“For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).

Back in the golden age of Hollywood, David Niven, an English actor seeking fame and Fortune, shared a house with the famous film star Errol Flynn. Concerning his friendship with the Errol he made this comment. “You can always depend on Errol to let you down.”

Now that’s a pretty good summing up of Israel in the book of Judges. At the start of chapter 13 they have once again rejected the Lord. Yet there are two differences. The first is the Philistines are making their first major appearance on the pages of scripture! The second is there’s a glaring omission. We don’t get the usual crying out to the Lord! There seems to be an overlap between the start of 1 Samuel and this time. So it’s possible that these events take place after the events of 1 Samuel 4 and the battle of Aphek where Israel’s totally defeated and the Ark of the Covenant is captured. So the attitude seems to be, if you’re going to be oppressed, you could do worse than the Philistines!

Samson’s origins are as unlikely as one could imagine. Manoah and his wife are childless because she is: ‘barren’(v2). Children were seen as a blessing from God, so the lack of them would have raise eyebrows, as people might have wondered if there was some unconfessed sin in the couple’s life. Coupled with this they were Danites, a small tribe that due to certain sins would soon disappear from the pages of scripture. Yet these are the people that the Lord selects to be the parents of Israel’s deliver!

The way the message is delivered is rather strange. Manoah’s wife has an encounter with the Angel of Lord, which is generally a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ! Yet when she tells her husband about it she seems a bit uncertain. To paraphrase, she says: “guess what happened to me today, I met someone who could have been an Angel as he was pretty impressive, and I’ve been told I’m going to have a child, not just any child, but an exceptional one!” (vs3-7). What’s particularly interesting is the inclusion of the Nazarite vow (Numbers 6). This was something that people generally took for a short period of time, but here it is appointed from birth as: “the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death” (v7).

But what comes across very clearly is that this is a godly couple. From later events, it’s quite obvious that Manoah originally thought they were dealing with a prophet who was bringing a message from the Lord to them. But in verse 8 he does the right thing by praying to the Lord about how it would be best to bring up this child. The prayer is promptly answered as the Angel of the Lord appears again, this time to Manoah and his wife. Manoah displays faith by asking: “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” (v12). The point is that they’re expecting God to work even their not fully aware of who they are dealing with (v16)!

After offering hospitality, which is rejected in favour of a sacrifice (vs15-16), Manoah asks: “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honour you?”  He gets the reply: “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” (vs17-19). When the sacrifice is made, It becomes apparent this really is the Angel of the Lord. Manoah is terrified realising what the Lord had said to Moses, that if he sees God face to face he will die (Exodus 33:20). However, his wife has her wits about her as, although she’s probably terrified, she realises that if God  intended to kill them, he would not have accepted their sacrifice (vs20-23).

The Word of the Lord is fulfilled. Manoah’s wife gives birth to a son who they named Samson. It is noted that while he’s growing up: ‘the LORD blessed him’ (v24). The chapter concludes: ‘And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol’ (v25). This makes us think about what was said earlier. Samson is the Lord’s instrument and is being equipped for a task as he:  ‘shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines’ (v5). This time the Lord is not just going to raise up a deliverer, he’s made one!