ). That was three women in the one house! It was an exact repeat of the complications that arose after Sarah introduced a similar plan to Abraham, Jacob s grandfather, to have a child with Tamar, their handmaid! It didn t work then either. Anyhow, Bilhah had a child but because she was Rachel s handmaid Rachel reckoned she could claim Bilhah s child as her son Now look at Rachel s twisted mind, 6 Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. She had convinced herself that what she had done was right, there was no harm in it and God had actually blessed her with this child! He had done no such thing for God does not bless disobedience! He does not go against His word, but that is how misguided she had become.

5 5 Even though Rachel had done something very wrong, yet at the same time she really believed God was listening to her prayers and had answered her with the birth of this new baby who belonged to another woman but she reckoned was her s That is what sin does, - it mixes you all up so you don t think straight! She was actually under the delusion God had blessed her disobedience! Absolutely no way! And Dan wasn t her son, - he was Bilhah s son! The whole scenario was so twisted! And also Rachel believed she was justified in causing her husband to commit adultery in direct contravention of Gen. 2:24! So, this Dan that was born, - of whom Manoah was a descendant, - was born out of a relationship contrary to God s Word. Okay what else can we find out about this tribe from which Manoah came? Well, Dan means judge and deliverer. [Daniel = God is judge/deliverer ]. Manoah belonged to the tribe of Dan, and God had promised through Jacob on his deathbed, 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. And that did happen because Manoah had a son who went on to become a judge. Their son, Samson, would deliver the Israelites out from under the oppression of the Philistines. God s word is always accurate, and He delivers on His promises. Then, when we take a look at another list of the sons of Jacob found in Gen. 46:8ff, we see the mention of Reuben s sons (v.9), Simeon s sons (v.10), Levi s sons (v.11), Judah s sons (v.12), etc. but when you come to v.23, - to the list of Dan s sons, - there is only one name mentioned, Hushim. Who is Hushim? In Hebrew when you see im at the end of a word it is the same as when we put s on the end of our words, - it makes them into the plural, hence, cherub(im), seraph(im), nephal(im), Hushim. So Hushim, on this occasion, seems to be a collective term of a faction within the tribe of Dan and it s as if to suggest, That s all we are going to say about them! There seems to have been something unmentionable, as in, Let s just drop it and leave it there! Then, when you turn to I Chron. 2:1ff and you find the records of the twelve sons of Jacob again, Dan is there in v.2. But when you read from the section of the genealogies 2:3 7:40 he has been omitted completely. Judah (2:3-4:23), Simeon (4:24-43), Reuben (5:1-10), Gad (5:11-22), Manasseh (5:23-26; 7:14-19), Levi (6:1-30), Issachar (7:1-5), Benjamin (7:6-12; 8:1-39), Naphtali (7:13), Ephrain (7:20-29), Asher (7:30-40). NO

6 6 DAN! Rev. 7:4-8 again NO DAN! What s going on?! What s the reason for Dan being excluded? Let s look a little deeper. Perhaps the reason lies in how Jacob described Dan s characteristic when he spoke of how Gen. 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. A serpent by the way that biteth the horse heels That is familiar language and the Hebrew mind, whose history was faithfully preserved in their memories, would have thought immediately of the words of God in Gen. 3:15. It is the same symbolism used in the Garden of Eden towards the serpent. It would have been a story familiar to every generation. A serpent, - understandably, - was a reptile that caused fear. Job referred to the crooked serpent (26:13). The psalmist referred to its poison (58:4), and its tongue (140:3). Solomon spoke about its deadly bite (Prov. 23:32; Eccles. 10:8). In the Garden of Eden God said to the serpent, Gen. 3:15 I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. In Gen. 49:17 old dying Jacob was telling his son, Dan, I m not about to pay you a compliment. Instead, I m telling you that you are going to be like a serpent that bites at the heels of the horse as it rides along a well-trodden pathway, and the rider will fall off backwards. You see, Dan was going to turn out to be untrustworthy and treacherous towards his brethren. And yet, in grace, God would raise a man called Samson out of this tribe, through Manoah, because God promised for those times, v.16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. But the tribe of Dan did not deserve such a privilege. They were devious, and not to be trusted. Granted Dan the Deliverer, but also Dan the Despised for he would lie in wait for the opportunity to oppose his brethren.... Then, he was also Dan the depraved. In I Kings 12 young Rehoboam became king after the death of his father Solomon. At the request of his people, he had to devise a policy for governing the daily affairs. He asked the older men, - who gave him good advice, - and then he asked his young friends, who told him what he wanted to hear And to his peril, he decided to take the foolish advice of his younger advisers. In next-to-no time ten out of the twelve tribes broke away and followed Jeroboam to set up a new kingdom (v.20). The two tribes that remained faithful to Rehoboam were known as Judah ; the other ten breakaway tribes were known as Israel. The centre for Judah was in Jerusalem. The

7 7 breakaway tribes had two centres, - one was Bethel in the south, and the other was Dan in the north. And Dan became a hotbed of rebellion against God. It was riddled with idolatry and it did turn out to be the serpent who lay in wait amongst his brethren, and caused them to stumble spiritually, as Jacob had prophesied. So this was the background to how God was working when he entered the home of Manoah. And the problem was compounded with the fact his wife was barren but it was illustrative of how God s people were barren, spiritually, because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them (Judges 2:12). No wonder God sent the Philistines upon his people for those forty years! How could the Israelites expect His blessing and protection when they chose disobedience?! God cannot tolerate sin and it must insult Him even more when the people who sin are those who consider themselves to be His! That was the cloud under which Manoah, his wife, and the people of Israel were living! Gone were the days when they first entered Canaan and conquered the land Now, they were conquered. Forty years under the yoke of the Philistines and how much longer until they are freed?! They were barren because everything they worked for, the Philistines took off them! And, were it not for His grace, their barrenness would have continued but God, - even when the people didn t deserve it, - decided to graciously intervene and provide a deliverer. It reminds us of what Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Do you ever wonder why God saved you? Do you ever wonder why God picked you out, - as He did with Manoah, - and made Himself known to you? You were trundling along without a thought of Him and He caused you to stop and He confronted you to consider your life what it was all about and where it was heading. And when you analysed and looked at your life, you realised it was not going in the right direction. And then your attention was drawn to realise God loved you and sent His Son to die on the cross of

8 8 Calvary for you. And you saw that you were a sinner in need of His grace, and you turned to Jesus Christ and He saved you He took away your sin, you became His child, and you began to follow Him and that is what you have been doing ever since. Previously, just like with Manoah, it was darkness all around but Jesus came into your life and changed it. He gave you new standards and new priorities and a brand new direction. That is what Manoah and his people were needing, so as to get out from under the control of the Philistines There is much more to this account of Manoah and his wife, and we shall come back to it next Sunday evening But consider this God saw him, and the sovereign hand of God was about to reach into his situation. When we apply such thoughts to ourselves, once again we realise the goodness of God in His amazing grace, that saved a wretch like you and me. Amen. MANOAH S WIFE For forty years a menacing cloud of darkness hovered over the people of Israel, and the reason for it was justifiable, 1 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. Their predicament was one of their own making because it was God s punishment on their sinful rebellion. Previously we entered one of their homes and considered Judges 13:2 a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and we studied where he came from, and we also considered the somewhat tainted legacy of his ancestors. The town of Zorah, - just less than fifteen miles out to the west of Jerusalem, - is first mentioned in Joshua 15 when Joshua apportioned the land to the tribe of Judah, Josh. 15:20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. 21 And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur 33 And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah Then, in Joshua 19, it is reassigned to the territory of Dan, Joshua 19:40 And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. 41

9 9 And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Irshemesh. It was literally on the border, - like Coldstream, - between the two tribes, and perhaps like Berwick-upon-Tweed on the northern England and Scottish border, its ownership might have alternated between the people of Judah and the people of Dan One commentator suggests it might have been a city of the Danites within the boundary of Judah. Actually, being a town on the border between Dan and Judah would shed light on the identity of Manoah s wife. We are not given her name here, but in Judaism the rabbis who lived during the Babylonian captivity identified her as Hazelelponi a name that would affiliate her to the tribe of Judah, I Chron. 4:1 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi [ facing the shade ] It is not impossible, in fact, it is very plausible. However, we must never wander into areas where Scripture does not implicitly give us sufficient warrant. Compared with her husband, she definitely does have a different emphasis, - and confidence, - to her faith. Of the two, she seems to be the more spiritual. Now, here is a strange thing 3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman. It s not that the angel appeared, but it is that He appeared unto a woman! In those days women did not come to the fore, - as we see here, her name wasn t recorded. She lived in the shadow of her husband. If anyone came to their home, Manoah would have greeted them, while his wife would have faced the shade (Hazelelponi?) was kept in the background. And that is what makes it so amazing the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman (v.3) It was more likely He would have appeared to the man, as -, for example, when the Lord appeared to Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, never their wives. But He is meeting with this woman now for He has a special message for her, and He began by telling her what she sadly already knew, - it was like rubbing salt into the wounds, v.3 Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not. She was all too painfully aware of the fact she could not have children. She would often have been judged for it, - the reason she could not have children was because of a past sin, or an unconfessed sin somewhere in the family

10 10 and she had to live with the stigma of being childless. There probably would have been some, - if she was this Hazelelponi, from the tribe of Judah, - who would have claimed it was judgment on her for marrying someone from the tribe of Dan! The Angel then told her news she longed to hear, v.3 but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. If she could bear a son it would avert her perceived disgrace, and give an heir to her husband. Along with the good news, though, came a stark warning, v.4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, beware [shamar]! Imagine receiving such good news from an angel and then being told to bewarei But that is what she was told! Beware keep, guard, observe, heed The Angel warned her to take His message into her heart and believe. Trust in what He was saying. Don t for one moment doubt what He is saying to you! But, of course, down through the years she had gotten herself into a state where she never thought she would have children, and now she is being told she is going to be a mother and not just any mother. She was going to have a son who would be in a very special relationship with God throughout his life, to the extent that he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (v.5). What?! I m going to have a son We have been trying for years and it has never happened but I m not just going to have a child, I m going to have a boy and he s going to become a deliverer, - a judge, - of Israel?! He s going to have long hair and be a Nazarite from the very moment he is born (cf. Num. 6:1-21), and he will be consecrated and separated unto God! She was so excited she ran to find her husband to tell him what had happened, v.6 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 It was absolutely wonderful! She was so excited she forgot to ask him what his name was and where he came from! Typical woman! If she had been thinking like a man, she would have found out all about him! But she was so excited she couldn t wait to pass the message on to her husband and I m sure her eyes were dancing as she told him of her experience. There is no doubt about it she believed, - after all those years of being barren, - she was going to have a son! By the way, who was she speaking to? 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the

11 11 countenance of an angel of God, very terrible [awesome, i.e. beautiful Manoah s wife was in raptures!] But Who was this that did actually appear? Who was this that she thought at first was a man of God, vv.6,10. She had no idea Who her Visitor was. He looked and spoke like an ordinary man, but there was definitely something absolutely altogether different about Him! But Who actually was He? Notice He is described as the angel of the Lord (vv.3,9,13,15,16,17,18,20,21 the definite article). I don t believe there is any doubt as to the identity of this Angel because this was not just an angel. This is what is known as a Christphany, the appearance of Christ in the Old Testament This was the Second Person of the Trinity Who met with this unknown woman. She told her husband what the Angel had said to her, v.7 Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son That was the part of the message she particularly mentioned. Yes, she had left bits of the message out such as v.3 now, thou art barren, and bearest not But, in her excitement, that part of the message didn t matter! She was going to have a son! She was instructed to bring him up as a Nazarite from the day of his birth to the day of his death, - she would make sure of it, for she was going to be a good mother the very best! He will not drink wine or strong drink or eat anything the Law of Moses proscribes as unclean. Not a hair on his head will be cut, - she will make sure of it! She really genuinely believed the words of this stranger, that she was going to be the mother of a baby son. Incidentally, I see a very real woman here She was not too rigorous in telling her husband everything! She only told her husband so much perhaps the reason was that she only told him what she thought he needed to hear! Let s compare what the angel told her, to what she told her husband The angel told her 5 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. She told her husband 7 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.

12 So, she left out the bit where God said, v.5 and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. She did not want to think her beloved unborn and unconceived son was going to go through hard times of conflict. No mother would want to believe that about her son! But she really did have the faith to believe the words of the Angel Who came to her and told her this great news It s just she didn t tell her husband everything! What about how Manoah received this news? I am not just so convinced about how much of this he believed. His faith doesn t seem to measure up to his wife s faith for when his wife told him about the man of God visiting her and speaking with her, he had to check the whole thing out for himself, 8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD. He prayed! Prayer was not a foreign concept to him, for he prayed directly to Jehovah. I want to know if this is true, or if it is not Basically he was saying, I only have my wife s word for it! Imagine a husband that didn t believe everything his wife said! It might be true, or it might not be! We ve got to see check it out! 8 O my Lord [Adonai the word that was normally spoken in place of Jehovah, in the Jewish display of reverence ], let the man of God [elohim] which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. Jehovah, Adonai, Elohim, - Manoah was a religious man for he knew all these terms and how and when to use them! He was definitely religious! However, he did not immediately share the woman s joy. He did not hug her or lift her off her feet with uncontrollable excitement He wasn t exactly in a state of hysteria! Actually, he seemed to take it in a fairly matter of fact vein. Before I get too excited, I need to see for myself what is going on! I must check it out! I don t think he was taking the promise of the angel to his wife as seriously as he ought. I don t think he believed to the same scale his wife did. He might even have thought she heard only what she wanted to hear. He asked the Lord, v.8 let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, Let me in on it too, Lord, so I really know all this is happening. Tell me about it, don t just tell my wife! He wasn t ready for making an announcement he was going to be a father just yet, not until it had been proved to him! I ll believe if You convince me! I reckon he was not yet 100% sure of what was going on! You got to make something 100% believable before you believe it! But that s not faith! Faith believes in the unbelievable! But, Manoah was not totally convinced,

13 13 and because he could not totally believe he was starting out on a road littered with error and doubt. And besides, you cannot tell the Lord what He must and must not do! That is what Manoah was trying, 8 O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us You don t tell the Lord how to carry out His will You just don t even if you do taper it with, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. You simply don t demand of the Lord! So, do you see what the Lord did?... v.9 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. Did the Lord answer his prayer? Well, God listened to him, but He didn t answer Manoah s prayer the way he had prayed it for the Word of God makes a point of emphasising Manoah was not with his wife when the angel of God answered his prayer. Manoah had prayed, 8 let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us but the Lord answered by sending the man of God to the wife, and He by-passed Manoah You simply do not demand of the Lord! Why did the Angel of the Lord not meet with both Manoah and his wife? I believe it is because Manoah did not have the same depth of faith as his wife, and his lack of faith was a hindrance in his ability to believe God s promise. In actual fact, God bluntly was saying to him, I m not speaking with you I m going to speak to your wife! Yes, Manoah believed but not to the same necessary extent as his wife and, as a consequence, he missed out on the beginnings of that meeting in the field. That is where the Angel met with her, and not him! She had to go off and find Manoah, and he had to learn of it second-hand from a woman, 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. and also notice such was the grace of the Angel that the Angel waited there until she returned with her husband! And do you see how, - even though the Angel came to the woman, - Manoah took the reins and he directed the conversation, 11 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 then Manoah launched into questions of his own 12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?... I like the Angel s answer He didn t tell Manoah any more than he needed to know! The Angel repeated

14 14 some of his original message although not all of it because He had some instructions for the mother-to-be He did not have for the father-to-be (v.13-14). There were still many questions Manoah wanted to find the answers to before his faith would allow him to believe sufficiently, and he asked the man to stay for a meal. In fact, he asked him in a way that ordinarily the person would have no choice but to stay for a meal! It goes without saying, Manoah followed the usual household rule of hospitality and common courtesy, but also, - very, very obviously, - he would use the opportunity to further question the visitor in a more relaxed atmosphere. And that is what he did, v.11 Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? 12 How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? and he tried to ask some more, v.17 What is thy name? Earlier, the Holy Spirit made the point Manoah s wife would not even ask that question, cf. v.6 I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name. She was willing simply to believe by faith He was willing to believe only on the basis of evidence and of proof, and the Angel picked up on that, 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? Sadly, the faith with which Manoah believed fell short of the standard of faith the Bible requires. His wife s faith came from her heart, whereas his faith had to be fed by the mind. She believed the words of the Angel, without question and without any need for proof. He, on the other hand, needed faith plus Now, surely that lies behind why the Angel visited the woman on her own (vv.3,9), and did not visit Manoah. It explains the significance of the phrase, v.9 but Manoah her husband was not with her? This very marked difference in the faith of the man and the faith of the woman continues even to the end of the chapter. The Angel could see Manoah was not totally convinced, even despite Manoah s show, v.16 Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. Look what Manoah did next v. 19 [Manoah] took a kid [ydig> gediy {ghed-ee'}] with a meat offering [hx'n>mi minchah {min-khaw'}, grain offering ], and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. In other words, what the Angel did with that kid was fantastic beyond words! Neither Manoah nor his wife had ever seen anything like it!

15 15 And as they watched, a holy fear descended upon them. The flame of the fire took a mighty upwards leap towards Heaven, and v.20 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. 21 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. It was then that it dawned on Manoah This was not simply a man of God, this was not a prophet or anything else of this earth v.21 Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. At last, we are getting somewhere! And then, he let himself down for his measure of faith showed itself lacking again as he said to his wife, - with the panic in his voice, - v.22 We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But such was the faith of his wife she had everything in its proper context, for she had the peace in her heart the peace in knowing the God Who spoke to her has all things under His control, v.23 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. We thank the Lord for our wise women! It is a blessing from God to have a Godly wife, and I am grateful to Him for such a gift. This wife kept her husband steady. This wife introduced her husband to the Angel of the Lord. This wife was an example to her husband of how to have true faith and believe in God. At the conclusion of this chapter you see that both Manoah and his wife accepted this Visitor to be God Himself, v.22 we have seen God. It took a little time. Manoah s wife saw something special in the Visitor quicker than Manoah did. Manoah was looking it all set out for him, whereas his wife simply believed. Is it not true that often we miss out on a blessing because we are slow to place the trust in God we ought to? Instead, we feel we need to have everything proved. We need to have everything worked out and calculated according to our specifications and faith and neatly set in front of us. I m not suggesting we adopt a blind faith because that is not the faith the Bible teaches us to have. A.W. Pink explained it, Faith is a principle of life by which the Christian lives unto God.

16 16 One of the great saints was Abraham, and we read about how he was called the Friend of God (James 2:23). Abraham did much travelling, at the command of God. When he set out, he was not always sure of his destiny but he was altogether sure of his Company. And that is how faith works. My Lord knows the way through the wilderness Strength for today is mine all the way All I have to do is follow. Biblically-grounded faith is no less than believing in God for every situation, - when you lie down in green pastures, when you walk alongside the still waters and even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death.... These were difficult times when Manoah and his wife were visited by the Angel of the Lord, - the Lord Himself, - and the visit achieved its purpose when they believed His promise, and their son was indeed born to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. May the Lord, through His grace, widen the boundaries of our faith also! Amen.