Deliverance When No One is Asking

Open your Bibles, please, to the book of Judges, and you can stop in chapter 10 for now.
Today, we're going to be looking at the miraculous birth of the most well-known judge in Israel,
and that would be Samson. But to get to Samson, we have to do a quick scan of some of the places
we've already been here in the book of Judges so that we can understand the circumstances
surrounding his birth. If you've been listening to the messages over the last several weeks,
you've seen that we're actually in the middle of a descent into spiritual darkness that was really
unimaginable when the book began. The descent into darkness started all the way back in chapter 1,
when Judah... or should I say would not, drive out the Canaanites and defeat them because they had
iron chariots. The descent continued throughout the early chapters of Judges as the people
disobeyed God. They failed to remove the wicked Canaanites, and they began taking on their
practices. They began worshiping their gods. The nation only obeyed when a judge was in place,
and went back to their idol worship and their neglect of God as soon as the judge died.
By the time we arrived in chapter 6 with Gideon, though God used Gideon in his weakness to free the
people from Midianite rule, there was the first instance here of God...
one of his judges who normally deliver the people, but now God's using his judge to judge the
people. As if you remember, he disciplined the people of Sukkoth, and then he killed the people at
Penuel who hid from him in a tower. Then if you recall,
we entered at this point what was the darkest scene in the book of Judges. When the people of
Shechem crowned Abimelech king, And then he slaughtered 70 of Gideon's sons,
his stepbrothers, all except one. And eventually God killed both Abimelech and the leaders of
Shechem by using those in Shechem to kill Abimelech and Abimelech to discipline and kill those in
Shechem. But that wasn't the worst part of the descent into sin and darkness,
was it? In chapter 10, their sin and idolatry of the entire nation was so great that God told them
in chapter 10, verse 13, you have forsaken me and served other gods.
Therefore, I will save you no more. Go and cry to the gods whom you've chosen.
Let them save you out of your distress.
Mike pointed out last week that this is one of the rare times where God is using sarcasm to speak
against his own people. Their rebellion and their idolatry and their sin has placed them now under
God's judgment. God is saying, in essence, I'm done with you.
You're on your own. And we saw the results of that, didn't we? What happens when God removes his
hands from his people? The rebellion and the idolatry and the sin has placed them under God's
judgment. And what happens, we saw it in chapter 11 with Jephthah. He was so confused and so
compromised and so entrenched in the culture that he foolishly makes a vow and then more foolishly
keeps the vow and ends up offering a child sacrifice.
just like the Canaanites. And if that's not enough, the descent into darkness goes even further
because by the time Jephthah is done judging the people, it ends with 42,000 Israelites being
slaughtered by other Israelites.
So the early chapter of Judges, the judgment was upon the Canaanites. And now that the Canaanite
and now that the Israelites have embraced the Canaanite life and practice, God is using his own
people to judge his own people with the same severity that was on the pagan nations.
Now, it shouldn't surprise us because 1 Peter 4.17 reminds us that the disciplinary judgment of
God begins in the household of God. There are evangelicals who spend all their time talking about
the sin in the culture, talking about the sin of the nation, talking about those evil people out
there, often with self-righteous and judgmental ways, against people who simply need Christ.
They simply need the good news of the gospel.
Those individuals who rail against the culture. You need to be reminded of Paul's words in 1
Corinthians 5.12. When a person in the church at Corinth was immoral, Paul said this.
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you're to
judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you.
That's a huge topic that we can't get into right now. But when the church does not deal. with his
own people and their own sin than God does. You see,
the culture needs Christ. The church needs holiness.
And this is at least partly what he's doing in the book of Judges. God is dealing with his own
sinful people. And beginning in chapter 12, verse 8, the descent into sin and darkness and despair
continues as the author makes mention of the next three judges. We won't read the verses,
but let me at least mention the judges. Ibsen, in verse 9, is known for having 30 sons and 30
daughters. And the text mentions that he was instrumental in having all 60 of his children marry
outside the clan. He was so immersed in the culture and so immersed in idolatry that he arranged
for his children to marry Canaanites. showing now how compromised the leaders are.
There's nothing remarkable about Elon in verse 11. Then Abdon in verse 13 had 40 sons and 30
grandsons who rode on donkeys that surely pointed to wealth and power. He judged for eight years.
But notice in verse 15 that he was buried in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Now that may not seem much to you, but in this culture, Much like Joseph wanting his bones brought
back to the promised land to be laid to rest, where a person was buried was indicative of where his
heart was, where his life was, where his love was. This judge was more Amalekite than he was
Israelite. So the author of Judges is giving us these small clues about the continued sin and the
continued darkness that has permeated not just the people.
But now the leadership as well. As the leaders go, so go the people.
And when leaders are not seeking God, when they are doing what's right in their own eyes,
then those who are leading or being led have no hope. So the current spiritual climate is dark.
You cannot distinguish differences between the Canaanites and God's people. The leadership's
compromised, and God has been. And continues to judge not just the people out there,
but he's judging his own people. And then here we are picking it up in the very first verse of
chapter 13. And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
So the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for 40 years. Now,
by now, this is the fifth time we've seen this phrase. The people of Israel again did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord. But what's different now is even though they've been given into the hand
of the Philistines for 40 years, what's so significant is they don't care.
They're not crying out for deliverance. They're not asking for mercy.
They're not asking for relief. They're not begging God to deliver. They're under God's judgment.
But they just don't care. They become comfortable with their sin,
comfortable with their idolatry, comfortable with being forsaken by God.
Friends, beloved, this can happen to you. A particular sin like pornography can become such a part
of your life that the day comes when you're no longer convicted. You're not praying for
deliverance. Now it's just part of your life. It's become normal.
You become so used to your sinful outbursts that you just excuse them and say, ah, it's just me.
It becomes so easy to be deceitful or to lie. Even that becomes normal because you're okay with it.
You've come to the place where you just don't care.
This doesn't happen overnight. It didn't happen overnight in the book of Judges. You slip into
apathy. You slip into idolatry. One thought, one action at a time.
Sow a thought. Reap an action. Sow an action.
Reap a habit. Sow a habit. Reap a character.
Sow a character. Reap a destiny. But it starts in the thoughts,
doesn't it? It starts in the heart. Where are your thoughts today? Where are you on this trajectory
this morning? Is the Spirit of God working in your life this morning, convicting you to put off
your sin and care and not be like those in Judges?
Because this is where we are in Judges 13, a nation called by God's name, doing evil under bondage,
under judgment, with no desire for help or change, whom God himself told,
go ask your false gods to save you.
Now, if that's you this morning, there's hope. If you're someone who claims the name of Christ and
you're on this descent into sin, on the authority of God's word, there's more grace in Jesus than
sin in you. And if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse
you from all unrighteousness.
He hasn't forgotten you.
And he hasn't forgotten his people. You will see this in Judges 13 because out of darkness God
promises hope and out of bondage God promises a deliverer. And we're going to see this in Judges 13
through first a remarkable couple who are going to receive a remarkable message about a remarkable
child by a remarkable messenger which points to a remarkable promise.
Remarkable means unusual. It means exceptional. It means extraordinary. And our chapter fits that
description.
Now, I want to tell you in advance that the five points I just mentioned will not be linear. I'm
not going to walk through them kind of one through five like we normally might. We're going to move
in and out of them as the text calls for it. But follow along as I read all of chapter 13 as we
hear the story about the birth of Samson.
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and gave them into the
hand of the Philistines for 40 years. There was a certain man from Zorah,
the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold, you are barren and have
not born children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore,
be careful and drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean.
For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head for the child
shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the
Philistines. Then the woman came and told her husband. A man of God came to me,
and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God. Very awesome. I didn't ask him
where he was from, and he didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive
and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall
be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and
said, O Lord, please. Let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to
do with a child who will be born. And God listened to the voice of Manoah.
And the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah,
her husband, was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, Behold, the man who
came to me the other day has appeared to me. And Manoah arose and went after his wife.
And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah,
Neither let her drink wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her,
let her observe.
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.
And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, If you detain me, I will not eat your food. But if you
prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know that he was the angel
of the Lord. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name so that when your words
come true, we may honor you? And the angel of the Lord said to him,
Why do you ask me my name, seeing it is wonderful? So Manoah took the young goat and the grain
offering and offered it. On the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders. And Manoah and his
wife were watching. When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went
up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching and they fell on their faces to
the ground. The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife.
Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife,
we shall surely die for we have seen God.
But his wife said, if the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering
and a grain offering at our hands or shown us all these things or now announced to us such things
as these. And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson.
And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in
Mahanadan between Zorah and Astael. May God bless the reading of his word this morning.
Now, we just read what I would consider one of the most amazing, or should I say remarkable
dialogues in all of Scripture. And if you're familiar at all with the Bible,
The story of redemption in particular, it parallels between the promise of the birth of Samson to
begin delivering the Israelites from the Philistines and the promise of the birth of Christ to
deliver his people, and that's not an accident. So I want to say up front that this is a picture.
It's a portrait. It's a type. It's a shadow of pointing to the miraculous birth of Christ.
We could have titled this Christmas in Judges. But remember, for centuries before Christ was born,
the narrative itself had meaning and application to the Israelites. And we're going to direct our
attention to the meaning of the original readers before we apply it to the story of redemption. And
what's fascinating about this is this is the longest recorded conversation between a husband and a
wife in the entire Bible.
Don't you wish that you could be a fly on the wall? of some of your brothers and sisters in Christ
when they had to deal with crisis in their lives and deal with things like this that you could
actually hear and listen to what they're talking about? Well,
the writer of the book of Judges, he is our fly on the wall. And he's going to report to us
detailed conversation between the angel of the Lord and Manoah's wife and Manoah.
And I really believe that part of the reason the author recorded this by the direction of the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit is to show faithfulness in the middle of darkness.
Surely God's showing his faithfulness to his people even when they don't ask.
But he's also showing a remnant. He's allowing us to experience two God-fearing people living in
obedience. Even though the culture is pagan and God's people are compromised.
And they're a wonderful example of living in obedience to God when no one else is.
They truly are remarkable. Now notice the author begins showing us how remarkable they are by both
their tribe and their identity. Verse 2 starts by saying Manoah is from the tribe of Dan.
If you were to pick a tribe not to be from in the nation of Israel, it would be the tribe of Dan.
Up to this point, they did not have enough faith to conquer the land that was given them. So the
tribe can be described as a group of unfaithful nomads without any land to live on.
In a sense, they really were homeless. Now, to make matters worse, When we're introduced to Manoah
and his wife, we're told twice by the narrator that Manoah's wife was barren and had no children.
Without children, a couple had no help in the present with all the various tasks they would have in
an agricultural society and no help in the future when they age and need to be cared for.
And along with that, barrenness could have been seen and interpreted as being cursed by God. And to
make matters worse, Manolo's wife doesn't have a name.
So an unnamed woman and her husband, no kids,
no hope of kids, no place to put down roots, no real home, no address,
living in a place with corrupt leadership. The people around them have rebelled against God,
forgotten God, no longer serve God. They're doing their own thing, living their own way, doing
what's right in their own eyes. Or how would we say it today? Surrounded by people living their own
truth.
So the picture painted here is your picture. It's my picture.
Equally weak, living in a culture, has no interest in God, lives around people who are doing their
own thing, going their own way, living their own truth. And it's in that setting that Manoah's wife
receives a remarkable, life-changing message about a remarkable child. I won't reread it,
but in verses 3 through 5, she's told by the angel of the Lord about her upcoming pregnancy,
that she will have a son, her pregnancy will require some lifestyle changes,
her promised son will be a Nazarite, and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the
Philistines. Now, if you're not familiar with a Nazarite vow,
please turn to Judges chapter 6, and I'm going to read from verse 1. Nazarite vow,
I'm sorry, Numbers chapter 6, and I will read from verse 1. You'll be hearing a little bit more
about this vow over the next couple weeks as well. Numbers 6, chapter 1.
Number 6, verse 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to
them, when either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite,
to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink.
He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he shall not drink any juice or
grapes or eat grapes fresh or dried all the days of his separation. He shall eat nothing that is
produced by the grapevine. Not even the seeds or the skins.
Now,
in our narrative, There is the additional command to Mrs.
Manoah to avoid unclean food. It's not mentioned in the book of Numbers, but it's assumed. Now,
the only reason I could think that that would be part of what he told Manoah and his wife is they
probably fudged every so often. She probably liked bacon. She may have enjoyed a ham sandwich.
Maybe she liked shrimp and lobster, which were all not allowed under the food laws.
In most cases, the Nazarite vow was a personal choice to take the vow for a particular period of
time that had a particular ending. The unique aspect of this command is that Samson's to be a
Nazarite from his conception to his death, and therefore his mom had to follow the same pattern at
least while she was pregnant, proving, by the way, that life begins at conception,
that babies in the womb from the moment of conception are living beings.
As we continue the narrative in the weeks ahead, remember these areas of separation. No wine or
unclean food. No haircut. No dead things. An obedient life of separation in order to remain
ceremonially clean or holy or set apart. Now this remarkable message from this remarkable messenger
will have a profound impact on both of these remarkable individuals. As soon as Mrs.
Manoa hears the news, she immediately goes to Manoa. Now, remember, the author is our fly on the
wall. And he's letting us in on this remarkable private conversation between this couple as they
converse about the news that Mrs. Manoa just received. The most remarkable news of her life.
She is barren, and she's going to have a baby.
But notice in verse 6. She doesn't lead the conversation that way.
She doesn't start with, Manoah, Manoah, we're going to have a son. She starts with,
Manoah, I may have seen God.
Notice her words in verse 6. A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of
the angel of God. Very awesome. I didn't ask him where he was from.
He didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, Behold. You shall conceive and bear a son.
So then drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean for the child. So be a Nazarite to
God from the womb to the day of his death.
And Manoah doesn't lead his response with, Are you kidding me?
I can't believe it after all these years. We're going to have a baby. Look at verse 8.
Then Manoah prayed to the Lord.
Beloved, the mouth speaks what fills the heart. First responses, knee-jerk reactions are often
indicators of where your mind is at and where your heart is at. You won't speak about your
experience with God first if you're not seeking him with all your heart.
And you won't run to God in prayer unless your life is immersed in him.
Though living among a disobedient people of God in a pagan culture, they're remarkably God-focused
and humble and dependent, weak servants of God who understand their need of him.
Do you? Do I? In any and all situations in life,
are your impulses and reactions, do they demonstrate your love and your dependence upon him?
Are you seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness? Is prayer such a part of your life that
it's your first response when news affects your life?
I mean, he cries out in verse 8. He says, I mean,
his prayer is a sermon in itself. He addresses Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God,
who his neighbors and his friends and his acquaintances no longer serve. I mean,
the plea is a passionate request for the man of God to come again.
There's a demonstration of faith in the acknowledgement that he believed both his wife and he
believed the man of God. And there's a desire to know more, a desire to be obedient to the call.
And as a husband, the acknowledgement that he and his wife are in this together.
Did you notice the word us and we? He said, come again to us.
He said, teach us. What are we to do with this child who will be born?
Some of us men have to admit. Some of us, plural, men, have to admit,
plural meaning me, personal pronoun me, us men.
Sometimes we're so arrogant, so full of ourselves, and have such a low regard for our wives'
thoughts, opinions, and perceptions, that the reason that we want to hear from the man of God is
because we wouldn't believe our wives heard the information correctly.
We'd have to hear it ourselves. Because we just don't trust our one flesh partner.
I say this to my shame. Because there was a time when I was that husband.
And gentlemen, I hope it's not you. Manoah believed the angel of the Lord and his wife.
And how gracious and how kind God answers his prayer. Verse 9,
God listened to the voice of Manoah. And the man of God comes again. Doesn't he?
Is this not a call to prayer? In everything, by prayer and supplication, let all of our requests be
known to God. Pray without ceasing. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And when he finally meets the man
of God, what a blessing it is to be that fly on the wall. As Manoah,
he asks a question that I think all of us would want answered in verse 12.
See, he's heard from his wife and he believes her. They're going to have a son. It's going to be a
special son. And he wants to know what that really means. He wants some insight into the future.
Wouldn't you love that? Wouldn't you love to know your future? Wouldn't you love to know your kid's
future? He asked in verse 12, now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of
life and what is his mission? Please tell me about the future.
What is to be his life and mission? Don't you love the answer to that question?
God, what will my son or daughter be? What will they do? God, let me know the future so I can be
better in the present so I'll know how to direct, how to lead.
But what's so interesting is the angel of the Lord ignores him. He just ignores the question.
He doesn't answer Manoah with a peek in the future. He just tells him.
Live in the present.
In a sense, he's saying, you and your wife do your responsibility. You do what I've commanded you.
You walk in obedience today. I've spoken the word of God to you. I've given you the commands and
the promises you need to accomplish what I've assigned you. So obey what I already said.
The child's future is outside your responsibility.
Listen to the angel of the Lord in verse 13. Of all that I said to the woman, let her be careful.
She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. Neither let her drink wine or strong drink or
eat anything unclean. All I commanded her, let her observe. I mean,
that's it. What kind of answer is that? What kind of help is that? Not a word about the son.
Not a word about the future. Not a word about like a how-to manual. Not a word about what he will
do or be.
Just a simple command. Obey what you've already been told. I think in New Testament language,
we would just say just continue to press on with the normal means of grace. Wake up on Sundays.
Be faithful in church attendance. Hear the word of God. Worship and pray with God's people.
Partake of the sacraments. Nothing magical. And if you're a believing Christian this morning,
you have the Holy Spirit living in and through you with the necessary power and strength to walk in
obedience. But did you notice the upgrade that the angel of the Lord gave to Noah?
Did you notice that? Because he now puts part of the burden of responsibility for her obedience on
him. See, she heard the command as to what she's eat and drink. And now the man of God tells
Manoah, let her be careful.
She may not eat of anything of the vine, neither let her drink.
All that I command her, let her observe.
They're in this together, aren't they?
Beloved, this is marriage. The story of redemption is in the narrative, and we'll get there,
but don't miss the implications of what God has recorded in his holy word.
Do you and your wife function as two separate people in the same house together? Or do you function
as one flesh partners, working together to accomplish his purposes?
It took many, many years for me to arrive here in my own marriage. It's a tremendous joy being one
with the one God's given you. They are weak. They are dependent. They are one flesh.
And to raise a son, they're going to need to do this together. Mrs. Manoa is going to need Manoa's
help during her pregnancy, right? She might want to have a handful of grapes. Maybe she wants to
eat some raisins. She might want grape juice or a glass of wine before she went to bed.
He's going to have to help her say no.
After Samson's born, they're going to have to answer questions. their friends, acquaintances, and
family about his long hair. If either of their parents die in the next decade or so, they have to
explain to them why they can't come to the funeral.
It just sounds like parenting 101. And the truth is, the only thing they could be responsible for
was how Mrs. Manoa's food and drink choices would affect the baby and not cutting Samson's hair.
And once Samson's born, Mr. and Mrs. Manoa had to actively be involved in training Samson and
teaching Samson and guarding, protecting Samson from violating the law of the Nazarite. They were
to obey the commands given to them for what they can do. The rest was placed in God's hands.
And I apologize for the spoiler alert, but like some of us parents today,
Manoa and his wife will surely be weeping over some of their son's choices. even though they did
their job to raise him the way God commanded.
This is a remarkable couple, functioning in harmony, in oneness,
forged out by personally walking with God and living faithfully together in a pagan culture.
Now, you may have noticed that I've kept the identity of this remarkable messenger a bit of a
secret. Throughout the narrative, there's a progression that takes place in Manoah and his wife's
life that has a remarkable ending. And it starts with how the angel of the Lord describes himself.
In verse 11, Manoah asks, Are you the man who spoke to this woman?
And he said,
I am.
Clearly he could have said yes.
But the I am has a Moses in the burning bush ring to it, doesn't it? When the I am was God.
And it has a New Testament ring to it. When Jesus stated in John 8, 58, before Abraham was,
I am. And Jesus went on to say, I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the true vine.
I am the door. I am the good shepherd. And if that's not convincing enough to determine who the
angel of the Lord is, notice how the dialogue continues in verse 17. And Manoah said to the angel
of the Lord, what is your name? So that when your words come true,
we may honor you. And the angel of the Lord said to him, why do you ask my name?
Seeing it is wonderful. The word wonderful means incomprehensible.
It means beyond human understanding. It means supernatural. It means miraculous.
It's the same root that's in Isaiah 9, 6. explaining some of the glorious attributes of the
promised Messiah. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. Clearly the angel of the Lord.
is more than a mere man. Clearly, the angel of the Lord is more than just a man of God.
And when Manoah attempts to offer hospitality and provide a meal,
and the angel of the Lord says no to the meal, but encourages a burnt offering, and Manoah offers
the burnt offering on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, the wondrous,
miraculous exit reveals his true identity. Verse 20, when the flame went up toward heaven from the
altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were
watching and they fell with their faces to the ground.
When you fall down on the ground with your faces to the ground, you're hiding.
You're protecting yourself from something greater than you. You're acknowledging that you're in the
presence of someone or something that you're unworthy of. You're paying homage and giving glory to
the one whose presence you're in. You're acknowledging the greatness of the one you're bowing
before. And you're in a position
This is the only appropriate response when we come this close to God.
We don't have these kinds of visible manifestations any longer. But beloved, when you encounter God
as he reveals himself to you in his word, as you encounter him in all of his glory,
your sinful humanity should be exposed. And even without a visible manifestation of God,
you can still have this kind of humble bowing before him because he is great and he is glorious and
he is perfect and he is holy and he is righteous. And we are sinful and imperfect and unholy and
unrighteous. And we should at times. at least in our hearts,
bow with our faces to the ground. In humble worship and adoration and praise to the God who has
saved us out of the muck and the mire of our sin, washed us in the perfect righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ and brought us into his kingdom and family forever.
And it's through this experience that Manoah declares to his wife in verse 22, we shall surely die
for we have seen God. Do you think?
Now that's a true statement. If they saw God in all his fullness,
they, as theologian Michael Horton likes to say, they would become instant ash.
God told Moses in Exodus 33, 20, you cannot see my face for man shall not see me and live,
but God,
but God. But God so graciously and kindly and lovingly didn't reveal himself in all his glory to
them, did he? He humbled himself by coming to deliver the message in human form,
in the likeness of man, so he could talk to them and he could speak to them and declare to them the
remarkable message about a coming deliverer, a coming savior, a coming child that will be theirs to
raise, to begin delivering Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
Beloved, the messenger was Christ. What theologians call a Christophany,
a visible manifestations of a pre-incarnate Christ. Incarnate means in the flesh.
Pre means before. Pre-incarnate means before he was in the flesh. So before Jesus was born,
we are getting a portrait. We're getting a picture. We're getting a shadow of God becoming man.
And Manoah's wife. though equally in awe of God revealing himself through the fire.
She had a different view of seeing God, didn't she? She stated to her husband in verse 23, If the
Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our
hands, or shown us these things, or now announced to us such things as these.
Matthew Henry in the late 1600s had this to say at Manoah's wife and statement.
He said, In his wife's reflection upon it, there is great faith.
Here, the weaker vessel was the stronger believer, which perhaps was the reason why the angel chose
once and again to appear to her. Manoah's heart began to fail him, but his wife,
as a helpmate for him,
She fully understands the bigger picture of what's taking place, doesn't she? They're accepted by
God because of the sacrifice. They're shown how God's working in the present and given a task for
the future of God's people.
One of the biggest blessings in a man's life is a biblically based, theologically sound,
doctrinally true and rich wife who is not ashamed or afraid to speak the truth.
A continued demonstration of their one flesh relationship and respect for one another.
So what does all this mean? Pre-incarnate Christ. coming to the earth as the angel of the Lord,
yet in some kind of human form, announces to a couple of nobodies, first to the woman, then to the
man, they're going to have a miraculous birth and a special son. He's to be separated by his holy
behavior, who will begin to save God's people from the hand of the Philistines.
Rings a lot of bells, doesn't it?
It's kind of a trial run. In about 1,200 years, The nation of Israel will be under the paganism
and tyranny of Rome. They'll be living and acting much like they are in the book of Judges. The
religious system and leadership structure will be completely corrupt. And out of the darkness,
God's going to bring hope. And out of the bondage, God's going to send a deliverer in the fullness
of time or at the right time. The angel Gabriel will go to Nazareth in Galilee, first to a woman,
Mary. to tell her she's going to have a miraculous birth. She's going to conceive,
though she's a virgin. Then he's going to go to the man, Joseph. She, Mary,
he'll say, will bear a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for he'll save his people from their
sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with
us. And this young couple. will have some remarkable challenges as they raise a beyond remarkable
child together. But instead of Christ being the messenger,
this time Christ is a deliverer. And he's no longer pre-incarnate.
He is now fully incarnate. He's God in the flesh, God in human form,
God with human skin. He is God with us. You see,
in the book of Judges, we are seeing that picture, that portrait, that shadow of the promise of the
Lord Jesus. Christmas is in Judges. He's showing in advance his power,
his glory, his might in raising up a deliverer through miraculous means so when the true and final
and perfect deliverer comes, then we'll have markers. In our minds,
we'll say, hey, I've seen this part of the story before. It's amazing.
The story of the birth of Samson is simply a precursor of the story of the birth of the Lord Jesus.
Even the closing verses of chapter 13 mention Samson's, like Jesus, was growing,
he was blessed, and he was spirit-led.
There's a difference, isn't there?
Samson's purpose was to, quote, begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
You see, Samson started, King David kind of finished, reading your Bible through 1 Samuel and
you'll figure it out. But Jesus' purpose was not to save from physical enemies,
but to save from the eternal enemy of sin and to deliver us from death and hell and wrath and
judgment and offer us eternal life in his kingdom, in his family forever.
And Jesus didn't begin something for someone else to accomplish. While suffering,
the wrath of God poured out on him in our place on the cross. He declared it is finished.
He finished his assignment. He accomplished the work the father called him to do. Our catechism
stated it today, didn't it? Jesus gave himself not only as a martyr.
But as the Messiah, the atoning sacrifice for our sins, his death in our place conquers evil,
conveys God's love, and creates a cross-shaped people. And with his finished work,
his finished sacrifice, all who repent and call upon his name are saved,
are delivered for all eternity, and become people shaped by the cross.
The sufferings and sacrifices of Christ shaped by the good news of salvation. Samson's upcoming
partial deliverance points to the permanent, finished, eternal and complete salvation that we have
in Christ.
If you have any doubt or you're unsure at all about your soul this morning, don't leave here
without crying out to God for mercy.
And if you do that. Pull someone aside or talk to one of the elders or talk to one of the staff
members and tell us that you did.
But don't be numbered among the unbelieving pagans. And don't be numbered among the compromised
religious community. No. Through faith in Christ, be numbered among the remnant.
Among those who are walking in the normal means of grace. Through Christ,
obeying clear commands. and leaving the future to him. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you that you left your father's throne above so free and so infinite your grace that you
emptied yourself of all but love and bled for Adam's helpless race.
How marvelous, how wonderful, and our song should ever be.
How marvelous. How wonderful is our Savior's love for me,
for us. May your sacrificial life and substitutionary death so transform us that we might live
faithfully in our generation for your glory. In Christ's name we pray,
amen.