Samson. He was one of the heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11:32), but he was a failure in other ways. He was a miracle baby, one of a few born to women who were not able to have children except by God’s direct intervention. Samson had the chance to do so much but he didn’t accomplish as much as he could have.
Samson was born in a time of trouble, and lived through his share of troubles. He loved at least three different women who clearly didn’t love him. He allowed two of these women to annoy him so much that he gave in to what they wanted to get from him. Even worse, he didn’t receive much of anything in return from these women, or anybody else for that matter. And to add insult to injury, some of his own nation captured him and handed him over to their enemies!
The best way to begin the story of Samson is to begin with the story of his birth. Samson’s parents, Manoah and his wife, are mentioned first, in Judges 13, as they had a couple of conversations with the Angel of the LORD! The text begins with verse 1:
I Information about Samson’s family
A His mother, verses 1-7
[Judges 13:1, KJV] 1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was] barren, and bare not. 3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name: 7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
Samson’s mother was barren or not able to have children, which was a great concern to women (and most likely men) in those days. Note first the attitude of his mother, who according to the text had not said a word about her problem; at least there is no record of any complaint. She did not demand children, like Rachel did of Jacob (Genesis 30:1-2), nor did she suggest that her husband father a child by a different woman so that she and Manoah could raise the child as their own (compare this with Sarah, in Genesis 16; and Rachel and Leah in Genesis 30).
Another thing about Samson’s mother is that she apparently stayed true to the worship of Israel’s God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Already idolatry had plagued Israel—Joshua 24 has a command or plea to get rid of the foreign idols Israel still had in possession!—and it wouldn’t be long before the tribe of Dan established a priesthood for false gods (Judges 17-18). But this doesn’t seem to be the case for Manoah and his wife. When the Angel spoke, she listened.
B His father, verses 8-12
8 Then Manoah intreated 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. 9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband [was] not with her. 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the [other] day. 11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I [am]. 12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and [how] shall we do unto him?
Manoah was also a man of faith, believing first what his wife had said, and then what the Angel of the LORD had spoken. Notice he didn’t mock his wife or deny her statement. Rather, he took it at face value that his wife had seen a “man of God (her words)” but he didn’t stop there. He, immediately, it seems, prayed to the LORD so that they would receive guidance on how best to raise this promised child.
“And God hearkened . . .( verse 9)”. Aren’t you glad that God answers prayer? I’m sure that God was pleased to know He still had some who believed in Him, even during this time when Israel had “done evil” in His sight (verse 1). Note that God Himself did not speak to Manoah and his wife but He did send the Angel of God to bring the message.
Note that the Angel appeared to Manoah’s wife first, after Manoah’s prayer. Manoah and his wife were not together when the Angel appeared but we don’t know why. One thing we do know is that Manoah’s wife ran (one of the few times, by the way, in the Bible where women are mentioned as running) and told her husband that the One who appeared to her had returned. After that—probably as soon as he heard her words—Manoah went with her to speak with the Man she had seen before.
To Manoah’s credit, he first speaks to the Angel, even though he may not have been sure just who he was speaking with. His first question, “right out of the box” as some would say, was “Are you the man who spoke with (my wife)?” The Angel replied “I am”—the same words which God spoke to Moses in the desert, near the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:14). Apparently that was good enough for Manoah; he then asked one more question.
And what a question! He asked for guidance a second time on how best to raise the child. Wouldn’t our world be better if more parents would seek, and then follow, the Lord’s plain teachings as found in His Word. Since there wasn’t much of the Word available then, they were wise to seek guidance directly from the “man of God”, Who was the Angel of God.
II Instructions for Samson’s family
A Instructions about the child, verses 13-21
13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any [thing] 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. 15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16 And the angel of the LORD 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. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD.
Note that the Angel does not repeat everything He said to Manoah’s wife that He did to Manoah himself. The Angel gave her several very specific instructions in verse 4, which He did repeat in verses 13-14. Yet the Angel did not include the promises for the child to be a Nazarite and that the child would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines (verse 5). No reason was given.
As Manoah and his wife were faithful to the LORD, there was no command to repent, offer sacrifices, build or destroy anything, or even change their location. Although not specifically mentioned, it seems they and their lifestyle was pleasing to the LORD. Really, the only commands or instructions were for Manoah’s wife to abstain from wine, strong drink, and any unclean thing (many such foods or sources were listed in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14). Further, the Angel did not give Manoah any additional commands except to make sure his wife followed the Angel’s instructions. This may be a concession to the times, as the Philistines were oppressing Israel and following the Law may not have been as easy to do as in peacetime.
B Instructions about the contribution
One of the customs in the Old Testament seems to be offering food to a guest after the guest arrives. Abraham did this in Genesis 18 when the Three Visitors came to visit him (note that the text records, at least twice, that at 99 years of age, Abraham ran!). Gideon also prepared a meal, during a time of severe distress, when he, too, met the Angel of the LORD (Judges 6:11-23).
Something to keep in mind is that Manoah and his wife still didn’t know just who this Visitor really was. They only knew him as a “man of God”—which still seemed to be rare in the Days of the Judges. The only mention of a prophet in the Book of Judges was in chapter 6, where an unnamed prophet gave God’s message to Israel before Gideon was called; the term “man of God” only appeared twice before this (Deut. 33:1 and Josh. 14:6), both in reference to Moses.
Even though Manoah and his wife didn’t really know the Visitor’s identity, they insisted on showing concern and courtesy. It’s likely they thought the “man of God” lived at least some distance away—there is no indication they recognized Him—and wanted to provide Him with some comfort.
But they weren’t prepared for the Visitor’s instructions! At first, the Visitor said, in so many words, “If you fix it, I still won’t eat it”—and then instructed them to make it “a burnt offering to the LORD”. You’ll notice that nothing is said about a burnt offering, neither by Manoah nor his wife. Wouldn’t that be startling, that a Visitor could read your mind?
By this time, at least Manoah’s curiosity seems to be alerted. He finally asks the Visitor, “What is Your name, so that we can do You honor? And I doubt he was expecting the answer he got from the Visitor, “Why do you ask My name? It’s (a) secret!”
No doubt taken by surprise at this announcement, Manoah then offered the kid (of the goats, most likely) with a grain offering (“meat offering”, KJV). Note that there was no Tabernacle in the vicinity and the Temple was still many years in the future at this date. That didn’t stop Manoah from following the Angel’s instructions: he offered the kid and the grain on a rock as an offering unto the LORD.
Then, as a final act, the Angel “did wondrously”! Whether this means only that the Angel ascended to Heaven in the flame of the offering, or other things took place, is not clear, but one thing is for sure; Manoah and his wife must have indeed “looked on” at this event! When had anyone, anywhere, jumped onto the flame of a burnt offering, and still lived, and then went up to Heaven? This Angel did exactly this, and Manoah and wife saw one of the most spectacular events in all history. Besides, they realized that they had seen the Angel of the LORD!
But they weren’t exactly sure what to make of it.
III Inspiration for Samson’s family
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. 24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
A The fear
Only a few people have ever heard God speak to them in an audible voice. Among these were Adam and Eve, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Moses himself, and Joshua; there may have been others whose encounters with God are not recorded in Scripture. But there is one thing all of these people had in common: none of them ever saw God personally. True, Abraham saw the LORD (Genesis 18) but the LORD was in human form, eating and relaxing at Abraham’s tent. Moses asked God (longingly?), “Show me Thy glory(!) (Exodus 33:18) but God told him, “I’ll show you My goodness, and I’ll hide you in a cleft of the rock, but nobody can see My face and live (Ex. 33:19-23)”. No doubt this story had been told from generation to generation.
With this in mind, it’s not much of a surprise to find Manoah and his wife wondering just what would happen to them now. They were among the few who ever saw the Angel of the LORD! And Manoah was clearly in fear, saying, “We will surely die because we have seen God (note that he makes the Angel of the LORD equal to God here)”. Even though there is no record of this, Manoah probably didn’t want to be the first to encounter this!
B The faith
It’s to the credit of Manoah’s wife that she spoke peace to him. He was concerned that both of them would die, after seeing God—the Angel of the LORD—but his wife simply said that if God was pleased to take their lives, He wouldn’t have taken the burnt offerings, nor given them the promises about the yet-unborn child. Sometimes the man has great faith, sometimes the wife does. It’s to Mrs. Manoah’s eternal credit that she not only believed the words of the LORD but also could speak peace to her husband without making him feel bad or unworthy. We can pray that many more believing wives will support their husbands, in times of faith and in times of doubt, too. Husbands need this!
C The Future
At a later time, God did bless Manoah and his wife with a son. Of note is the fact that she called the baby Samson; sometimes the mothers did this (Leah and Rachel did this for their children, Genesis 30) and sometimes the father did (Abraham called his son Isaac; compare Gen. 17:19 with Gen. 21:3). Additionally, sometimes God told the parents what to name their children but that didn’t happen very often. Isaac, and John the Baptist are two examples; Isaiah was told to name one of his sons Maher-Shalal-Hashbaz (Isa. 8:3); and God told Hosea what to name each of his—and his wife’s—children (Hosea 1:4-9; some think the youngest two weren’t his).
Finally, the whole of Samson’s life from birth to manhood, at least marriageable age, is contained in fewer than fifty words: he grew, the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to move him (Samson) between Zorah and Eshtaol in the territory given to Dan.
Conclusion: Let’s wrap this one up by remembering, there was information about Samson’s family. We know his father was named Manoah, but we don’t know his mother’s name. Samson is not alone in this, as several people in the Bible had no record of one or both parent’s names. We do know he was from the tribe of Dan, and his faithfulness stands in stark contrast to the lapse of any number of Danites into idolatry (Judges 17-18).
His parents also received instructions about the child and what they were to do. Note that the Angel of the LORD had given certain instructions to Manoah’s wife, and later to Manoah himself. The world would be a better place if more parents would raise their children according to the plain teachings of God’s Word.
And the Angel also gave instructions about the contribution. Manoah and his wife prepared a meal for the Angel, not really knowing just who He was. They found out, soon enough, when He disappeared in the flames, going up to Heaven!
Then at the last, we see the inspiration for Mr. and Mrs. Manoah. He thought they would die after seeing God face to face but his wife spoke peace to him. The child was born, and he grew into young manhood, “and the LORD blessed him (verse 24)”.
Now Samson was ready for the next chapter of his life. What would happen to him once he grew to young adulthood?
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
