Dedicated to God

Judges 13 - Episode 139

As parents we may begin praying for our children before they’re even born. But are we asking God for what we want or what He wants for them? Do we ask for His guidance from the very beginning or wait until it starts getting hard or we don’t know what to do? Do we dedicate their lives to Him? Are our lives fully dedicated to Him? Do we even think to ask Him what His purposes are for them and how we can grow and nurture them to accomplish those purposes?

From the moment Manoah was told he would have a son, He began to pray. His wife was told that their son had a specific purpose in the Lord before he was ever conceived. So, Manoah prayed that God would teach him how to raise this special child and God’s only instructions were: dedicate yourself and your child to Me from this time forward. So, the question for us today is, are we willing to dedicate our family to Him forever.

Set Apart – Judges 13:1-23

After Abdon died, the people drifted away from God again and He gave them over to the Philistines. These people were originally from Caphtor, on the island of Crete. But when their invasion of Egypt failed, they settled on the coast of the Promised Land. The Israelites called them Philistines which just meant coastal people. They possessed five major cities along the Mediterranean coast and each of them had its own ruler. The Israelites had not irradicated them from the land as God commanded, so the two groups remained in constant conflict. Their land was in the northwestern portion of Judah and in the land of Dan. Because Judah’s allotment was so large, it did not affect them much. But Dan had been given a much smaller allotment just north of Judah. Because it was so small, the Philistines never let them settle in most of it. So, the tribe of Dan eventually conquered land in the north and adopted it as their own. (Judges 18)

As was fitting, the man who rose to judge the Philistines was from the tribe of Dan. Manoah and his wife lived in the allotted land of Dan on the border of Judah, just east of the land occupied by the Philistines. They had been unable to have any children, but God had a plan. One day, He sent His angel to the woman saying she would soon have a son. This boy would be set aside for God’s purposes from the moment of conception until the day of his death. God had clear guidelines for those who chose to dedicate themselves to Him fully (Numbers 6:1-21) These people, called Nazarites, could not drink alcohol, cut their hair, or come in contact with dead bodies while under the vow. Because their son would be a Nazarite from the point of conception, his mother had to take the Nazarite vow so that her son would not be corrupted by anything she ate or drank that was inappropriate for him. Normally, Nazarites took these vows voluntarily and it was only a temporary status. But this boy would have no choice in the matter, because he had been created for the specific purpose of judging the Philistines. His entire life was set apart for God’s purposes, making his vow mandatory and permanent.

After the angel left Manoah’s wife, she told her husband about his visit. She described the person who came to her as a man of God, which was often a phrase used for prophets. But she also said his appearance was very awesome, implying he could be something more. Manoah listened to his wife and wanted to know more. So, he prayed and asked the Lord to send the man again so he could teach them how to raise this special child. God granted his request and sent the angel back to Manoah’s wife. This time, she immediately ran to get her husband so he could participate in the conversation. When Manoah realized this was the man who had appeared to his wife previously, he asked about his son’s mission, hoping to gain further insight in raising him. But the angel just repeated to Manoah all he previously told his wife. Because she would soon be pregnant, she could not eat or drink anything coming from the vine, along with any other alcoholic drink or unclean foods. The only thing different about raising this boy was the Nazarite vow that he and his mother would take.

Once Manoah had his answer, he asked the man to stay and eat with them. But because he was a spiritual being, he declined, and told Manoah to present a burnt offering to the Lord instead. Manoah did not yet understand that he was an angel and was trying to figure out who this man was, so he asked his name. But the angel said his name was too wonderful to give. He was basically saying, I can’t explain to you who I am. You would not understand. My name is beyond your comprehension. So, Manoah accepted his explanation but did not fully understand until the angel went up to heaven in the flame of his offering.

Manoah was terrified when he realized they had been speaking with the angel of the Lord. He thought they were going to die because they had seen God. Some believe the angel was God’s representative and others believe it was the pre-incarnate Jesus. Manoah either believed it was Jesus or someone representing the Lord well enough that it was as if he has seen God. If it was Jesus, it would explain why He could not explain who He was. There would be no reason to give Manoah His name because it would not mean anything to him and there is no quick explanation of who God is. Exodus 3:13-15