14 day plan

Mothers of the Bible

Day 7 of 14

GNT

Judges 13:2-5

2At that time there was a man named Manoah from the town of Zorah. He was a member of the tribe of Dan. His wife had never been able to have children. 3The Lord's angel appeared to her and said, “You have never been able to have children, but you will soon be pregnant and have a son. 4Be sure not to drink any wine or beer, or eat any forbidden food; 5 and after your son is born, you must never cut his hair, because from the day of his birth he will be dedicated to God as a nazirite. He will begin the work of rescuing Israel from the Philistines.”

Reflection:  During a period when the Philistines ruled over Israel, an angel of God appeared to a childless woman who was so humble and insignificant that we are not even told her name. This ‘wife of Manoah’ sets an example of faith in God worth noting. She was barren, yet God reached out to her and promised that she would give birth to a son. The angel gave her specific directions, including how she was to raise her son, who would be special and very important. 

The woman immediately went to her husband and told him what had happened, and what had been promised. Manoah responds in prayer, requesting further direction on how to raise their son. In answer to his prayer, God sends his angel again to the woman and her husband.  Upon offering a sacrifice to the Lord, Manoah and his wife were amazed to see the way the Lord caused the flame of the altar to blaze up to heaven, and the angel ascend on the flame (Judges 13:20). Manoah believed they would die, since, as he said, “we have seen God!”

Yet Manoah’s wife shows her spiritual insight and wisdom when she replies to her husband, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have
accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this’ (13:23).  This wisdom, spiritual understanding, and an insight allowed Manoah’s wife to comfort and advise her husband. Although the son she bore, Samson, proved to be a strange and inconsistent man, he still acted as God’s chosen judge and deliverer of his people, and was honoured for his faith in God (Hebrews 11:32-34).

Question: What stands out to you in this story, particularly in regards to the actions and character demonstrated by Samson’s mother, Manoah’s wife? 

Prayer:  Thank you Sovereign God,
that you reach out to those who are humble and lowly, and lift them up to serve in your holy plan of salvation for your people. Thank you for the faithful example of Manoah’s wife, and Manoah himself, as they sought to honour you and follow your instructions in raising their son Samson. Please grant that I too would respond to your guidance in my own life with similar reverence and obedience. In Jesus name, Amen.

We are reading the Bible with Karen Mudge  until 19th May.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). LICENSEE shall reproduce the following trademark and trademark notice on the copyright page of each copy of the Licensed Products: ®

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Judges 13:1-25

The Birth of Samson

1The Israelites sinned against the Lord again, and he let the Philistines rule them for forty years.

2At that time there was a man named Manoah from the town of Zorah. He was a member of the tribe of Dan. His wife had never been able to have children. 3The Lord's angel appeared to her and said, “You have never been able to have children, but you will soon be pregnant and have a son. 4Be sure not to drink any wine or beer, or eat any forbidden food; 5 and after your son is born, you must never cut his hair, because from the day of his birth he will be dedicated to God as a nazirite. He will begin the work of rescuing Israel from the Philistines.”

6Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God has come to me, and he looked as frightening as the angel of God. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. 7But he did tell me that I would become pregnant and have a son. He told me not to drink any wine or beer, or eat any forbidden food, because the boy is to be dedicated to God as a nazirite as long as he lives.”

8Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, let the man of God that you sent come back to us and tell us what we must do with the boy when he is born.”

9God did what Manoah asked, and his angel came back to the woman while she was sitting in the field. Her husband Manoah was not with her, 10so she ran at once and told him, “Look! The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again.”

11Manoah got up and followed his wife. He went to the man and asked, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“Yes,” he answered.

12Then Manoah said, “Now then, when your words come true, what must the boy do? What kind of a life must he lead?”

13The Lord's angel answered, “Your wife must be sure to do everything that I have told her. 14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine; she must not drink any wine or beer, or eat any forbidden food. She must do everything that I have told her.”

15-16Not knowing that it was the Lord's angel, Manoah said to him, “Please do not go yet. Let us cook a young goat for you.”

But the angel said, “If I do stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare it, burn it as an offering to the Lord.”

17Manoah replied, “Tell us your name, so that we can honor you when your words come true.”

18The angel asked, “Why do you want to know my name? It is a name of wonder.”

19So Manoah took a young goat and some grain, and offered them on the rock altar to the Lord who works wonders. 20-21While the flames were going up from the altar, Manoah and his wife saw the Lord's angel go up toward heaven in the flames. Manoah realized then that the man had been the Lord's angel, and he and his wife threw themselves face downward on the ground. They never saw the angel again.

22Manoah said to his wife, “We are sure to die, because we have seen God!”

23But his wife answered, “If the Lord had wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our offerings; he would not have shown us all this or told us such things at this time.”

24The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and the Lord blessed him. 25And the Lord's power began to strengthen him while he was between Zorah and Eshtaol in the Camp of Dan.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). LICENSEE shall reproduce the following trademark and trademark notice on the copyright page of each copy of the Licensed Products: ®