Judges 13:1-14
Samson's parents, Manoah and his wife, impressed me in Judges 13:1-14. They are childless, but then an angel of God appears and tells Manoah's wife (and later Manoah) that she will have a baby, a boy, and that "the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines" (vs. 5). Now Manoah and his wife had to be thrilled that they were going to have a baby, but at the same time, they had been told point blank that their son was special to the Lord and that he would be used to rescue Israel from the Philistines.
Now it would have been easy for Manoah and his wife to question and doubt and try to hold on to their son. But they didn't miss a beat. They seemed to understand that their child was a gift from God and fully accept that God was going to use their son for His purpose and plan.
So what did Manoah and his wife show you about having open hands with God when it comes to people, things, and/or areas in our lives that are important and precious to us? Tami W.
And" don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. Ephesians 4 v. 26 & 27
Open Hand in the way of the lord is the best, what shall we say about Hanna, Mary (mother of Jesus)and others.
May God help Us
I find Manoah and his wife's level of faith and trust in God rather remarkable considering the history of their nation to this point. God was pleased and rewarded their faith with a gift. Now, this gift came with special instructions and Manoah and his wife were careful to get it right, seeking direction, guidance and wisdom from above. Apparently, pleasing God was #1 on their priority list. I believe that this level of commitment to God was essential to the success of this mission. God could not have used a couple of lesser faith because they would not have been faithful to the special instructions regarding the child that God was raising up for his purposes. It would have been like the guy (or gal) today which you observe acting rashly in traffic and the back of their car is plastered with "I love Jesus" bumper stickers and little fish signs...an ineffective witness. Which bring us to the special instructions, themselves. They don't seem all that significant to us today, but in that culture it was very significant, and God was so adamant about them that He required them of the mother carrying the unborn child. I find it interesting that the Nazirite vows were voluntary, with this one exception, Sampson (and his mother during the pregnancy). There's a nugget in there, but I'm not sure just what it is. Anyway, I'm rambling and still trying to answer Tami's question...I suppose you could say that everything is a gift from God and our proper response to Him is to not cling to our "gifts", but allow God to use them through us for His good purposes.
I found that it was remarkable that they both trusted the angel of the Lord without question. That type of selfless service is rarely seen today, although we should all aspire to it. When I was in the Army, it was one of our Army values. I like Tom's analogy to people who are jerks in traffic, yet have the symbols of Christ on their vehicles. Sometimes I find it hard to glean why certain things are happening in my life, but if I choose to take the stance that "this is what the Lord wills", everything seems to unfold. I think it is in these small instances that we can truly see God at work.
God gives us all people that are precious to him. We should take that very seriously when raising our children. We should teach them about God each day, how to pray, how to forgive, and all about grace, etc. Hold them up to God when things happen that we can't control. And remember this verse: "Be still and know that I am God."
Manoah and his wife had faith in God. They both trusted what God told them. I believe they were so happy that they would have a son that they could only hope for the speedy arrival of their son Samson who God would use to protect the people of Israel against the Philistines.
They also knew that God would provide because He never asks us to do anything without giving us the tools to complete the task.
We too can learn from Manoah and his wife that when God calls us we must listen and do His will. Who knows, we may never get the opporunity again.
Can I ask you all to pray for our nations and all the uprisings and grief that is taking place because of other people's greed and lust. Let us ask for His grace, mercy and compassion. Thank you.
I'm going to focus on something very basic in this passage. This passage is just one more Biblical passage that clearly states abortion is wrong and we need to continue all efforts until abortion is no longer legal. Also, this passage tells expecting mothers how to take care of their bodies. The Lord gives us clear instruction here.
To only trust & believe!