Judges 13:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

·         ULTIMATE FAILURE: When we stop crying out for God and repenting of our sin, we place deliverance in our own hands.  

Judges 13:2-5 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 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.”

·         Even when we are not aware of the work of the Lord, He is working.

·         Trust that God is faithful, even when we are not.

Judges 13:6-7 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, 7 but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

·         Nazirite means “to be separated or consecrated”. A person who made a covenant with God to be set apart.

·         The purpose of all covenants with God:

·         To safeguard what is good and God.

·         To reject what is evil and what is contrary to God.

Judges 13:8-18 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us (unified team) what we are to do with the child who will be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” 13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.” 15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” 16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 

Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named WONDERFUL Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

·         Samson would begin a salvation that only Christ would be able to complete.

·         Truly something Wonderful.

Judges 13:19-23 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. 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.”

·         C.S. Lewis: “We are not merely imperfect creatures who must be improved; we are rebels who must lay down our arms.”

·         The beauty of scripture is God’s favor and grace on sinners who become believers and followers.

Judges 13:24-25 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

·         God’s covenantal cycle for the follower:

·         When we honor Gods’ calling with obedience:

·         We will be blessed.

·         The Spirit will lead us.

·         And we will grow in our calling.

·         Every believer has power from the Holy Spirit to accomplish the will of the Lord.

Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

·         Call 321.574.6970 if you have chosen to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.