Manoah and His Wife Receive Instructions Again

Judges 13:11-20
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe. And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

We see how wonderfully well Manoah trusted his wife and followed her when she came with the news of the angel’s arrival. Manoah had an answered prayer and remember, God takes great delight in granting the petitions of His people. Manoah’s request was one in the will of God to confirm His instructions so that he and his wife can follow them clearly.

Manoah asked the man if he was the one who has spoken with his wife. Manoah said, “Let thy words come to pass”. Let us also take time to know God’s Word for us and His promises for us and let them all come to pass! He is an eternal God, an unchanging one and He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. His promises and covenants are for us and He implements them in our lives and rejoices to see us flourishing in the Love of God! Here in the life of Manoah he is experiencing the love of God with a precious gift of a boy who would be completely separated for God. The angel of the Lord explained all the instructions yet again to Manoah and they will have to follow all these instructions in entirety.

Manoah tried to detain the angel of the Lord until they have made ready a kid for him. He desired to prepare a sumptuous meal for the divine guest. The angel said that he would not eat of his bread. The food for the angels is ever ready and prepared by the King of Kings and they can join in this special banquet any time they desire. The food is plentiful and delicious and what is food for the angels is food for us too. The food is granted to us in the form of the Word of God. We will be filled and hunger no more, we who drink of the living waters will thirst no more. There is the heavenly mannah given to the entire mankind forever.

Monoah not knowing that the man was an angel of God asked his name and the angel did not disclose his name and said if he desires to offer burnt offerings to do so unto the Lord God. Manoah therefore, took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously. The Lord God would reveal unto us what we need to know and we should not question Him and His authority. Manoah had a heart of gratitude and wanted to thank the angel of God but the angel drove Manoah’s attention to the Lord God. We should follow the example of this angel for he did it right in turning Manoah’s attention to God for He alone is worthy of our praises. When the burnt offering was offered the angel did wondrously to prove the fact that God accepted his sacrifices. God accepts the sacrifices of our heart. May our praises rise up unto Him as a sweet fragrance unto His nostrils and as a sweet sound in His ears! Angel of God ascended up the flames of the altar. Our altar to God is our own heart! When our heart rises up in flames (praises) God delights in it and so do the angels of God. Manoah and his wife watched this and fell on their faces to the ground. This shows their reverence to the Omnipotent. When we stand in awe at God, His Power, His glory and His majesty how can we not fall on our faces to the ground? Let us praise the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the All in All, the Supreme Provider, the Lion of Judah and our Creator!!! He alone is worthy of our praises and He reigns forever more!

Next: Samson and Delilah – Part I