Bible Talks

 
Judges 13:6-14:36Then 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: 7But 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. 8Then Manoah entreated 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. 9And 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. 10And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. 11And 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. 12And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? 13And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14She 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. 15And 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. 16And 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. 17And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor? 18And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? 19So 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. 20For 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. 21But 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. 22And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23But 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 showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these. 24And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. 1And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 2And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 3Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. (Judges 13:6‑14:3)
When Manoah’s wife told her husband of how the angel had appeared to her announcing the birth of a son, he was very anxious to hear all this for himself, and to know, as a father, how they could train their child. The Lord graciously heard Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of the Lord came again and told Manoah that it was most important that his wife observe what he had told her, not to drink wine or strong drink, nor to eat any unclean thing.
This is deeply important. We are living in an evil day and it is becoming very difficult to bring up our children for the Lord, as all who are parents will freely admit. What are we to do? Are we to relax and just bring up our children in the ways of this world or can we still bring them up in separation from it? Samson’s parents were concerned about this and they received God’s answer. The mother was to be specially careful to give the example of separation from the pleasures (typified in the wine) and the evil (the unclean things) of the world. She was not to cut her son’s hair either. Now long hair, we learn from 1 Corinthians 11:1414Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (1 Corinthians 11:14), was a shame to a man, and a sign of submission in a woman. And so as little Samson grew up he would have to bear shame before others, because his parents were bringing him up as a separated one. Perhaps he would be laughed at, but God had said that no razor was to come upon his head and that was enough. There was submission to the Word of God.
Undoubtedly this has a voice for us, for God has told us as Christian parents to bring up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Eph. 6:44And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4). They may be laughed at for it, but it is God’s way, and it is the right way. It is the way of blessing, for we read here of Samson, “and the Lord blessed him.” Then as he grew older it says, “The Spirit of the Lord began to move him.” When we, as parents, seek to bring up our children for the Lord, according to His Word, then we can count upon the Spirit of God to move them. There is a work in their hearts which only He can do, and He will, if we look to the Lord in faith.
We now come to the life of Samson with all its important lessons. Let us consider them carefully and prayerfully, for they are “written for our learning.” Romans 15:44For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4).
After all this fine start we read here, “And Samson went down.” If we are not watchful, and neglect the reading of God’s Word and prayer, we will “go down” too. In spite of all our past training in the things of God, or the faithfulness of our parents, we will get away into a path that is not pleasing to the Lord, if we are careless in these things.
When Samson was “down” in the vineyards of Timnath, he saw a young woman among the Philistines (who were the enemies of the Lord and His people) and she was very attractive to him. He then came and told his parents about her, saying, “Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.” It was because he went down to these vineyards of the Philistines—surely a place of temptation for a separated one who was not to eat anything that was made of the vine, nor even moist grapes (Numbers 6:3, 43He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 4All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. (Numbers 6:3‑4))—that he met this young woman at all. If he had been more careful to avoid temptation’s ways he would not have been there, and, undoubtedly, it was because his heart was away from the Lord that this enemy of God’s people could please him.
ML 11/15/1953