February 9 - Manoah and his wife

February 9 - Manoah and his wife - Judges 13:2-25

What do you do when the Lord shows up to your wife? Well, if you're Manoah, you ask God to come again. No wonder God was able to use Samson, his parents were obedient to the Lord, even when it was difficult for them to understand what He was asking of them.

This is another of those lesser-known stories found in the book of Judges. In fact, if anything is read here, it is generally the story of Samson and Delilah. But, Manoah and his wife showed faithfulness, boldness and finally obedience when it came to speaking with and hearing what the angel of the Lord had to say to them.

Manoah had come from a long line of Danites (the tribe of Dan). His poor wife suffered the same fate as many of the famous wives before her. She was sterile and remained childless. But, one day, guess who showed up? Ok. Obviously, it was the angel of the Lord.

She was told that she would conceive and have a child, but she had a few things that she needed to do. She couldn't drink wine or other fermented drinks. She couldn't eat anything unclean. She was to set apart her son as a Nazirite, so no razor could be used on his head. With these instructions came the promise that her son would begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

She went to her husband and told him what had happened. Her description of the angel in the NIV is less than powerful. They use the word 'awesome.' But, the Hebrew word 'yare' (pronounced yaw-ray) means terrible, fearful, dreadful, and the adjective 'very' gives more emphasis than our English does. It means exceedingly or greatly. In other words, this angel was more than anything she had to compare it to and it frightened her. She knew that it was from God.

God answered Manoah's request to show up again and one day when she was in the field, the angel showed up. She hurried to get her husband and he followed her back to the field. The question he posed to the angel of the Lord after ensuring it was the same one that had spoken to his wife earlier, was, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work." (Judges 13:12)

The angel repeated the earlier instructions that had been given to Manoah's wife, then Manoah asked it to stay for a meal. The Bible says that Manoah did not realize this was an angel of the Lord. (Judges 13:16) He went on and asked the angel for his name. As I read this, I honestly held my breath, even though I knew that no angel except Michael and Gabriel had ever named themselves in scripture. I can always hope!

The angel responded by telling Manoah that his name was beyond understanding. Oh, glory! I can't wait for the day that I can actually understand these names! Anyway ...

Manoah sacrificed the young goat to the Lord at the angel's request. The scriptures read, "And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord." (Judge 13:19b-21)

She gave birth to a son and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him.

Manoah wasn't a Levite, so he was probably uneducated. He and his wife worked the fields. They had no children to help them. They were simple, honest people. When the Lord showed up, He changed everything in their lives. They were given a son. They were given a chance to see amazing miracles. Their lives would never be the same. Because together, they trusted the Lord.