Judges 13:8-14
8 Then Manoah pleaded with the Lord and said, “Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again so that he may teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.”
9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 So the woman hurried and ran, and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me!”
11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.”
12 Then Manoah said, “Now when your words are fulfilled, what shall be the boy’s way of life and his vocation?”
13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “The woman shall pay attention to all that I said.
14 She shall not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; she shall keep all that I commanded.”
The Angel of the Lord Appearing to Manoah
Believing without seeing
What is your motivation for studying the Bible? We study the Bible not merely for intellectual curiosity, but to know and to do the Lord’s will. Furthermore, understanding the Lord’s plan that he has for yourself and for you families and putting them into action is the key to receiving blessings.
Let’s observe Manoah’s actions. (1) Upon hearing his wife’s report, he believed it to be true without seeing it. Let’s remember the words of Jesus: “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:29). (2) He believed through his wife’s report that a child would be born, but he didn’t know how to raise the child. So, he earnestly prayed to the Lord, asking for “the man of God” to be sent again and give guidance. At this point, neither Manoah nor his wife fully understood who this “man of God” was. (3) The Lord answered Manoah’s prayer, but once again, “the man of God” appeared to his wife and not to Manoah.
Instruction from the angel of the Lord
Manoah’s wife immediately went to call him and brought him to that person. (1) Manoah didn’t doubt that a child would be born. He asked the person how to raise the child. (2) The individual (the angel of the Lord) didn’t provide Manoah with new information. He simply repeated what he had already commanded Manoah’s wife: “let her observe all that I commanded.” The Lord’s will had already been revealed. We, too, often find ourselves not content with the information we know and desire to know about things even far into the future. However, even if we can’t see far into the future, there’s no need worry. We should faithfully carry out what we know now, what’s right in front of us. By doing so, the next steps will be revealed to us.
Today's prayer
Almighty God, help me start putting into action from what I know. Give me the strength to take action. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.