Judges 13:15-25 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 13:15-25. Let’s go!
Judges 13:15-18 (NIV)
15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
16 The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.”
On verses 15-18: If scholars are correct and the angel of the LORD is a Christophany (i.e an appearance of Christ), then it’s appropriate that the angel of the LORD says that his name is “beyond understanding” (v18) or, also translated, “wonderful”. For that is what Christ’s name is. His name is so far beyond any other name in terms of power, authority and wonder. As Isaiah 9:6 says, “And he will be called Wonderful, Counselour, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”.
Judges 13:19-23 (NIV)
19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched:
20 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.
21 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.
22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
23 But his wife answered, “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.”
On verses 19-23: Doctors say that in our brain there is something called the amygdala which is responsible for our emotions and our survival instinct and controls our fight and flight response. There’s also another part of our brain called the prefrontal cortex which is the logical part of the brain. Within a marriage, it’s not uncommon for one person to act more like the amygdala (responding emotionally) and the other like the prefrontal cortex (thinking logically). Upon seeing the LORD face to face, Manoah, the amygdala of the marriage, panics: “We’ve seen God and we’re going to die!” (v22) Manoah’s wife, the prefrontal cortex of the marriage, must reassure Manoah with logic and rational thinking (“We’re not going to die. Otherwise, why would God have accepted our offering and told us we’re going to raise a baby?” – v23). When we’re panicking, it certainly helps to have someone who can speak some sense into us. I find that the Holy Spirit and my sweet wife can play that role in my life whenever I get panicky.
Judges 13:24-25 (NIV)
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him,
25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
On verses 24-25: It seems from the little bit that we learn about Samson’s parents in Judges 13 that they were God-fearing, faith-filled people who worked well as a team together. It would seem to me that Samson was blessed with the parents that he had. Here in verse 25 we learn that the Holy Spirit was already at work in Samson from a young age. We’ll soon discover that despite having quality parents and the Holy Spirit working in him, Samson would end up living a life that fell far short of God’s calling for him. It goes to show that no matter how great our parents may be, no matter how much the Holy Spirit tries to do in our lives, it’s still up to us how we choose to live and our choices matter.
Jesus, Your name is wonderful, far beyond all we could ask for or imagine. Thank You for the glimpses we get to see of Your glory on earth. May we not take them for granted. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
