Judges 13:21-25 – Being a vessel God can count on

The angel of the Lord disappeared with the flame that arose from the sacrifice which Manoah offered. Judges 12:21 said that he did not appear again to Manoah nor his wife. It was then that it dawned on Manoah that the angel was no ordinary being. He realized that the angel whom he had been conversing with, came to him representing Jehovah. It was then that his heart was seized with fear and he panicked. He thought he and his wife would be stricken since they had seen the Lord. However, we could see from this episode that though his wife was less spiritual than him, she was calmer and more rational. She reasoned that had God wanted to take their lives they would be long gone. Besides, the sacrifice offered was consumed by God. And there was also the word that was given to her that she would soon conceive and bear a son. What about the Nazirite vows she was to keep on her son’s behalf? What about the instruction that she herself was to abstain from wine and uncleaned things that her son was to keep? On several occasions in this book of the Judges, we have seen how God chose to use women as His instrument. Hence it should not surprise us to read of the calmness of Manoah’s wife. God is not a respecter of gender. He uses men and he will also use women. The issue is not in the gender of the person whom God uses, but the availability and sensitivity of that person whom He has chosen to use.  

When God speaks and gives a word, what He has said will always come to pass. So true to the word of the angel of Jehovah, Manoah’s wife conceived and gave birth to Samson. With the birth of this deliverer, there arose a new hope for the people of Israel. Nothing was said of Samson’s childhood here. But briefly verse 24 tells us that Samson grew and was blessed of the Lord. Then we are told of his empowerment in Mahaneh-dan that was located between Zorah and Eshtaol. The name of this place which was located in Judah simply means the camp of Dan. It was the Spirit of the Lord that came upon Samson and granted him the unusual strength to accomplish great exploits. The things we have heard about Samson would have probably coloured our thinking about him. Question about his suitability to be God’s instrument of deliverance must have crossed our mind. Yet we must not let our prior knowledge of Samson prevent us from learning what God wants to speak to us through his life. Before we dive in and discover more about Samson, let’s be reminded of one important lesson. Our calling is one thing, but being sure that we do not become a useless vessel is quite another. It is great to know that God has placed a calling upon our life to do His bidding, but it is far more important to stay ready and prepared. It is needful that we constantly develop our life and calling. We want to be in our best spiritual condition to be the conduit of His power when He comes calling upon us.