Links for today’s readings:
Read: Judges 13 Listen: (3:44) Read: 1 Peter 5 Listen: (2:11)
Scripture Focus: Judges 13:21-24
21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.
22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.
Reflection: The Hero’s Parents
By Erin Newton
Samson is the Rapunzel of the Old Testament—at least relating to his luscious locks of hair. No one really thinks about his parents, perhaps we are all accustomed to granting his success as a gift from God (and his failure to the hands of his lover).
In the Bible, miraculous children are destined by God for specific purposes. The purpose of Abraham’s promised child (Isaac) was tied to the covenant already given by God. “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12). Zechariah’s promised child (John) would “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 2). Manoah’s promised child (Samson) is to “take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
We often look at the joy that erupts at the news of a barren womb made fruitful. It is miraculous. But when Manoah prays to God, I can only imagine the element of shock—not because he was now going to be a father but that he was going to be tasked with raising a divinely appointed child. That would terrify me.
I’m glad Samson had both his father and his mother and that we get to see how both react. Manoah needs a little more reassurance. He tries to get the angel’s name as if that would grant him some sort of power or good luck. He delays the angel, trying to win favor by making an impromptu offering. And he is shocked when the offering billows up to heaven revealing their guest was divine.
Samson’s mother, though nameless here, has the steady demeanor of not freaking out. She meets the angel, receives the miraculous promise, and then rushes home admitting that she might have forgotten to get all the details. And when they realize the guest that was in their presence was the angel of the Lord, she has the logic and wisdom to reassure her husband that God does not promise blessing and then haphazardly kill you when he meets with you.
Once again, Judges gives us a glimpse of people having typical reactions to a very supernatural event. They are also imperfect in their faith and perhaps in their ability to raise this son (see chapter 14). But God knows this will happen. He calls them, meets with them, and continues to uphold his promises—even when they freak out.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so is his mercy great upon those who fear him. — Psalm 103.11
– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: It’s in the Bible
“Well, it’s right there in the Bible, so it must not be a sin. But it sure does seem like an awful dirty trick…” — Rich Mullins
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