0:07 Meet me in the book of Judges chapter 13. Believe it or not, we're almost finished with this book. We have a few chapters left. And we're almost in a study within a study because we've now come to an interesting character in our Bibles that you've heard of, especially if you've grown up in the church. Samson.
0:37 What makes this judge so unique in comparison to the all the other deliverers that we have studied thus far is that Samson is the only judge in which we are given the record of his birth. And, we are told of his divine assignment even before he was conceived in his mother's womb. Samson here is the only individual in the entire scripture, rather in the book of Judges, that had such a privilege given to him, giving us a nudge that he's pretty important. On top of that, as you're about to find out, Samson was one of the few men in the entire Bible where a messenger from heaven comes to announce his birth. Would you tell me, other instances where that was the case?
1:28 Jesus, of course, our Lord and savior? Absolutely. Anybody else? John the Baptist? Yes.
1:35 There's another one that I have in mind. Samuel didn't have an angel necessarily come to him, but he did have a miraculous birth because his mother was barren, but an angel coming to announce the birth of a child. Isaac. Isaac. Isaac in Genesis 18.
1:55 So, think of this company. You have Isaac, John the Baptist, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, and this interesting man by the name of Samson. Now, what makes the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ so much more unique is not the fact that an angel came to announce his entrance into the world. What was it that made his birth so unique? There wasn't a human father that assisted that miraculous thing to take place.
2:26 Every other place where an angel announced the birth, a human father was involved. Not so with Jesus. On top of that, Samson is unique for another reason. In Judges, he is the final judge that is called by God. After this, we don't read of any other person that is raised up by the Lord to bring deliverance to his people.
2:47 All that to say that right from the beginning, we have an invitation from the Holy Spirit to believe that there is much to learn from this man's life. And there is because his life, his ministry spans three chapters. And after that, we see a whole different story with this narrative in the book of Judges. And so, we now begin in verse one of Judges 13. 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.
3:27 Let's just stop there. You've seen that before, haven't you? We've seen that over and over and over again, that the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. Here's why it's unique in this place, in this book. Again, it's the final time that it is mentioned.
3:48 After this, we're not gonna see that commentary ever again. But we've been hammered with that, with that phrase throughout this book and here's the problem with things that seem familiar to us, we don't we don't inquire. We become dulled to it. We just skip over it, not realizing that God really wants to get our attention about something concerning himself and who we are. The Lord sees differently than you and I see.
4:18 I want you to compare verse one here with the final verse of this entire book. Look at Judges 21 verse 25. In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. You know why God keeps repeating that they did evil in his sight?
4:38 They did evil in his sight? Because he's trying to get us to see the contrast between sinful men and the Holy One of Israel. And here's the point that he wants to drive in our hearts. It's a very simple one. That what is commonly practiced, praised, promoted in society is abominable, despicable and evil in God's eyes.
5:03 You know what this verse teaches us? The deceptiveness of sin. This is teaching us that you and I can claim something to be right all the while. It is condemned in the sight of God. And that's the whole mess of the book of Judges.
5:25 It's based on that contrast. That how men see leads them into chaos and confusion because they fail to perceive as God perceives. That is true for a nation and that is true for an individual. Failure ultimately stems from that failure. What?
5:45 Seeing the way God wants you to see things. That's how Israel got into this mess. That's how they continued it in this mess because they did not choose to conform their ways to God. You know what that else what else that tells us? That conscience, your conscience, my conscience is not the ultimate source of determining morality.
6:05 God gives us a conscience, but that conscience can be so rejected and ignored that what happens? It's seared. Ask the average sinner today if what they believe is doing is wrong. They'll say, no. What happened?
6:21 They've they've so silenced their conscience, and that's what's happening in society. There's an attack and assault on the mind, on our hearts, on what is right and wrong. Neither is our community and their guidelines and their perception the ultimate source of morality. Why? Because we can we can see where that's taking us.
6:42 It all comes from God. And if it's not ultimately found in him, derived from him, received from him, take the book of judges and you can apply it to any generation, in any century, in any year, and this is what will happen over time. They thought they were doing right, and all the while God is saying, it's actually evil in my sight. You know what the great protection in your life is? Is to take God's mind and to drive it into yours, until how you interpret life and every issue and every event is seen by his lens.
7:23 How do you do that? How do you see as God sees? Well, the only way you can see as God sees is when you think as God thinks. And the only way for you to think as God thinks is to get your mind in this book until you are so coated and saturated with who he is, and how he sees, and how he feels, that it begins to now echo in your own conscience. If we really saw how God saw, we would feel as he feels, and we would navigate through life the way he calls us to navigate through this life.
7:58 And that's the failure ultimately of our generation. So what is this people gonna do? This people that are contaminated, that are again in bondage because of this failure to see as God sees. It says here, in verse two that there was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the tribe of the Danites whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and had no children. You know what God's about to do?
8:25 In a place where nobody had any understanding, barely anybody had any understanding of what it means to see as God sees, he's gonna raise up another deliverer. But you know what's fascinating? Is that in the past, God has raised up a full grown man to bring deliverance from oppression, and temporary deliverance from idolatry. But again, for the first time, here we see that he does not recruit an Israelite in the prime of his life. He goes after a person who's not even existing yet.
8:55 Consider that. Then now he's going to find somebody that's not even been conceived yet. That he he has he has to find a couple to work with him, so that somebody from their infancy can be raised up. Why is that? I mean, it doesn't tell us why, but we have some reason to believe that perhaps, the desperation of this day called for such extreme measures.
9:19 Do you see here that they've been in bondage for how long? Look at verse one. Forty years, that's the longest that Israel's ever been under captivity to an enemy. You read the years before with the different Canaanites and Moabites and all that, never as long as forty years. And you know what's quite amazing?
9:36 Is that not once do we see here that the people cried out for deliverance. This is how bad it was. They became comfortable in their bondage. They gave up fighting for God's perfect will for their lives. If this is how it's gonna be, this is gonna be.
9:53 We're just gonna go with it. And I wonder if God couldn't find a man. I wonder if God couldn't find somebody that would be willing to part I wonder if, just like Jephthah, too many people had a perverted view of God, so that even if God did recruit somebody, they would do something outlandish like Jephthah did in sacrificing his daughter thinking that's what God required. And so is it possible that God wants to recruit somebody from their infancy, so they're like a blank canvas? And you can work with something fresh, we don't know, but one thing is certain.
10:29 Samson, between this chapter and chapter 16, is going to be a prophetic, almost you can say parable, to reflect the condition of the nation of Israel. He's gonna be the embodiment of it. Everything from Samson's call, to his inconsistencies, to his tragic end, is going to point to the condition of the nation of Israel. Why? Because when you read chapter 14, you're gonna realize that Samson's main problem was what?
11:02 His eyes. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And so the principle is gonna be applied now individually, as well as nationally. What you see in Samson from this point on is going to be a picture of what Israel has been like in this story line. Called on an amazing call, elected for an amazing purpose, to be a light to the nations, to be a deliverer to the world.
11:30 Right? And what did Israel do? Commit spiritual adultery over and over. They lusted after false gods. What was Samson's problem?
11:40 Lust. And what happened to Israel? Ultimately, they were held in captivity by an enemy, and that's what happened with Samson. So Samson becomes a parable of the nation of Israel. It's quite amazing.
11:56 The silence speaks volumes, doesn't it? The longest recorded enslavement in this book. And this is where you see the grace of God. God doesn't wait for them to realize their need before he sends an answer. God was willing to still give them a chance even though they did not ask for it.
12:20 And while you were still an enemy of God, Christ was sent to you. While you were a rebel, while you hated God, while you turned your back on God, while you defiled his commands, and you rejected his precepts, this is when God in Christ came to you. Not when your face was turned toward him. He came to die on a cross and be lifted up so that he can draw all men to him. It was him being raised up on that wooden beam that would call the attention of man.
12:52 But you were not in a state in which you deserved for him to be sent, just like Samson here. And Samson is gonna come as a miracle in a man. But read carefully now. We see here that he's sent, but look at verse five. What this angel is gonna tell this woman.
13:11 I want you to just notice a phrase. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Notice it says, begin. It Didn't say he would bring complete deliverance.
13:33 Samson would only bring a shaking. Samson would only bring bring a rocking to the yoke upon this nation, but he would not be able to deliver them completely. He would only begin the work. Who ultimately delivered the people from the Philistines? David did.
13:51 David did. David came on the scene and he slew a giant, And he continually went to war with these Philistines until he brought relief in the military sense. You know, if you look at that practically, it tells us something so encouraging, doesn't it? That God calls different people to do different things for the same mission. So God will call one man to begin a work, and sometimes that work is not completed by that man or woman, and in another generation, somebody else takes it further, and then somebody else completes it.
14:23 It's so It's such a blessing to know that even from this time, God still operates that way, where he he has one person plant, another person to water, but he ultimately brings the increase. And so even as a privilege as this man has here to be recorded in the scriptures, he still played a part. And then it would just be a baton passed down to the next generation, to the next generation, to the next generation. None of us in here are called to do some magnificent work that, is not just gonna be completed, it's gonna continue because no matter what part you play in, it's gonna lead to the consummation of the age. And we all contribute to that one way or another.
15:04 Samson had a part to play, you have a part to play. Nobody's the ultimate superhero. The only superhero in this grand story of redemption is Jesus Christ. So take a deep breath and relax. You have a part to play.
15:16 You're not the savior of the world. But you know what I see here? Even though David technically brought deliverance from the Philistines, he could not bring victory over the greater enemy, the more concerning enemy. The enemy that Samson had to deal with, and that he had to deal with, and that every person before Christ had to deal with, and that is sin. Samson begun a work.
15:44 David, you can say, completed it. He killed a giant who was a Philistine. But both Samson and David could not defeat idolatry and lust. Right? No matter what kind of saviors they they were, they showed that they could not ultimately deliver what people really needed.
16:13 See, David could cut the head off of a giant, but he couldn't kill his own sensuality. He could slay a giant, but he couldn't subdue his sexual impulses. Samson here could kill a thousand men with a jawbone of a donkey, but he could not say no to a Delilah. So he begun a work, David somewhat completed work, but hold up, there there's a there's a bigger problem here than the Philistines. And so what do you have?
16:43 You have all of this, whether it was a judge in the book of Judges, or a king in the book of first Samuel and second Samuel, pointing to the fact that no one, no matter how much power they have, no matter how much wisdom or military might, can deal with this human sickness. And then you come to the first book of the New Testament, and something rings familiar as you read verse 21 of chapter one, which says, she will bear a son. Just like Samson, you're gonna bear a son. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. From their sins.
17:23 Not just begin a work with the Philistines or slay giants, no. The ultimate enemy. The thing that will condemn us all, the thing that will drag us all, never mind to temporary government oppression. Let's talk about eternal hell. So Samson in this announcement foreshadows Christ who will come and deal with something much larger than some foreign foe.
17:50 But You know what's amazing? Before we come to Samson, before we unpack this superhero and the sequence of his salvations and his stumblings, you and I, for some reason, come face to face with Samson's parents for the rest of the chapter, the whole chapter, really. Samson's mom and Samson's dad. You have to ask, that must be important for us to study, for the Holy Spirit to include it. We could have skipped over all of that and just gone straight to Samson, but no, the Holy Spirit wants you to park right here and say, look at this woman.
18:29 Look at this man. And learn something. You know, I believe the overarching message of this study in chapter 13 is this, that in a society where everyone seems to be doing right in their own eyes, God's plan for change is greatly linked to the home of the godly. In a culture where morality is subjective, God's plan to make an impact in that kind of a society is to breathe upon and inspire and stir the home of the saints. What do you do when a government is going crazy with their laws?
19:18 What do you do when so many places of worship are in such compromise? This is what we do. We put our energy and our focus and our planning in the home. You give your energy, your focus to bringing godliness and holiness within the comfort of your home, with the hope and the trust that there is a potential power in there to actually infect, in a good way, all other institutions in society. So people say we gotta fix the White House.
19:53 Here's my argument, fix the average Christian house. Never mind the White House. Fix your house. Get prayer back into your house and stop arguing for prayers to get back into school. We need Bibles back in our schools.
20:06 No, you need the Bible back on the dinner table as a family. Why are we always looking outside and trying to fix that when the very foundation of civilization is what you call and I call home? And so what's astounding here is that the future of Israel in their sanity and in their relationship with God is not dependent upon Samson shoulders, but is greatly dependent upon his parents first. How his parents are gonna respond to this mandate from heaven is gonna determine so much, at least in directing their son in the right path. We want revival, we want just like the Holy Spirit to come and just sweep up capital No.
20:55 We need the Holy Spirit to come to the home and convict fathers and mothers and children. That's what we need. And if the majority buys into that program, it doesn't matter what they teach in schools. It doesn't matter who's elected in office. Get the home right.
21:16 Revive marriages. Revive family devotion. Revive the seriousness of going to God's house as a as a unit. And that's what I see here. That's what I believe God is teaching here.
21:31 So whether you're currently married or not, I want you to lean in in this study to see something very practical on this Friday night. Three things. The great faith of this couple, the great sacrifice of this couple, the great partnership of this couple. And so let's read here. Verse three, the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, behold, you are barren, have not born children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
22:03 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 Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. That's the mandate. Now, the angel of the Lord, as you know, we've studied this in the past, is the pre incarnate Christ. This is Christ before taking on flesh forever in the New Testament, in a theophany, appearing in a manifest form that is tangible and observable.
22:36 And the word angel there, don't get confused, simply means in the original, messenger. So there's no theological contradiction there to understand that the angel, the messenger of the Lord, is in fact the second person of the trinity. We're gonna see that at the end. But he comes and he gives us instruction, and he reminds the woman of her condition, like, really really clearly. You're barren and you can't bear children.
22:57 And she's like, I'm aware of that. But she she's being reminded of the impossibility of what's about to take place. She's being reminded of the fact that her condition does not make sense with this command. And so what happens? What's the response of this woman?
23:14 Look at verse six. Then the woman came and told her husband, a man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an 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, and then she gives the instructions that she had received word for word. Bible study, so here's a question.
23:38 When you think about the others that we've mentioned that had an angel come and announce the birth for a barren woman, other than Mary and Jesus Christ, think of Isaac and John the Baptist, what were the reactions when the angel came to announce this miracle? What what happened with Isaac? Verse. I love that verse because she lasted herself. She goes, she's doing the dishes thing.
24:10 Now, now, now when I'm old, now I'm gonna have a child. Well, my master's oh, no, okay. She's laughing to her. And then they're out there having dinner is the angel of the Lord Christ with the two angels and Abraham. And the Lord goes, why did she laugh?
24:24 Like, God knows when you laugh. God knows when you chuckle underneath your breath. And Sarah was like, I didn't laugh. And then all the verse says, yeah, you laughed. That's it.
24:34 It's like, profound. It's incredible. You did laugh. And she's rebuked. She's rebuked for unbelief in that moment.
24:43 What about John the Baptist? Who did the announcement come to first? The father, Zechariah. Right? He was in the temple.
24:51 It was his turn to offer the incense unto the Lord. The angel comes. And then he says in Luke one, verse 18, listen to this. And Zechariah said to the angel, how shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.
25:06 And then the angel says, you know, I stand in the presence of God, and because of your unbelief, you're not gonna be able to say a word until this actually takes place. He's rebuked. And God is so gracious that even in their unbelief, he was still still willing to work with both Sarah and Zechariah. But when you come to Samson's wife, there's no unbelief. She heard it.
25:28 She was reminded of her condition, of the impossibility of the whole scenario, and she goes back to her husband with total confidence that this is gonna take place. And the husband is no different, because you see his response to it in a moment. But this is the picture. This is an illustration of God's ideal for every marriage, every relationship, a unified trust in the word of God, no matter how impossible or unlikely the words that are commanded and the things that are revealed seem. People often say, hey, if you're gonna find a gal, if you're gonna find a guy, make sure they believe in the Bible.
26:10 I don't give that advice, or know the Bible rather. Make sure they know the Bible. I don't I don't give that advice. This is what I say. Make sure you find somebody that trembles at God's word and believes every word of it.
26:24 The devil knows the Bible. Liberal Christians, what I mean liberal, theologically liberal Christians know the Bible. What difference does it make? Find somebody who trembles at God's word. Find somebody who obeys God's Word with whatever revelation they have.
26:44 I'll take somebody who what? Anybody in the Christian faith will do more damage by taking the little revelation they have of God's Word and believing every word of it, than knowing everything from cover to cover and not submitting to it. There have been revivals in different nations with people who had just pages of the New Testament scattered and ripped. And here we are with the full revelation, and we're struggling here to believe. This wife, this husband, they believed.
27:09 Why is that important? Because when there's a mutual fear of God, when there is a commitment into submitting to what God has revealed, obedience is so much more enjoyable and such a gracious experience. Which brings us to the next point. That it's not just the great faith of this couple that we see. It's the great sacrifice of this couple.
27:36 You and I read what she was called to do. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel. But before that, he says that you're not to you're not supposed to drink wine or any strong drink. You know what's amazing is the Nazarite vow was something that was voluntary, according to numbers. You could make a choice at one point in your life as an average Israelite to say, I'm going to set apart a season to seek God and know him in a special way.
28:02 So here's what you were supposed to do. You couldn't drink wine, touch grapes, you couldn't visit anybody at a funeral, come into contact with a dead body, and you had to let your hair grow. It was voluntary, and you can end it whenever you wanted to end it. In Samson's case, it was involuntary, and it was lifelong. From the moment that you cry your first cry to the moment that you give your final breath, you will be a Nazarite.
28:26 Here's where it's interesting. The Nazarite vow didn't begin when he was born. It began when he was conceived. When he was still in the womb, the mother had to take the Nazarite vow upon herself. Shows you where God believes life begins.
28:41 Right? You have to take the Nazarite vow upon yourself. And she was willing to make a sacrifice for nine months to be set apart for God in that season. And you might not have such a call from God, but here is a call for all of us in principle, that your consecration today directly influences the future consecration of those who would come from you. God could have said from the moment that Samson was born, he would be a Nazareth.
29:17 No. He says, you now today. You have to make decisions. And the decisions that you make now, whether you believe it or not, will direct your son, will direct your daughter, will direct your offspring, will direct the next generation, either to bless them or to curse them. I wanna read you a quote from JC Rowell.
29:42 If you're a young man in this place and if you're a young gal, you can still read this book. Even if you're not young, it's a blessing. It's a small book called Thoughts for Young Men, and there's a quote in there that blessed me tremendous. It it impacted my heart, and I want to share it with you. Habits, he says, are like stones rolling downhill.
30:00 The further they roll, the faster and more ungovernable is their course. Habits like trees are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak when it is young. A 100 men cannot root it up when it is a full grown tree. So, patterns in life is like a stone that rolls down the hill.
30:24 The more momentum it has, the longer it's rolling, the more difficult it is for you to step in front of it, to lift your hands, and to try to make it cease. Same with a tree. When it's young, you've seen those young trees in parks and stuff, you can take it by the hand and whip it back and forth. Try to do that with one of these big trees here in our neighborhood. You look like a fool.
30:44 And the task is almost impossible. You might be saying to yourself, well, that's that's a wonderful quote, but give me Bible, and I'm glad you're asking that. Here's a terrifying verse and a hopeful verse at the same time, and you'll see why. In Jeremiah thirteen twenty three, look what the prophet says. Can the Ethiopian change his skin?
31:04 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. You know what he's saying? The likelihood of you actually changing your ways is the same as a Ethiopian man changing the color of his skin. You you changing the way you live is as likely as a leopard removing his spots.
31:33 On the human level, what this teaches is, that what you give yourself to, in the moment you may think that things can change, but the longer you wait with that thought process that turns into decisions, that turns into a habit, that turns into an unbreakable thing, it becomes extremely difficult to see a change. Ask any addict. I've talked to them, you've probably talked to them, and what did they say? I can change any minute. I can stop this right now.
32:06 I can stop right I don't know. I'm not addicted. And you think that's just with substances, that's with sinful decisions as well. How many of us convince us, oh, I can say, I'm I'm just gonna do this because it's just a season of my life and I'm gonna just stop when I wanna stop. He's saying, you think you can just do good you were accustomed to do evil?
32:25 You think you can just stop and just like that, the snap of a finger, everything can can change? Many people think like that about marriage. The moment I get married, I'm gonna stop watching porn. No, you're bringing that porn with you into your marriage. The moment I have somebody in my life, I'm gonna be patient, I'm gonna be understanding.
32:43 Oh, I don't love money now. Maybe I do, but I'll stop loving money when I get a certain amount. Really. Ecclesiastes says, he who loves money will never have enough of it. And so we have this deception where we think that what we do today will not follow us tomorrow.
33:04 And so, you read a verse like this in Jeremiah thirteen twenty three, and you think, I'm in trouble. You are. That's the point. You're supposed to see that, and feel in your soul, I'm doomed. Because Jesus says something very similar in the New Testament when he asked a rich young ruler who was bound up in the love of money, and he thought that he can actually surrender all and follow Jesus.
33:31 And when he came up to Jesus and he says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus tells him because he knew the idol in his heart, give up everything, sell it, and follow me, and he went away sad. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Or the leopard responds when he's accustomed to do evil? And Jesus says out loud, oh, how difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, and it says there in Matthew 19 that the disciples were astonished at what they had heard.
33:57 And they said, then who can be saved? New testament version of this. Then who can be saved? If you're telling us that this person who did nine out of the 10 commandments claiming that he's done it perfectly cannot be Who am I to be saved? Who who's gonna have a chance to enter the kingdom of heaven?
34:21 And Jesus said that famous verse, that so many have it on their coffee mugs, but don't believe it in their hearts, that what is impossible for man is possible for God. That's the context. What is impossible for man is possible for God. And that's the whole point. This is impossible for man.
34:42 But can God change the skin of an Ethiopian? And can God, who created the leper with its spots, erase the spots? So can a man who's accustomed to evil touch the powers from above and receive a new heart. That's the point. It is impossible, so you run to God, and you let him do the work of change in your life.
35:06 So no matter how long you've been in bondage for, no matter how long a pattern has been a thought process has been, you come to the Lord. That's why my personal opinion, you might disagree with me, I believe in counseling. But when it comes to counseling a person's sin, that counseling session is not gonna last very long. Why? Because what can I offer you?
35:23 There's no tricks around this. There's nothing I can say to you that's gonna help you other than you touching God and God touching you. The place of change for a person that has a sin pattern in their lives is found in the intersection of Desperation Boulevard and the Grace Of God Avenue. And the only thing that I can do, or any minister can do, or any serious Christian can do, is point you and give you directions to that intersection. Right?
35:51 What else can be done? I believe that you have the right to sit down with somebody, and for them to speak into your life so that there's something enlightened. But when it comes to something being shattered from your life, it can only come from the Holy Spirit. I love Peter's counseling session in Acts chapter eight with Simon the sorcerer. Simon the sorcerer, who was baptized and followed Philip around, he apparently repented of his sorcery, comes to the point where he sees the apostles who have come from Jerusalem to Samaria performing these things where the power of the Holy Spirit was on display.
36:22 And he takes out his wallet and he goes, give me this power. I'm willing to give you any buck for it. And Peter looks at this man, and he says, you who are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. I mean, the guy just had his baptism service, and you're gonna say that about him? Peter was operating with discernment.
36:42 And you know what he didn't say after he said that? Come and meet with me eight weeks, and we'll try to figure this whole thing out. No. He says, repent and pray to God that he would have mercy over you. And the man couldn't even do that.
36:57 He goes, pray for me that the Lord will not do this to me. And so, here's the understanding. That the the things that we choose to give ourselves to now, will carry along with us, so fight now. Seek God now. Let him renew your mind now.
37:19 Let him transform the way you perceive, and the way you respond, and the way you act and interact, and the way you do things. Let it be now transformed, so that you would not be grieved and bring other into the grievance with you. We see here an interesting thing, that this man and this woman were willing to do a great thing for this purpose. She was willing to become a Nazarite for a season, but it's not just her. The man also gave in to serve the Lord in a radical way.
37:48 Look down here in verse 13. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, so Manoah encounters the angel himself at one point. 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 anything unclean. All that I commanded her, let her observe.
38:09 So the context here is that the woman comes back with the instruction as we read earlier, and Manoah wants to know more. So he seeks God and God answers, and when the angel of the Lord comes to Manoah, he gives the exact same thing that he initially commanded to the woman. He didn't give any clear instructions to him necessarily. So why is he telling him what he told her? Because I believe that he had a role to play in her consecration.
38:40 He, as a husband, had a responsibility to support her, to pray for her, to have her lean upon him, to protect the home that nothing would come in that would tempt her. He was to be her shield, her covering. He was to watch over and seek God on her behalf in that nine month time of being set apart for God. Manoah had a responsibility just as much as his wife did, because they were one. They were one.
39:09 And you admire that about this couple. They were willing to do anything. They were a remnant in this time where nobody else cared, where they were in bondage for years. Here you see this couple tucked away in some small town, and God recruits them because they were willing to make a great sacrifice. Whatever the cost was to be able to serve the Lord, they were willing to serve the Lord.
39:28 And that's what men are called to do. Right? Men and women, toward one another. See, if you're not with somebody who will encourage you being consecrated to God, you should reconsider that somebody. Friendships, especially marriage.
39:46 If you want just one clear indicator that this is the right thing or this is the wrong thing, let me ask you this, did they make you wanna love Christ more, or did they make you wanna grieve God more? Very simple. You'll save yourself from a lifelong of heartache. They might not be perfect, They might not have all the theology intact and systematized, but one thing, one thing is more important than anything else. How are they pulling you towards God?
40:15 If they are at all. Manoah and his wife. Great sacrifice because of the third point, we consider the great partnership of this couple. It was a partnership. Look at verse eight.
40:29 After the woman told him initially of the angel of the Lord coming to him, the Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, oh 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 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.
41:08 And then he goes on to encounter this angel. Did you see what he did in verse eight? Notice how he prayed. Oh 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. This is a team effort.
41:30 Both her and I, both her and I, we're willing to do whatever it takes to be taught by you to know how to bless this child in the ways of God. Can I ask you a quick question? On this Friday night, as you're probably achy and tired from a difficult week. Does your prayer life look like that? Does it look like, God, I wanna know, make it clear, do whatever you need to do to know how I can be more centered in your will?
42:01 What a wonderful character for this man's prayer. What a wonderful description of how men should pray. Lord, teach me. Lord, reveal. Lord, I'm not asking what you can do for me, I'm asking what I can do for you, and I'm begging you.
42:16 It's my deepest, longest desire to know exactly what it is I need to know so that I can be aligned with your pleasure. What a father. What a husband. What a couple. And when you come down here, you realize that what makes this so attractive is that they were in sync with one another.
42:42 He says, Lord, reveal it to us. Who prayed? Who prayed? Manoah. And you know what the answer was?
42:49 When the angel of the Lord comes, he doesn't come to Manoah, he goes to the wife. He goes to the wife. I mean, you would think the man would be maybe hurt by that, but when he answered the prayer, he appeared to the woman, and you might be thinking, why? And there's so many speculations. She's more spiritual, and then this, and this, and that.
43:11 I don't think there's a there's a reason to to see why, because it reveals something. I believe the angel of the Lord here is revealing something by going to the woman, and it is this. They had one strong relationship. Because the moment she she was exposed to the angel of the Lord again, she runs back to him. And what you see is this wonderful dance and harmony of them working together.
43:35 She did not hesitate to inform him. She did not hesitate to come to him. She did not lord it over him. I had two experiences with the angel lord. Two verses zero, who are you?
43:44 No, none of that. And neither was the husband jealous of her, neither was he critical, neither was he insecure. What you see here is that they are in sync, and I believe every marriage would be revolutionized. Every relationship, if the husband and the wife were convinced that their partnership could bless others when they put everything else under the mission that God has called them to. I believe that.
44:17 I believe there would be a lot less marriage counseling, a lot less bickering for silly things, when both parties are convinced of a greater cause to pursue. And that's what we see here. And if you doubt that, that this is the the commonality that's binding them together. Look at verse 12, when he comes to the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said, now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life and what is his mission?
44:55 What a prayer. What a request. You know, there are many parents that want their sons and daughters to be rich, to be beautiful, to be the captain of the football team, to be the cheerleader at their high school. How many parents want their children to be godly? Oh, I want my kids to go to church, you can go to church and be a devil.
45:20 I'm talking about godly. You know what this father was convert convinced? This is what he was only satisfied with. What is his mission on this earth? And what wisdom can I receive from you to make sure that he will walk in that as much as possible?
45:37 What's his calling? Where is he supposed to go? What is he supposed to do for your name's sake? I admire that request for his future child. He didn't care about anything else.
45:52 You might be attracted to that, and you should be. Single guy, single lady. I want a guy like that, who cares about eternal things, who has their mind set on heavenly things. I want a girl like that. I mean, I don't know.
46:08 Maybe you don't. I know some Christians that don't. But if you do, you wanna you wanna hint to know how to discover it? You want an idea of how you can have a great clue if that is a person who in their future, as a man, will be a priest for their home, as a woman, will be a godly influence over the children that she is called to raise? You want a hint?
46:31 See what Manoah asked here? What is a child's manner of life and what is his mission? If you wanna know if that's the type of parent they're gonna be, all you have to do is see if they're making that same request for their own lives today. God, what is my call? What is the mission that you have for my life?
46:51 What is it that you want me to do? Teach me how I can walk in your ways. Teach me how I can please you in this age where everybody does right in their own eyes. And I'm not talking about the world, this is in the context of the people of faith. All these Christians that wanna do life their own way, God, I'm asking you, what do you want me to do?
47:12 Even though it's a fish swimming upstream, I don't care how I look, I wanna please you. You wanna know how they're gonna be like that as a dad? You wanna know how they're gonna be like that as a mom? See if they're like that over their own lives. You know, the great indication of that is true.
47:29 But beyond marriages, the attitude of Manoa and his wife is something that every church needs. Think about it. Here's the woman, an unnamed woman, with these amazing spiritual experiences, and she doesn't boast about it, and she doesn't trumpet it, and she doesn't seem proud about it. No, she wants to include her husband, and she rushes them. She includes them.
47:58 She informs them. And here's a man who's not damaged by it, who's not comparing himself, who's not in competition with his wife, but both have something in common. They're concerned about God's purpose. A lot of churches would be more successful if they thought the same way as this couple. Not in marriages.
48:22 I'm talking about in serving God. So you have some who have different experiences with God, and different breaths of ministry. And we need people who can look at that and celebrate that, and realize that we are a team, and that this is this is a puzzle for us to create a masterpiece for the kingdom of God. And then those who are gifted, and those who do have platforms, and those who are used by God in a way where they touch more people, should not boast about it, should not come off as arrogant. They should associate with the lowly.
48:55 They should be willing to do any other thing in the church. Whatever is the man of them, no matter how much it is hidden or not praised. It's a wonderful interaction that's a recipe for success for all types of relationships. And they needed one another. That's what this is all about.
49:13 You see them just like, it's like this dance. She's coming to him, he's praying, he's following her, and you see the beauty of two people committed to the things of God together. I'm sure they had their arguments, I'm sure they had their big things, I'm sure they had their disagreements, but in this moment, the Holy Spirit wants us wants us to see something that characterized their lives. You know what's amazing? Did you notice that Manoah was mentioned so many times and you didn't get one idea what this woman's name was?
49:46 Not once. She's unnamed throughout the whole thing. So all you know is Manoah, and when I read here, I see that this woman, if you were to compare them, proves to have a little bit more spiritual discernment and knowledge of the things of God and her husband. Might be thinking, how can you say that? Scroll down and look at verse 22 to 23.
50:09 When they realize that this angel of the Lord is in fact God, look what they do. Manoah said to his wife, they fell to the ground, they were scared. And look what the husband said to the unnamed wife, we shall surely die for we have seen God. But his wife said to him, if the Lord has meant to kill us, he would not accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced us such things as these. Wow.
50:42 She knew something about God that he didn't know. She interpreted the sequence of events, and she knew the grace of God. She knew the mercy of God. And this unnamed wife showers her husband with revelation to calm his fears, and to pierce through those dark clouds that hovered over his soul in that moment, that put him in terror and brought relief. The husband didn't do that for the wife.
51:10 The wife did that for the husband. She was able to discern. She was operating in wisdom in this moment, and you don't even know her name. Guess what? You don't have to be known to be a blessing.
51:26 You don't have to be known to be a blessing. You don't have to be praised. You don't have to have a platform. You don't have to have your name like Manoah, splattered all over a chapter, you just need to love God and obey him, whether you're recognized for it or not, and you'll be a blessing. This is why I wanna encourage the sisters of the church, where if you come to this church, we believe that there are distinct roles in the church, and one of the distinctions is that men are called to be elders within the local body.
51:53 But guess what? Here's an example for you to realize you don't need a platform to be a blessing. You don't need to have a title. You don't need to have pastor so and so. That doesn't matter.
52:04 Here you have a man that's being infused with graces from an unnamed wife. What is all this thing about the feminist movement? It's a lust for power and authority. That's what it is. There's no woman out there arguing to be plumbers.
52:25 But positions of authority in the church, that's what they're arguing for. Where are the people that would go unnamed so that they can bless? I'd rather be like this woman and nobody know me, and possess such a discernment and knowledge of God, then have my name like Manoah splattered everywhere for everybody to know my name. I could care less. We should be like that, and God will infuse us with that grace.
52:54 Because no matter what differences that they had in their strengths, they had one thing in common. Look at verse 20. When the flame went up toward them, toward heaven rather, 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. That's what they had in common, a reverential of God.
53:22 Because no matter if Manoah had his name everywhere, and no matter if the wife had obviously a sensitivity to the things of God, they found a common place and that was on their face before the revelation of how wonderful God is. You want partnership in marriage, you want partnership in ministry. Find somebody that's in awe of God. Find somebody where you can feel comfortable, where you can bow before God together. I hope this is attracting you to see this amazing picture that God has instilled in his word, because they came face to face with God.
54:08 That's what this is about too. The angel of the Lord was Christ himself. You want proof? Look at verse 17 to 18. Manoah invited this messenger to eat, and he's not getting it.
54:27 He's not getting that this is this is a different person. And the angel said, if you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord. And it says, from Manoah in verse 16, did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. It's like God is giving him a hint. He's like, I'm not interested in a meal, but give me a burnt offering.
54:50 He's like, okay. And so he goes and he doesn't know what's going on. And so he provides a burnt offering which God requires. And when he prepares this offering, verse 18, rather 17, Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, what is your name? See, the wife, when she came originally, she said, he didn't tell me his name.
55:15 He didn't tell me his name. And so now, the husband's thinking, well, we don't know who this man is. We we wanna know your name, so that when your words come true, we may honor you. He's thinking he's a prophet. He's thinking he's just a messenger of God.
55:28 And he goes, we want to honor you. So could you tell us who you are? And he didn't understand that if you wanted to give his identity, he would have given his identity. And he responds in a remarkable fashion. The angel of the Lord said to him, why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?
55:54 Let's just do process of elimination here. You've never said that to somebody when they've asked you your name. If you did, you need to humble yourself. Your name isn't that great. Could you find an angel that has ever said that to a human being?
56:12 See how angels interact with humans from cover to cover and you'll never have one of them say, my name is too wonderful. But what you do have is the wonderful, miraculous consistency of the word of God. Because you know this, because you hear it almost every Christmas season in Isaiah nine six. And what are we told in Isaiah nine six about the Messiah, the one to come, the Christ who is to enter into the world and save the world? 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, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
57:05 What's your name? Why are you asking my name? It's too wonderful. They're standing face to face with Christ. It's incomprehensible.
57:20 It's far too reaching. It's something that your mind, you may be able to study it at a bible study, you may you may pull some truths, but to understand the completion of it, to know all of it, is just too profound. It's too glorious. It's too amazing. There isn't enough room in your mind, and there's not enough walls in your soul to be stretched out enough for you to actually comprehend my name, just my name, and what it means.
57:47 Because in the scriptures, a name pointing to the character and the nature of a person, that's exactly what's being said here. It's wonderful. And that's why you and I will have a eternal pursuit just discovering how wonderful he is. And you know what's amazing here is, I I stepped back today and I was reading this and I thought to myself, this is Christ, Isaiah nine six, the wonderful council. This is his name.
58:13 And I just thought how humorous this is right now, because here you have the pre incarnate Christ stepping on the scene and announcing the birth of a human savior that will bring temporary relief to his people. And hundreds of years later, the same messenger would take up residence in a woman's womb, and another angel would come and announce his birth to bring permanent salvation in the matter of the soul and in dealing with sin. Can you imagine the scene? Christ steps on the lawn of this couple, announces the miraculous birth of Samson, telling them that he would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. And in eternity past, there's already a plan with a virgin girl named Mary, and an angel that has been set apart just to announce that over her life, that a son will be given to you.
59:15 And he would not just begin a work, but he would come into this world to complete a work where he would be hanging on a cross, and he would say, it is finished. It is finished. That's Christ. They worship Christ. And as much as they've been exposed to right here, perhaps, I'm sure they didn't understand the ultimate plan in the mind of this messenger of what he was going to do beyond their lifetime, and for their people, and for all the world, for every nation, tribe, and tongue.
59:52 What an amazing God. Hey, he's wonderful. He's wonderful. And this is what we're gonna do, is ask him to show us just that, because that's what we need. See, it's not a matter of him revealing himself in fresh ways necessarily.
1:00:13 It's our failure to see him, and our need for our eyes to be peeled back from the flesh to be able to comprehend how glorious he is. That's what Paul prayed for, that you may have the eyes to see just how amazing these things are concerning your Lord and your God and your savior. And that's available to us. Father, we thank you deeply for this bible study. Lord, we pray that the nuggets that we've learned from this story would truly influence the way we see.
1:01:00 We wanna see as you see. And Lord, we ask that you would so renew our minds that what you love, we would love, and what you hate, we would hate. Lord, for every couple in this place, may they reflect the attitude that we've seen in the scene with these two. Manoah and an unnamed woman. For those who are in that season of singleness.
1:01:29 Lord, may they believe you. May they trust in you. For partnership in the covenant of marriage. And Lord, if there's gonna be any solution, we've we've heard it and we believe you tonight for it. That the answer to what we're seeing in a time where everybody is doing right in their own eyes is that the nucleus of the home, the the the home is the hub in which you will have your main platform of discipleship and missionary work and Christ like character being developed.
1:02:08 Lord, we ask that this church, though there's different people in different seasons, God, we would collectively see how wonderful you are. Help us comprehend how wonderful you are. Help us, Lord, see it because perhaps in this moment, Father, there are dull hearts. There are dull hearts. Weren't even moved at all by what was just heard.
1:02:38 They could care less. They're too occupied with things of this world. They're too occupied by fear and lust and temptations. Lord, even if it's been a season, if you can change the skin of an Ethiopian, and you can remove the spots of a leper, Lord, surely you can change the condition of our hearts. Nothing is impossible for you, Father.
1:02:59 But, Lord, we come to this place of desperation, and we seek you, lord. Not for salvation, because we know we're yours, but, lord, we seek you to change us. Please, lord, let there be a burning passion again. Let there be something in us that is ignited to love you and pursue you, lord. Lord, please don't leave us in this numbness.
1:03:18 Please, Lord, don't leave us in this place where we don't care. Please, Lord, don't leave us in this place where we're more entertained by what's happening in this world and by silly things, God. Oh, Lord, please forgive us God for slipping into this state, but we ask you to rescue us and to pull us up again, oh God. Lord, that we would be like this couple here who who ran after they heard the word of God, knew that there was more to know. Lord, please.
1:03:50 Less would be lest we stay here, and we misrepresent your name, and we show the world that you're not worthy to be adored, God. Well, we're not just satisfied with being saved, God. We wanna be saturated by your presence, Lord. We wanna be completely satisfied in the things of God. And so, Lord, we trust in you tonight.
1:04:21 If you don't open our eyes, they will remain closed. If you don't change us, Lord, we will remain the same. So we come to you, Lord, and we say have mercy. Have mercy on my love for you. Have mercy on my worship for you.
1:04:34 Have mercy, oh God. In Jesus name, we ask these things. Amen. Amen.
