A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
THE WIFE OF MANOAH (Jud. 13:1-25) (1123 B.C.) The life of Samson can be outlined in relationship to the four women who dominated his life to some degree. The first of these was his mother who is never named in Scripture but described only as the wife of Manoah. This woman of the tribe of Dan was barren. In the culture of the Near East, this condition was generally viewed as an evidence of the displeasure of God, yet her barrenness was soon to come to an end. “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, `Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son’” (Jud. 13:3). At that first meeting of the Angel of the Lord and the wife of Manoah, the woman was instructed to abstain from wine, strong drink, and foods classified as unclean in the Law. The reason for this action on her part was that the son was to be “a Nazarite to God from the womb” (v. 5). Under the Law, there was a provision made for the man who was led to dedicate himself to a particular work for God. As a Nazarite, he was to demonstrate his commitment to God and the work he was doing for God by observing three conditions which were symbols of his dedication. Normally, this vow would be taken for a limited period of time, but on at least three occasions in Scripture, an unborn child was designated as a Nazarite from the womb (cf. also 1 Sam. 1:11; Luke 1:15). The wife of Manoah was impressed with the message from the Angel of the Lord, but failed to recognize this as a Christophany or preincarnate appearance of Christ. Still, she was aware of the fact that the man who spoke with her was unusual. When relating the conversation to her husband, she described the man as “a man of God” which was a usual designation for a prophet but noted also “His countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very awesome” (Jud. 13:6). She related fully the instructions she had received concerning the prenatal care of their son and his destiny as “a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death” (v. 7). Manoah demonstrated his deep faith in God by praying to the Lord and requesting a second visitation of this “Man of God.” His purpose in making this request was that the supposed prophet would “teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born” (v. 8). He realized the great responsibility that would be his as the father of this very special son and sought further instruction that he might be everything a father should be to his son. “And God listened to the voice of Manoah” (v. 9). The second time the Angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, she was sitting alone in a field. Knowing her husband wanted to meet this prophet, she quickly ran out to get him. When Manoah arrived, the Angel of the Lord confirmed He was the One who had appeared to Manoah’s wife earlier. The earlier message was repeated and emphasized. When Manoah realized he was talking with the Angel of the Lord, he offered to prepare a kid and serve it to his guest as a meal. The Angel said he would not eat the food but rather encouraged Manoah to offer it as a burnt offering unto the Lord. When Manoah asked the Angel His name, he was told it was Secret or Wonderful, one of the distinct titles of Christ in the Scriptures (cf. Isa. 9:6).
When Manoah prepared his burnt offering and a meal offering and placed it on a rock, the Angel performed a miracle. As the flame ascended from the sacrifice, “the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar” (Jud. 13:20). The understanding of this couple was further enlightened. They now knew the One they had thought was a Prophet, and then later realized was an Angel, was in reality God. While Manoah felt certain he would die, having seen God, his wife pointed out that the acceptance of the sacrifice by the Lord suggested their lives would be preserved. “So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson” (v. 24). The name Samson or shimshon as it is in Hebrew means “sunny.” The nearby city of Beth Shemesh (the house of the sun) may have suggested the name Samson to the parents. This child was to be the one God planned to use to begin delivering Israel from the oppression of the Philistines. He was the recipient of the blessing of the Lord and was endued with great strength by the Spirit of the Lord. Yet this strong man of Israel had a glaring weakness in his character which would eventually destroy him. He failed to learn to discipline himself in controlling his own desires, and “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (Prov. 25:28). THE WOMAN OF TIMNAH (Jud. 14:1-15:20) (1104 B. C.) This lack of self-discipline first became evident in Samson’s choice of a bride from among the Philistines. Under the Law, Israel had been specifically instructed not to intermarry with those of other nations who worshiped other gods. This in itself should have prevented Samson from selecting a Philistine bride. Also, Samson must have known by this time he had been raised up by God to begin delivering Israel from the Philistines. Having a Philistine wife would certainly compromise his ability to do what he knew God wanted him to do. When Samson told his parents he wanted to take the Philistine as his bride, they naturally objected, suggesting that he find a wife from among his own people. But Samson was insistent and his father finally consented to make the necessary arrangements. What Samson failed to tell his parents was that he also had an alternative motive in marrying the Philistine woman. “He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines” (Jud. 14:4). As Samson made his way to Timnah to meet with his bride-to-be, he was attacked by a young lion in the vineyards of Timnah. As a Nazarite, Samson was not to eat or drink of the fruit of the vine. That being the case, one is left wondering what Samson was doing in the vineyard. The most probable explanation of his actions was that Samson was on the verge of violating one of the conditions of his Nazarite vow. If this was the case, the attack of the lion may have been an interruption sent by God to prevent him from falling into sin. But in his willingness to take what he wanted, Samson would eventually violate every aspect of his vow. Samson who could conquer armies, could no control himself. When Samson returned to the Philistine city to take the woman to be his wife, “he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion” (v. 8). There he discovered a swarm of bees were using the
- Page 114 and 115: First, Jochebed wove a basket out o
- Page 116 and 117: were a phenomenon which challenged
- Page 118 and 119: oasis Marah which means “bitter
- Page 120 and 121: The giving of the Law to Israel cam
- Page 122 and 123: While Moses and Joshua ascended the
- Page 124 and 125: A second area of interest in the Bo
- Page 126 and 127: ecause of the same kind of unbelief
- Page 128 and 129: Israel. “And the earth opened its
- Page 130 and 131: contains a chapter which the rabbis
- Page 132 and 133: Learning about a sustained confiden
- Page 134 and 135: Christ, John the Baptist chose seve
- Page 136 and 137: described as a savior meeting the S
- Page 138 and 139: JOSHUA: From Victory to Victory (Jo
- Page 140 and 141: THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN (Josh. 11:1-1
- Page 142 and 143: TWENTY-EIGHT JUDGES: Othniel, Ehud,
- Page 144 and 145: attlefield or in spiritual realms.
- Page 146 and 147: DEBORAH AND BARAK AND THE DEFEAT OF
- Page 148 and 149: Lord is with us” (v. 13), suggest
- Page 150 and 151: GIDEON: THE READY CRUSADER (Jud. 7:
- Page 152 and 153: of action in that city, it was he w
- Page 154 and 155: ead during their Exodus from Egypt
- Page 156 and 157: LOVE’S REQUEST (Ruth 3:1-18) Naom
- Page 158 and 159: worshipers. Because of the importan
- Page 160 and 161: paternity could not always be estab
- Page 162 and 163: Jephthah’s problems were not over
- Page 166 and 167: decaying carcass of the lion as a h
- Page 168 and 169: Delilah sought to learn the secret
- Page 170 and 171: With the compromising Levite and Mi
- Page 172 and 173: attlefront would raise the spirits
- Page 174 and 175: “Then she made a vow and said, `O
- Page 176 and 177: the voice again, he was to remain w
- Page 178 and 179: territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He
- Page 180 and 181: when they would cry out to God beca
- Page 182 and 183: finding the lost asses; however, hi
- Page 184 and 185: a battle and the ensuing loss of li
- Page 186 and 187: Philistines disarmed the nation so
- Page 188 and 189: to mourn until God intervened and s
- Page 190 and 191: valley of Elah. “I defy the armie
- Page 192 and 193: Saul began to view David as a perso
- Page 194 and 195: Samuel were staying, he too began p
- Page 196 and 197: dead. Every legitimate means of dis
- Page 198 and 199: On the death of Saul, David was the
- Page 200 and 201: elieved Joab could be trusted. He p
- Page 202 and 203: that place until the dedication of
- Page 204 and 205: his own bed in Jerusalem rather tha
- Page 206 and 207: David himself had called for the st
- Page 208 and 209: When his cousin Jonadab probed Amno
- Page 210 and 211: attlefields against Absalom, the ot
- Page 212 and 213: enemies of Israel during his reign.
THE WIFE OF MANOAH (Jud. 13:1-25)<br />
(1123 B.C.)<br />
<strong>The</strong> life of Samson can be outlined in relationship to the four women who dominated his<br />
life to some degree. <strong>The</strong> first of these was his mother who is never named in Scripture but<br />
described only as the wife of Manoah. This woman of the tribe of Dan was barren. In the culture<br />
of the Near East, this condition was generally viewed as an evidence of the displeasure of God,<br />
yet her barrenness was soon to come to an end. “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the<br />
woman and said to her, `Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall<br />
conceive and bear a son’” (Jud. 13:3).<br />
At that first meeting of the Angel of the Lord and the wife of Manoah, the woman was<br />
instructed to abstain from wine, strong drink, and foods classified as unclean in the Law. <strong>The</strong><br />
reason for this action on her part was that the son was to be “a Nazarite to God from the womb”<br />
(v. 5). Under the Law, there was a provision made for the man who was led to dedicate himself<br />
to a particular work for God. As a Nazarite, he was to demonstrate his commitment to God and<br />
the work he was doing for God by observing three conditions which were symbols of his<br />
dedication. Normally, this vow would be taken for a limited period of time, but on at least three<br />
occasions in Scripture, an unborn child was designated as a Nazarite from the womb (cf. also 1<br />
Sam. 1:11; Luke 1:15).<br />
<strong>The</strong> wife of Manoah was impressed with the message from the Angel of the Lord, but<br />
failed to recognize this as a Christophany or preincarnate appearance of Christ. Still, she was<br />
aware of the fact that the man who spoke with her was unusual. When relating the conversation<br />
to her husband, she described the man as “a man of God” which was a usual designation for a<br />
prophet but noted also “His countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very<br />
awesome” (Jud. 13:6). She related fully the instructions she had received concerning the prenatal<br />
care of their son and his destiny as “a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death” (v.<br />
7).<br />
Manoah demonstrated his deep faith in God by praying to the Lord and requesting a<br />
second visitation of this “Man of God.” His purpose in making this request was that the supposed<br />
prophet would “teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born” (v. 8). He realized the<br />
great responsibility that would be his as the father of this very special son and sought further<br />
instruction that he might be everything a father should be to his son. “And God listened to the<br />
voice of Manoah” (v. 9).<br />
<strong>The</strong> second time the Angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, she was sitting<br />
alone in a field. Knowing her husband wanted to meet this prophet, she quickly ran out to get<br />
him. When Manoah arrived, the Angel of the Lord confirmed He was the One who had appeared<br />
to Manoah’s wife earlier. <strong>The</strong> earlier message was repeated and emphasized. When Manoah<br />
realized he was talking with the Angel of the Lord, he offered to prepare a kid and serve it to his<br />
guest as a meal. <strong>The</strong> Angel said he would not eat the food but rather encouraged Manoah to offer<br />
it as a burnt offering unto the Lord. When Manoah asked the Angel His name, he was told it was<br />
Secret or Wonderful, one of the distinct titles of Christ in the Scriptures (cf. Isa. 9:6).
Change language