"An Obedient Mother"

May 12, 2024

FBC Baxley

am service

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Welcome radio and online guests…

*It’s ok if you’re broken, unfaithful, lost, we are too and we are here seeking God’s will and way and plan.

We are all prodigals here…

Some rescued….Some Not..

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*Acts 4:12 (repeat)

*John 3:16

Sermon Title: An Obedient Mother

Scripture Passage: Judges 13

Three Points:

Be Ready to Serve

Be Obedient To God’s Will

Be an Example

Who can tell me who Samson’s mother was? There are many characters in the Bible whose name is not even mentioned.

However, many whose names are not mentioned are the most influential and best examples.

Judges 13:15-25

15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.”

16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of 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.)

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?”

18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

19 So Manoah took the young goat with 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.

20 And 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.

21 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.

22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

23 But his wife said to him, “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.”

24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Introduction:

Mothers have always faced difficulties and felt the pain of their children. They worry and panic, not only of what has happened, but also of what they imagine could possibly happen.

Have you ever wished that your children had come complete with instructions?

However when we got Celeste home from the hospital, we were on our own, with this little baby as our responsibility – what do you do with them????

Actually, though, in the case of Samson’s parents, he did come with instructions.

Here alot has happened in the lives of God’s people after their conquest of Canaan.

They have been on a “roller coaster” in terms of their relationship with God. They do evil in the sight of the Lord, God punishes them by delivering them into the hands of an enemy, they beg for a deliverer, and God’s sends one in the form of a judge.

Samson was one of the last judges to appear in Israel, judging after Abdon.

While gifted with extraordinary physical strength, Samson was morally and spiritually weak.

His fight with the Philistines, who dominated the Israelites in his lifetime, was rooted in personal vengeance rather than a passion to free his people.

While Samson killed many Philistines during his lifetime, he never won freedom from oppression for his people.

Both of Samson’s parents are portrayed as godly and good people who did their best to respond to God and give their son guidance.

Samson’s mother appears to be level headed and strong, spiritually in the family.

Verses 1-2.

1And 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 forty years.

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.

Manoah and his family were Danites (from the tribe of Dan) living in Zorah—a city of Dan which was about 13 miles west of Jerusalem, on the border of Judah.

Manoah’s wife was barren and had borne no children.

We are not told if she couldn’t have children, or if they were just waiting. It wasn’t customary to put off child birth, so I would suspect she couldn’t have children.

She obviously has been selected by God to carry out His will.

I. Be Ready To Serve – Verse 3

3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

Notice that the angel didn’t appear to Manoah, rather to his wife directly. Notice after telling her husband of her angelic encounter that he asks for the angel to come back and give them further instructions (vs. 8).

Honoring Manoah’s request, the angel is sent back, but to whom does it appear? The wife (vs. 9)!

What’s the point? I believe these brief Biblical facts teach us something of Manoah’s wife’s spiritual character.

I believe she was a Godly, obedient, spiritual woman who stood ready to serve God whenever the call came.

What about us today? Should we stand ready to serve God?

Absolutely!

We have opportunities daily to serve God in many ways. Paul told the Ephesians to, “redeem the time” Ephesians 5:16, that is make the most of every opportunity.

How are some ways we stand ready to serve God?

a. We have to be strong spiritually!

Manoah and his wife were very different than most of the people they knew

This was a time of spiritual compromise, but these people were servants of God and took their relationship with Him seriously

Do you think God opens as many doors of opportunity for a spiritually weak person?

B. We have to put God First.

We have to put God first in our lives! Jesus told us to "seek ye first the kingdom of God…" (Matt. 6:33);

Paul admonishes us in that "whatever you do in word of deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…" (Col 3:17).

How many times have people missed opportunities to serve God by allowing other “worldly things” to get in the way?

c. We have to be well equipped!

Manoah’s wife was equipped with the spiritual knowledge she needed to carry out her task.

What do I mean by that? Notice vs. 5: "the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb."

The particular’s regarding this vow are outlined in Numbers 6:1-21. It’s important to note that this vow started from the womb, meaning that she had to live by it herself!

Had Manoah’s wife not been a spiritual woman, well versed in God’s law, she wouldn’t have had the knowledge to carry out this vow—she might not even know what it was.

The word Nazarite comes from NAZAR “to separate.” There were Rules about how to raise him.

God has certain instructions for us today- Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go:

Ephesians 6:4Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord

We can’t leave it to them to decide if they want to know about God, it is our duty, you don’t have to force it on them, but you model and encourage it- Walk that way yourself!

How can one carry out God’s will if they are not students of His word?

We must be active students of God’s word, standing ready to serve!

II. Be Obedient to God’s Will – Verses 6-7

6 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 did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,

7 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 Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

After reading vs. 6-7,

She didn’t seem to object in any way, rather appears to stand ready to obey. It was Manoah who needs further instruction (vs. 8).

Based upon the fact that the Lord blessed Samson after birth, we must assume that his mother did her part regarding the Nazirite vow.

…There are other’s in the Bible who questioned and often criticized God’s instructions:

Naaman — thought the man of God could simply wave his hand and make him whole, and besides, why not the water’s of the Damascus river, they are much cleaner?

Zechariah — questioned the angel regarding Elizabeth’s birth and was muted!

There are many people around us who question, criticize, and even change God’s will.

-God’s teaching regarding acts of worship have been changed to suit man.

-God’s plan of salvation has been altered for man’s ease.

…What should we learn here from Manoah’s wife?

Regardless of how trivial, silly, or un-important we might think of God’s will, we should stand ready to obey it to the letter!

III. Continue to be an Example - (14:1-3)

1Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.

2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”

3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

The text tells us that Samson’s parents tried to counsel him against seeking a wife among the Philistines when Samson saw the woman he desired.

It is clear that the parents were in harmony in urging Samson to marry an Israelite.

Samson was now an adult who was guided by his passions, rather than wisdom or by respect for his parents.

I believe Samson’s mother did her best to follow the instructions God gave her. Yet Samson made choices she advised against. Samson’s choices in women ultimately caused his downfall and death.

Summary:

The are many characters in the Bible whose name is not even mentioned, but they are there for a reason, and we can still learn from their lives.

I think there is a hard lesson here, one that we often fail to realize or teach.

Parents nurture their children in the Lord’s admonition; however, when they become adults they make and are responsible for their own decisions. They must decide whether they will heed their parents guidance.

Conclusion

Manoah’s wife was a special person that we can learn several valuable lessons from.

She was, without a doubt, a spiritually strong women who stood ready and well equipped to serve God.

Also, she was a very obedient women who carried out God’s will without doubt, questions, nor criticism. She certainly has godly characteristics which we all should model.

Perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from her surrounds the disappointing choices our children often make. The Bible is full of son’s and daughter’s of godly men and women who made poor choices.

The world we live in today is equally full of children raised by good, Christian parents who make poor choices regarding how they live their life. Should we blame ourselves? Not necessarily. Should we give up on them? By no means!

Samson, in the end, I believe made his mother proud. He humbled himself, and made one final request to God, one that God granted.

Samson today is viewed as a Bible hero, not an unruly child.

If our children make poor choices, we must remain strong in the faith and prayerful that God will grant us one final request!

PRAY

Invitation

“Are you born again?”

Is your name written in the Lambs Book of Life?

“Have you surrendered/repented to Jesus?