LIFE OF SAMSON: GOD DOES AMAZING THINGS
JUDGES 13:1-25
INTRODUCTION… Amazing Story 1 (p)
I remember the time I wrecked my dad’s car… I have tried to forget the details, but it was a mistake I made that I did not really learn from because I have had 2 accidents since that one with similar circumstances. It was the summer after my freshman year in college and I was at home for the summer working. I had finished my job in the morning watering trees. Oh yes, I had the glorious job of riding on the back of a watering truck and watering trees in the parks at Fort Hood, Texas for $4.75 an hour. I was following my co-worker after work on a gravel road. Before I continue with my story… did I mention I was young and dumb and a freshman in college? Anyway, I was driving on the gravel road and I came across a cattle guard on the back roads of Fort Hood. I was of course speeding along very well on the loose gravel road until I hit the cattle guard and I lost control of the car… my dad’s car… the car he had spent many hours of his life cleaning and waxing and caring for. It was a car he had purchased new and kept in tip top shape. He loved that car. I hit the cattle guard and lost control of the car, flipped onto the side of the car and then onto the roof and the car slid off the road into the dense bushes on the side of the road. I slid on the roof for a little bit and came to a stop upside down in the bushes.
What is amazing about this story is that I was not hurt even one little bit. Through flipping the car and sliding on the roof and climbing out… I was not hurt. God must have sent angels to guard and protect me because it was not a nice looking scene. What is also amazing is that my dad did not kill me… I was sure once I climbed out of the car and looked at what I had done that my death was immanent. I thoroughly totaled my dad’s pride and joy and amazingly was not hurt and was not maimed permanently by my dad. Amazing.
The passage we will look at today is an miracle story where God does amazing things. In fact, the words “very awesome” (verse 6), “beyond understanding” (verse 18), and “an amazing thing” (verse 19) all occur in this story as we read it. The passage is all about the announcement and the birth of Samson, a powerful judge in Israel who would lead his people for twenty years against the Philistines (Judges 16:31). The end in Judges 13 in verses 24-25 says, “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.” So we have a woman giving birth to a son and God blesses him. We find out later in the story of Samson that God blesses him with phenomenal divine strength. What makes the end of this chapter so amazing? What makes this birth so amazing? What makes this son born so special? Why are the words “awesome” and “beyond understanding” and “amazing thing” used in this chapter? To figure that out, we have to go back to the beginning of chapter 13 and set the stage.
SETTING OF THE STORY (VERSES 1-7)
Verse 1 in Judges 13 clues us into the spiritual condition of the people of God during this time: “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.” “Evil in the eyes of the Lord” means they were disobeying His commands, worshipping idols, not sacrificing correctly, and a whole host of other sins. The people forgot God and He removed His hand of protection from them and allowed the Philistines to oppress them.
Our story in chapter 13 centers around a town called Zorah with Manoah and his wife… I guess we’ll call her Mrs. Manoah. Verse 2 tells us Mrs. Manoah was “sterile and remained childless.” You and I know that this means no babies naturally. This is where the story begins to get amazing. Similar to Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1, and quite similar to Elizabeth and Mary in Luke 1, an angel comes and brings news to Mrs. Manoah that a special baby will be born who is born with a special purpose. Verse 5 says, “No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." The child born will be set apart for God to use to deliver His people… that is an amazing purpose to have in life.
In verse 6, Mrs. Manoah shares the news with her husband and she says, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name.” A key thought to remember in the setting of this story is that Manoah and his wife believed the message of God that even though they could not have children; God would do an amazing miracle and a child would be born. They believed God that the child would be special and was to be set apart for God’s service. They believed that he would lead Israel and deliver them out from under the oppression of the Philistines.
So we have the setting of the story… what was the reaction of Manoah and his wife? Their actions and attitudes are key for us to apply in our lives when God does something amazing for us and in our lives. What did they do that we can learn from? First, they asked God to teach them what to do. Second, they committed themselves to obedience. Third, they kept an attitude of worship.
I. ASK GOD TO TEACH ME WHAT TO DO (VERSE 8)
READ VERSE 8
Verse 8 says, “Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: "O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born." I find Manoah’s initial reaction to the amazing news of the removal of barrenness and the arrival of a son to be most intriguing. Manoah understood that the boy was to be a Nazarite which means he had a very strict way of life and also was set apart for a Godly purpose even before he was born.
Manoah prayed. Manoah was a man of faith and when life handed him something he wasn’t sure about, his first reaction was to pray. Prayer is our communication with God. We express ourselves, but we also get guidance from God.
Manoah prayed and he prayed a specific prayer. Manoah prayed that God would teach him and his wife how to raise this special child that was to be born to them. He realized that to raise a child dedicated to God before he was even born was a tall task and they need guidance. Maybe he knew that he would have to raise this child in a culture that was turning away from God. Verse 1 already told us that. Maybe he knew things would only get worse for Israel as time went on and the Philistine threat was getting worse and worse. Manoah and his wife wanted guidance. In Manoah’s case, the source for his information was an angel that had been sent to communicate to them.
Praying such a prayer is not out of the ordinary. Psalm 25:4-5 says, “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” and Psalm 119:26 says, “I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees.” Other passages like Isaiah 2:3 and Micah 4:2 shares with us that God will teach us His ways and show us what to do if we ask Him to.
ILLUSTRATION… Amazing Story 2 http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/god_providence_of.htm
Elmer Bendiner's describes a bombing run over the German city of Kassel in World War II: Our B-17 was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit. Later, as I reflected on the miracle of a twenty-millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple. On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck. The crew chief told Bohn that not just one shell but eleven had been found in the gas tanks--eleven unexploded shells where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky. It was as if the sea had been parted for us. Even after thirty-five years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn.
He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused. The armorers told him that Intelligence had picked them up. They could not say why at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer. Apparently when the armorers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge. They were clean as a whistle and just as harmless. Empty? Not all of them. One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech. Eventually, they found one to decipher the note. It set us marveling. Translated, the note read: "This is all we can do for you now."
When amazing things happen in our lives, what is our reaction? If God were to step into our lives and do something out of the ordinary, what should we do? The first thing we can do is pray, like Manoah, and ask God to teach us what in fact we are supposed to do with the amazing event or miracle.
II. COMMIT TO OBEDIENCE (VERSES 9-14)
READ VERSES 9-14
Verses 9-14 tell us, “God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!" 11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" "I am," he said. 12 So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" 13 The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her."
The first three words of verse 9 are so important in this amazing story and also for us. “God heard Manoah” is important because God heard the prayer of Manoah and his wife and answered. God sent the angel back to them to instruct them on how to raise their special child. They prayed. God answered.
Verse 13 shares with us the next step for Manoah and his wife. Now that the angel has relayed God’s message to them about how to raise the child, they are to obey. The angel says, “Your wife must do all that I have told her” (verse 13). As a Nazarite, the child had some specific life boundaries. A Nazarite dedicates themselves to God and does so by not cutting their hair, not drinking fermented wine, and not touching dead bodies. The boy was not to do this for a time in his life, but for his whole life. Raising their son as a Nazarite from birth would take a huge commitment from both of them and not just good intentions or half-hearted effort or doing things right on the weekend. Their whole lives would need to be dedicated to raising this child for God and His purpose for him.
A question occurred to me as I was reading this passage… what if Manoah and his wife didn’t want to obey? What if they heard the message and decided not to obey? Honestly I am not sure what would have happened, but I do know that they would have been outside the will of God which is never a place you want to find yourself. If they had not obeyed, I suppose Judges 13-16 would be about someone else. God sent an angel and told them a child would be born. The angel instructed them how to raise the child. They should commit themselves to obedience in response to the amazing miracle God is doing in their lives.
ILLUSTRATION… Amazing Story 3 (p)
In 2012, I had the opportunity to go to the Bahamas to work in an AIDS camp with a few of the men from the church. We had a good week of cutting trees. That was our whole job that week. Our sole purpose that week was to cut branches, haul them, and clean up bushes. We did that each day and worked hard at it. While we were doing that, the missionaries that served the camp led worship, fellowshipped with those that lived there, lead a Bible study, cooked meals, and helped with medicine. At the time I didn’t think what we were doing would matter much… what the missionaries were doing… now that was God’s work!
I thought that until a week after we got back we got a message here at the church. A storm blew through the Bahamas and it was an intense storm. All around the island power was out, trees had fallen across roads, and roofs were damaged… except in the AIDS camp. Not one tree fell down. Not one road was blocked. Not one roof was damaged. I look back on that and marvel at the amazing way God used our effort that week to keep the poor and sick in that AIDS camp safe.
When amazing things happen in our lives, what is our reaction? If God were to step into our lives and do something out of the ordinary, what should we do? The second thing we can do is obey, like Samson’s parents, and obey what God has asked us to do with the miracle or amazing event He has granted us.
III. AN ATTITUDE OF WORSHIP (VERSES 15-23)
In the course of chapter 13, Manoah and Mrs. Manoah have been the recipients of an amazing promise. They had no children and an angel came and promised a child. That child would be dedicated to God from birth. They prayed for guidance and received it. They committed themselves to a life of obedience in raising their child for God. What also struck me about these two good people was their overall attitude of worship throughout their whole ordeal.
READ VERSES 15-23
Verses 15-23 tell us, “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." 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."
Verse 19 shares with us that in response to God’s miracle in their lives, Samson’s parents worshipped the Lord by offering sacrifices. In response to finally understanding they had been in the presence of an angel of God, they fell on the ground in reverence and respect and humbleness. All throughout this chapter they are constantly in prayer. I learn from Samson’s parents that the correct response when God does something amazing and miraculous is to worship Him and give Him credit. I learn from Samson’s parents that I must continue in faithfulness and not waver after a mountain top experience with God. An attitude of worship should pervade our lives in response to the amazing blessings of God.
ILLUSTRATION… Amazing Story 4 (p)
You might have noticed every so often that there is a bucket here on the stage. That is not some kind of strange musical instrument, but a bucket to catch water as it leaks through the roof. We have had a weird leak in the roof over the stage here for about 10 years. We have had many roofers come and patch and point and give their opinion, but nothing has fixed the leak. Sometimes it leaks when it sprinkles. Sometimes it doesn’t leak in a downpour. We finally got a hold of someone who will fix the problem. The problem to fix is a costly one.
Here is the amazing thing that God has done to help NBCC with this roof. As we were investigating fixing the roof, Shirley got a call from CFR (one of the missions we support) and they put us in touch with someone who knew about a government program refunding healthcare premiums for years past for non-profit groups and churches. Our church was blessed with a rebate that is on its way that will cover almost half of what it will cost to fix the roof. I find that amazing! I find that to be a miracle from God and Him saying to us… “Look what I can do!” He gets the glory and the credit for that!
When amazing things happen in our lives, what is our reaction? If God were to step into our lives and do something out of the ordinary, what should we do? The third thing we can do is have an attitude of worship, like Samson’s parents, and give God credit for what He has done in our lives.
APPLICATION/PRACTICAL
When amazing things happen in our lives, what is our reaction? If God were to step into our lives and do something out of the ordinary, what should we actually do?
* Pray for a miracle in a situation so that when it happens, you will make an active effort to give God all the credit and glory and honor for the miracle and amazing turn-of-events.
* Pray that we would have eyes of faith to understand the difference between an amazing miracle from God and a for real coincidence.
* Pray that we would not waste the amazing miracle, but rather pray that God would teach us how it should strengthen our faith.
* Pray that if there is a life lesson in the amazing event that we not miss it and that God would seal it on our heart and make it part of who we are and how we see the world.
* Commit ourselves to faithfulness to God in worship, church attendance, serving Him, Bible study, and prayer as a response to God doing something amazing for us.
* Write a Facebook post about the amazing thing God did so that all the people we are friends with can know.
* Take the opportunity when it comes here at church to share our testimony about the amazing miracle of God.
* Share our blessing and amazing miracle in an email and send it to everyone we know.
* If we write a Christmas letter or end-of-the-year letter to family and friends make sure to include the great blessing in it.
CONCLUSION
