Hope Begins

INTRODUCTION

DISMISS 1-3 GRADERS FOR RISE & SHINE

I want to invite you to open your copy of God’s Word to Judges chapter 13.

When I was young, there was a very famous evangelistic group called “The Power Team.” Does anyone know who I’m talking about? If you’re not familiar with The Power Team, it was a group of guys who were body builders/professional “strong men” who would travel the country and go to churches, high school football stadiums, civic centers, etc. and would perform feats of strength all while sharing the gospel. To a 9 year old kid, it was incredible. They would bench press power poles, they would rip phone books in half, they would break stacks of concrete blocks and stacks of ice with their forearms and their heads.

Full transparency…one time, I took a bunch of bricks in my backyard, stacked them, and tried to break them. Didn’t work out too well.

Anyway, these were huge muscular men that could do what seemed humanly impossible.

This morning, we’re coming to the beginning of the story of a man that is probably the most famous/well-known character in the book of Judges—Samson. Most o us…if I had to guess…are familiar with the tragic story of the rise and fall of Samson.

Judges 13:1–2 “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 forty years. 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.”

“Again”—the cycle of sin in Judges. You almost get the sense that the author is tired of repeating himself. But, this is the backdrop of the story. Evil and wicked days.

And, as their sin and evil deserve, God has turned them over to the Philistines.

“Certain man”—not just a random guy…a man that God has chosen and called.

Who are the Danites?

Then, we’re told that Manoah’s wife is “barren and had no children.” Now, for the reader, the author of Judges is probably expecting that this makes our ears perk up. We’ve seen this before. Sarah. Rebekah. Rachel. All women, in the book of Genesis, who were “barren and childless” but who God worked a powerful miracle in to birth Isaac, Jacob, and then a whole nation.

So, when we see this, we should be familiar with the fact that God seems to do His best work when the human situation looks impossible. The author is setting us up for something.

Judges 13:3–5 “And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman (ok…so…we’ve already seen this angel appear in chapter two when he chastises the people of Israel for their disobedience and in chapter 6 when he appears to Gideon. This isn’t just any angel. It’s not “an” angel of the Lord. It’s THE angel of the Lord. This specific angel appears several times throughout the OT in very specific places…put a pin in that…) and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne 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 Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.””

Nazarites were individuals who made a special vow to separate themselves to the LORD (Num 6:1–21), and this vow was open to everyone as an elective option that could be freely chosen by any of God’s covenant partners1. The vow involved three marks of separation: abstaining from wine and grape products, not touching dead bodies, and not cutting their hair2. The Nazirite expressed the highest form of separation to the Lord, apart from the priesthood, and was a token of Israel’s dedication to God.

“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, 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.’ ””

So, this woman doesn’t know that this is the angel of the Lord. She thinks he’s a “man of God,” or, a prophet. But, she knows there’s definitely something different about him…he has a “VERY AWESOME” appearance. She knows that God is up to something.

If you didn’t know the story of Samson…if this was (or is) the first time you read this story…right out of the gate, you’re filled with hope and excitement! After all the evil nation of Israel has committed—FOR CENTURIES, NOW—and after all of the judgement of God, you’re thinking, “FINALLY!” Surely, this one’s going to be different. The story begins with hope and promise.

Against the backdrop of sin and 40 years of suffering under the Philistines…a promise breaks through…a word and a promise from God…THIS CHILD SHALL BEGIN TO SAVE ISRAEL. God is providing a Savior!

Here’s the good news of Judges 13:

God's justice demands satisfaction for our sin but His grace and mercy provide a Savior.

1. The Savior would be a gift.

The Savior would have a...

Miraculous Birth

Sanctified Life

Purposeful Life

Let’s keep reading…

Judges 13:8–20 “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 the 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 came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” NOW, WATCH THIS… And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” HE DOESN’T VET HIM…HE DOESN’T GIVE HIM A SERIES OF TESTS OR CHALLENGES…HE SIMPLY BELIEVES. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “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 any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.” SOUNDS VERY ADAM & EVE-ESQUE 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 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.) And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, AGAIN 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?” (PUT A PIN IN THIS…WE’RE COMING BACK TO IT)

The Savior would be a gift…second…

2. The Savior would be received by faith.

Faith takes God at His word.

This is astonishing to me. He receives by faith the word of his wife…the word of the angel.

Manoah doesn’t look at his wife like she’s crazy. He doesn’t tell her that she’s obviously been duped or is missing something. No…what does he do? He immediately displays FAITH.

Faith is a confident assurance.

TWICE, Manoah says to the angel of the Lord…not knowing it is the angel of the Lord…“when your words come true.”

I think, as humans, in our broken fallenness, our response to faith…God’s promises…is sometimes, “IF these words come true.” Manoah could have very well been like, “My wife has been barren our entire marriage. We’ve tried for YEARS to have kids. It’s not happened and, honestly, I don’t know who you are that 1) knows this intimate detail about our life, and, 2) thinks you can go around promising these kinds of things and speaking on behalf of God.”

It’s a confident assurance. Manoah fully believes this is going to happen. Manoah believes that God is more powerful than a barren womb. God’s promises are full.

Faith is complete surrender.

Whatever you say…for whatever reason you’ve chosen us…we’re yours.

Manoah’s wife receives some pretty detailed and strict instructions. She’s willing to give up wine for the promise. It’s putting your yes on the table.

What are you willing to lay aside? What has such a grip on your heart that you’d say, “nope. not that”? That’s an idol.

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. 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.”

Judges 13:21–25 “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 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.” 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 Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.”

3. The Savior must be responded to with obedience.

Notice their response throughout this entire story. “We will do it.”

TRANSITION/CONCLUSION

As we come to the end of this first chapter in Samson’s story we are filled with hope and anticipation for the arrival of this promised Savior.

Everything about Samson's birth sounds like the arrival of the hero Israel has been waiting for. But as we'll discover in the coming weeks, even Samson cannot live up to this promise. God is teaching us that every human deliverer ultimately points beyond himself to the perfect Deliverer who would never fail.

I want us to pull back and see the bigger view of what God’s doing, here, and, specifically, who this angel of the Lord is. I want you to turn backwards a few books in your Bible to Genesis chapter 32. Earlier, I told you that we would come back to verse 18 of Judges chapter 13. Manoah asks the angel of the Lord what his name is and the angel replies, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the angel of the Lord have this kind of interaction. In Genesis 32, Jacob is on the run. He spends the night in the desert and in the middle of the night, this man wakes him up abruptly and starts fighting with him. It turns out, it’s the angel of the Lord.

Genesis 32:29–30 “Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.””

And, then, we come to Exodus 23. Moses has been on Mt. Sinai receiving the Law from God. And, in chapter 23 of Exodus, God gives Moses the command to lead the people into Canaan and to inhabit the land. And, I want you to look closely at what he says in verse 20.

Exodus 23:20–21 ““Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.”

And, now, the angel says that this name is “wonderful” which leads us to one more passage you’re familiar with…Isaiah 9…the great prophecy foretelling the coming of the Messiah—the Son of God—into the world.

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor…”

This angel—THE ANGEL OF THE LORD—is none other than the Son of God. Think about all that this angel is telling Manoah and his wife. It’s a foreshadowing of what an angel named Gabriel would tell a young woman named Mary…about himself! This story is foreshadowing the coming of the perfect and sinless Son of God—sent as a God’s gift by the Father (John 3:16)—not to save us from the Philistines. To save us from a much more eternal enemy—sin and death. And, it is this Savior, the gift of God’s love to us that we receive by faith.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

And, in receiving Him by faith, we surrender our lives to His Lordship, and follow—OBEY—all that He has commanded.

APPLICATION

You need to be rescued from sin and death. Israel couldn’t save themselves. And, their biggest problem wasn’t the Philistines. It was that they continued to do what was evil. They continued to sin. Sin was…and continues to be the single greatest problem in every human life. And until your sin is forgiven by the God whom you’ve offended, you stand under His wrath. Be forgiven. Be cleansed. Receive a new beginning…new life today. You can have a brand new life in Christ.

Believers:

Are you living by faith? Are you taking God at His word? Are you living in complete surrender? Obedience?

Great Commission—teaching them to observe (obey) all that I have commanded you…there’s an implication that disciples live in obedience to all Jesus has commanded/taught.