As we begin this chapter, we see that Israel became apostates to wrong beliefs, but they also did that which was contrary to the will of God. Unlike the previous occasions, the people didn’t ask God for deliverance, but they did do evil in the eyes of the Lord again, Judges 13:1. In this case, God delivered them into the hands of the Philistines, Judges 13:2.
Why would God raise another leader if Israel hadn’t asked for one, as they did before? Well, the answer to that question is quite simple. By co-existing with pagans, complacent Israel was in danger of losing its ethnic and spiritual identity.
They were in danger of being conformed to the Canaanite culture. And so God is going to intervene out of faithfulness to His covenant with Israel, and to preserve His people.
The Philistines were a people of war, and they possibly immigrated from Crete, Amos 9:7. They were probably in the Palestine area at the time Abraham arrived, Genesis 20-22. When Israel arrived, they had settled in five key cities: Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Ashkelon.
Notice that the text tells us that they oppressed Israel for forty years, Judges 13:2. This oppression would continue for many years to follow, in fact, up until the time when Samuel tells Israel to get rid of them, 1 Samuel 7:10-17.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The Philistine dominion began before the birth of Samson, Judges 13:5, and was in force during Samson’s twenty years’ judgeship, Judges 14:4 / Judges 15:20. The 40 years are, therefore, about coincident with Samson’s life.’
During the life of Samson, Israel’s enemy was the Philistines, who occupied Israel for forty years, and it’s from them we get the name Palestine. The Jews didn’t feel oppressed, but they were affluent and apathetic, so they accepted Philistine rule. Nonetheless, as we shall see, God raised up Samson to wage a one-man war against the enemy.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth, Judges 13:3. Notice again that the angel of the LORD is very much involved in Israel’s dealings, Judges 2:1-5 / Judges 6:11-24.
Who is this angel of the LORD? This is a Christophany, which suggests that this is a preincarnate appearance of Christ, Genesis 12:7. Remember the word ‘angel’ in Hebrew is ‘malak’, and it simply means messenger.
Haynes Jr, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A study of these passages reveals that the Angel of the Lord appeared in human form, Genesis 18:2 / Genesis 22:1-18 / Hebrews 13:2, and performed normal human functions, Genesis 32:24 / Numbers 22:23 / Numbers 22:31, yet he was an awe-inspiring figure, Genesis 32:30 / Judges 6:22 / Judges 13:22, exhibiting divine attributes and prerogatives including predicting the future, Genesis 16:10-12, forgiving sin, Exodus 23:21, and receiving worship, Exodus 3:5 / Judges 13:9-20.’
The angel of the LORD tells Manoah’s wife that she is barren and childless, but she is going to become pregnant and give birth to a son, Judges 13:3. Samson was called by God before he was even born. His parents were childless and unable to conceive, which, if you remember, in Old Testament times was considered to be a sign of divine disfavour.
But the angel of the LORD appears to them and explains that they will have a son set apart by God as a Nazarite, which was a great privilege but also had a lot of responsibility with it. Let me say a few words about this Nazirite vow.
For men or women, taking on a Nazarite vow meant they would consecrate themselves or dedicate their lives to service to God. And there were three stipulations regarding this divine calling, which we find in the book of Numbers 6:1-21.
1. Numbers 6:3-4, tells us that they couldn’t partake of the ‘fruit of the vine’, which meant they were to abstain from drinking wine, in order to live a simple and sober life, Judges 13:3.
Judges 13:4, tells us that even Samson’s mother had to abstain during her pregnancy, as Samson was set apart from the womb.
2. Numbers 6:5 tells us that Nazirites had to refrain from cutting their hair as an observable sign of their vow, Judges 13:5.
3. Numbers 6:6-7 tells us that Nazirites were to avoid contact with a dead body, which would disqualify them for tabernacle worship.
And so, to take the Nazirite vow was indeed a privilege for any man or woman to take, but it also carried with it a lot of responsibility. It will be Samson who will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines, Judges 13:5.
Manoah’s wife reports the appearance of the angel of the LORD to her husband but calls Him a man of God who looked like an angel of God, Judges 13:6. She didn’t ask Him where He came from, and He didn’t tell her His name, Judges 13:6.
She then repeats to Manoah what the angel of the Lord told her, and adds the words, he will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death, Judges 13:7 / Judges 13:3-5.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The common Nazarite vow was for a limited time, like Paul’s, Acts 18:18 / Acts 21:23-26. Others, like Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:11, were Nazarites for life.’
Manoah now prays to God and says, pardon your servant, and then he begs God to let the man of God He sent to them come again to teach them how to bring up the boy who is to be born, Judges 13:8. God heard is prayer and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field but her husband Manoah wasn’t with her, Judges 13:9.
His wife runs to tell her husband, and says, He’s here, the man who appeared to her the other day!, Judges 13:10. And so, Manoah got up and followed his wife, and when he came to the man, he asked if he was the man who talked to his wife? And the angel of the LORD replied, I am, Judges 13:11.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This chapter appears as one of the most significant in the entire Old Testament, because of what is said here of the Angel of Jehovah. Back in Judges 13:11, when Manoah asked if ‘the man’ was the same one who had earlier appeared to his wife, the answer was, ‘I AM.’ These very words were often used by Jesus Christ himself as his identification, as in John 8:58 / Mark 14:62 / John 18:5, etc. This strongly supports the belief that the Angel of Jehovah was none other than the pre-incarnate Son of God.’
Since the angel of the LORD announced that Manoah would have a unique child, Manoah asked the angel for instructions concerning how the child should be raised, Judges 13:12, and the angel of the LORD reconfirms the words spoken before, Judges 13:13-14.
The angel answered by stating again that the child should observe the rites of a Nazarite. By doing so, it was God who made the decision concerning whether Samson would be a Nazarite.
God honoured Manoah’s request for confirmation, but He didn’t answer this request to know the future. He simply called Manoah and his wife to obey what God had already told them to do.
The appearance of an angel of the LORD was so vivid that Manoah assumed that food should be served to him after the custom of the hospitality of the Israelites, Judges 13:15.
Here, the angel of the LORD shows Himself to be God, in the sense that He didn’t need a meal but will accept a sacrificial offering made unto the LORD, Judges 13:16. We are told that Manoah didn’t realize that it was the angel of the LORD, Judges 13:16.
Notice that Manoah asked what the angel of the LORD’s name was, Judges 13:17, and was told that His name was beyond understanding, Judges 13:18. The Hebrew word used here for ‘beyond understanding’ can be translated as ‘incomprehensible’ or ‘wonderful’. The same word is used in Psalm 139:6 and Isaiah 9:6. In other words, if the angel of the LORD gave Manoah his name, he shouldn’t be able to understand it.
Manoah takes a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD, Judges 13:19. The angel of the LORD proved He was wonderful by doing a wondrous thing, while Manoah and his wife watched, Judges 13:19. He ascended in the flame of sacrifice to heaven, Judges 13:20.
Notice also that they fell on their face, Judges 13:20. This is the natural response for anyone who is in the presence of God. Anyone who finds themselves in the presence of God will naturally fall down and worship Him.
Remember, the Jews believed if they saw an angel or God, it was a sign to them that they were about to die; that’s why Manoah was panicking, Judges 13:21-22. He assumed that he and his wife would die because they had come into such close contact with God, Judges 6:22 / Genesis 32:30 / Exodus 20:19 / Exodus 33:20 / Isaiah 6:5. But there is no doubt that God presented Himself in the form of an angel, Exodus 33:20.
Notice something else here, his wife’s name is never mentioned, but just because she isn’t named shouldn’t distract us from her faith. While Manoah is panicking, his wife calmly brings her husband back to reality by reminding him of the facts.
Sometimes we get so caught up in an event that we don’t want to accept the reality of what has happened. But there are times when we need someone else to remind us of those realities. And Manoah’s faithful wife, the unnamed hero, was there to do just that.
She more or less says to him, if God were going to kill them, then why would He bother to tell us His plans for the unborn child? If God were going to kill us, why would He accept our worship? Judges 13:23.
As promised, the woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson, Judges 13:24 / Judges 13:7. The name Samson means ‘sun-lie’, or possibly the Chaldean meaning, ‘to serve’. He grew, and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol, Judges 13:24-25.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The impulses of the Spirit of the Lord perhaps took the shape of burning indignation at the subjection of his brethren, and thoughts and plans for their deliverance, but especially showed themselves in feats of strength, Judges 14:6 / Judges 15:14 / Judges 16:30 / Acts 7:23-25).’
From his youth, the Lord began to reveal to Samson that he was a unique person. We’re not told what happened as a result of the Lord’s urging him to do certain things, other than what is explained in the next four chapters.