Read Judges 13, Ezekiel 2, and Acts 21.
This devotional is about Judges 13
Most of the leaders we’ve read about in Judges are given a chapter or less in this book. The exceptions are Deborah (Judges 4-5), Gideon (Judges 6-8), Jephthah (Judges 9-12), and Samson (Judges 13-16). Among these four, Gideon and Samson were called to be judges by a direct appearance from the angel of the Lord. Gideon received his call when he was an adult, but Samson’s call came to his parents.
In their case, God chose a man from a small town, Zorah (v. 2a) from an insignificant clan (v. 2b) who could not have a family to that point because his wife was barren (v. 2c). God, in his grace, chose these insignificant people, appeared to them directly and dramatically, and revealed that their son would be a military leader (v. 5) against the mighty Philistines who had dominated Israel for 40 years (v. 1). And, what made Samson unique among all the judges was that he was commanded “to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb” (v. 5b).
The concept of a Nazirite was explained in Numbers 6. According to that passage, this was usually a temporary vow to God (see Num 6:13) during which the Nazirite was marked off from everyone else in Israel by diet (no grapes, wine, or raisins), appearance (no haircuts), and separation from the dead. Numbers 6 does not tell us what the Nazirite was to do during the vow or why someone might make a temporary Nazirite vow. In a society that struggled to worship God by obeying just the routine aspects of the law, it is likely that few, if any, took on the special obligations of becoming a Nazirite. That is why the Angel of the Lord had to tell Manoah’s wife what to do to maintain Samson’s status as a Nazirite (vv. 4-5) and why Manoah prayed for a return visit from the Angel of the Lord to repeat the instructions (vv. 8-14). Samson was most unusual, not only because he was a Nazirite, but because he was commanded to be one for his entire life (v. 7).
Samson’s mother seems to have realized that the man who instructed her was more than just a prophet (v. 6: “He looked like an angel of God, very awesome”) but Manoah seemed to think that he was speaking to a mere man. This is why he attempted to show hospitality to this messenger (vv. 15-16). Eventually he learned that this messenger had a name that was too wonderful to share with Manoah (vv. 17-18) and, when the angel ascended through his food offering, he realized that he was speaking with none other than God himself (vv. 20-22).
What an incredible start Samson had as a leader for the Lord. Not only was his destiny revealed before he was even conceived, but his parents were instructed by God himself on how to raise their son. Although we are not told that his parents were devout worshippers of the Lord before the events of this chapter, they received God’s word in this chapter with faith and a serious desire to be obedient to what it said.
What a challenge to those of us who are parents. Do we desire to see our children grow up to serve the Lord? Do we take seriously God’s commands, seeking to live them out for ourselves and teach them well to our children? Do we understand that God usually chooses the average guy from the unimpressive family to be great, simply because of God’s grace? Are we thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit in our children’s lives as they come to know Christ by faith and begin to follow him (vv. 24-25)?