Samson 2
B. THE REPORTING OF THE REVELATION
As soon as Manoah’s wife had received the revelation from God announcing the coming of Samson, she went straight to Manoah and reported it to him. In this reporting of the revelation to Manoah, she not only described her experience; but she also demonstrated her devotion.
1. She Described Her Experience
In describing her experience to Manoah, she reported reported about the Man Who spoke to her and about the message he spoke to her.
The Man. The first thing Manoah’s wife told Manoah about was the Man Who spoke to her. She said, “A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible [awesome]; but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name” (v. 6).
This statement indicates she was not completely certain as to who had spoken to her. She did not ask him His name (Manoah will do that when the angel next appears), and she did not know from where He came (they both would find that out in His next appearance). She initially referred to her visitor as a “man of God.” The term, “man of God,” is a title given to prophets. But while the woman first called her visitor a “man of God,” yet she felt He was more than that and said so: “his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible [awesome].” She will later conclude, and correctly, that God Himself had visited her.
2. She Demonstrated Her Devotion
In reporting immediately to Manoah about her experience, the future mother of Samson demonstrated she had an excellent relationship with her husband. She was obviously very devoted to him. He was the number one man in her life.
The message. After telling of the Man Who had spoken to her, Manoah’s wife, in describing her experience, next reported to Manoah the message the Man had spoken to her
The whole account of the revelation of God to Samson’s parents about the coming of Samson gives considerable evidence that Manoah and his wife certainly had a good marital relationship
To have this kind of faith is unusual in any day, but especially in the day Manoah lived. It was a day of apostasy. Folk were given up to the worship of the idol Baal, not the worship of Jehovah. Society definitely did not encourage faith. What prevailed in society then was skepticism in the revelation from God. But Manoah (and his wife, too) were of a different sort than the run-of-the-mill in their day. They had faith in Jehovah. They did not doubt the promises of the revealed Word of God even when circumstances seemed to oppose it, and they sought to obey His precepts which is evidenced by their desire to know more perfectly His commands.
2. The Faith of the Request
Manoah’s request reveals remarkable faith. He never challenged the promise given of a son. Though his wife had been barren, yet the promise was accepted immediately. He believed without doubt. His only concern was to know more of his duties. He did not ask for confirmation that they would indeed have a child; rather, he
3. The Answer to the Request
“And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman” (v. 9). We should not be surprised that Manoah’s request was answered and that “the angel of God” again appeared unto the wife of Manoah and eventually to Manoah, too (v. 11). When one is sincerely earnest in his desire to know more fully and perfectly the will of God so he may fulfill his God-given responsibilities, he will indeed hear from God! Sometimes God does test our faith by delaying the answers to our prayers. But if you really mean business about knowing God’s will, you can be sure your request to know the will of God will be answered plainly and in due time.
The repeating of the revelation, as requested by Manoah, involved the coming of the Angel, the communication from the Angel, the charity for the Angel, the curiosity about the Angel, and the consecration before the Angel.
He believed, and correctly, that it was the parents’ responsibility to train their own children. And he, as the head of the home, faithfully assumed his duties in this business by taking the lead in the training of the child. A lot of delinquent fathers could learn from Manoah’s example here.
Manoah’s request had to do especially with child training. And his request indicated he felt the best place to get instructions for training the child was from God. Smart man
Manoah’s request not only indicated that he felt the best place to get instructions for training children was from God, but his request also indicated that he believed the father and mother had a great responsibility in training their children
C. THE REQUESTING OF THE REVELATION
Upon hearing his wife’s report, Manoah immediately asked God for a repeat of the revelation. “Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born” (v. 8). To further examine this request, we will note the emphasis of the request, the faith of the request, and the answer to the request.
The coming of the Angel. In his second appearance, the Angel appeared to the woman first again, not to Manoah.
1. The Emphasis of the Request
The emphasis in Manoah’s request was not on learning more about the promises, rather it was on learning more about the precepts. Manoah wanted to know more about his responsibilities. What a noble request! Most of our requests are to know more about what God is going to do for us rather than on what we should do for God. Manoah’s request said he wanted to know the will of God more perfectly and more accurately. Would that all our requests would have such character in them.
The communication from the Angel. Upon meeting the Angel and confirming that this was indeed the same person who visited his wife previously, Manoah said, “Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” (v. 12)
The communication from the Angel. Upon meeting the Angel and confirming that this was indeed the same person who visited his wife previously, Manoah said, “Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” (v. 12). The “angel of the LORD” then responded by giving forth the same message He had given Manoah’s wife on the previous visit.
commanded her let her observe” (vv. 13, 14). The instructions, as before, centered on the prenatal care of the child. What the wife of Manoah was to do corresponded a great deal to the laws for a Nazarite; but her instructions also gave good practical advice for any mother in any age. Today we are learning more and more about the prenatal influences the mother has on the child. And we are learning, and often tragically, that strong drink and other unclean things such as tobacco and drugs are a great hindrance to producing a healthy baby. There would be a lot less deformed and retarded children born if mothers stayed away from such things as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. True, not all deformity and retardation are a result of defiled living by the mother; but a great portion of it is.
child, and how shall we do unto him?” (v. 12). The “angel of the LORD” then responded by giving forth the same message He had given Manoah’s wife on the previous visit. The emphasis, of course, was on the precepts, not the promises; for that was what Manoah wanted to know about. “The angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman, let her beware. She may not eat anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe” (vv. 13, 14).
The charity for the Angel. After hearing the message from the Angel, Manoah set about to show kindness and respect and appreciation to the Angel
In offering this charity, Manoah obviously thought the “angel of the LORD” was a prophet and so, therefore, he wished to pay due respects by offering him a meal
The curiosity about the Angel. “Manoah said … What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honor?
The communication given Manoah would not go over well with a host of folk in our churches today, for it would be considered too negative. It started out with a “Beware” and then emphasizes the negative throughout the entire communication. It majored on telling what the woman could not do. Folk today do not tolerate very well such a negative message. They want the message to only be positive which to them is the same as being loving and kind. But the negative is just as important as the positive, and it is just as loving and kind. Those, however, who do not want a negative message are that way because they simply do not want to obey the negative. Regardless of how they may discredit the character of a negative message, the root reason for their disliking it is that they want to do those things God forbids. But they will discover, as many have to their loss, that ignoring the negative “bewares” results in the loss of many positive blessings!
The “angel of the LORD” refused the meal but not the kindness. He “said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD” (v. 16). Manoah’s kindness resulted in the angel hinting to Manoah that standing before him was something more than a prophet. Kindness to God’s messenger resulted in increased revelation—a truth that if taken to heart would help a number of people get more from their pastor’s messages as well as from the Word of God.
when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honor?” (v. 17). After the Angel had hinted to Manoah that standing before Manoah was something more than a man, Manoah wanted to know the name of the Angel. He still was not aware that he was speaking to anyone other than a prophet, although he should have been by this time. Though faulty, Manoah’s statement here which views the Angel as a prophet is still quite a statement in that it shows confidence in the Word of God, as we noted above. It also shows a desire to do the man of God honor when his predictions come to pass.
The Angel answered Manoah’s question by saying, “Why asketh thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
after his wife, and came to the man” (vv. 10, 11). Again we see noble attitudes and conduct by this man and wife: no jealousies, no withholding from one what the other should know, no using of spiritual privileges to lord it over one another. Manoah could have been jealous that his wife was first to see the Man of God again, and his wife could have gotten proud that she was singled out when she was alone to again see the Man of God. But none of that existed. They worked as a team, for their one goal was to do the will of God.
The curiosity about the Angel. “Manoah said … What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honor?” (v. 17). After the Angel had hinted to Manoah that standing before Manoah was something more than a man, Manoah wanted to know the name of the Angel. He still was not aware that he was speaking to anyone other than a prophet, although he should have been by this time. Though faulty, Manoah’s statement here which views the Angel as a prophet is still quite a statement in that it shows confidence in the Word of God, as we noted above. It also shows a desire to do the man of God honor when his predictions come to pass.
2. The Comforting of the Fearful
Manoah’s wife was a gem in the faith. She countered Manoah’s fear with some sound words. “His wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat [meal] offering at our hands, neither would he have shown us all these things nor would as at this time have told us such things as these” (v. 23). Manoah’s wife was doing some good thinking. She, unlike many of us, did not panic but took into consideration all the things that had transpired in their experience.
from the womb to the day of his death” (v. 7). The woman listened well when the Angel of God spoke to her. As we would say today, she took good notes. Therefore, she was able to tell Manoah the entire message. She not only related the great promise God gave of a son; but she also related accurately—and note it was without complaint—the responsibilities she and her son were given by God. Thus, she did not have a problem with selective hearing like many in our church congregations do. They hear only what they want to hear. They hear what God is supposed to do, but they seem to go deaf when the message is about what they are to do. They are very good at hearing the promises, but they are very poor at hearing the precepts—and if they do hear the precepts they, unlike this woman, complain loudly and long and criticize the speaker and the message. Manoah’s wife was not like that, however. She heard both parts of the message—with equal respect—which says plenty about her spirituality.