Judges 13:15-20 – A Sacrifice Accepted
If we were ever uncertain that the Angel of the Lord in this passage is the Lord God, Himself, today’s reading should put our uncertainty to rest. Three things in particular stand out as proof that this is the Lord: First, when Manoah wants to cook a young goat for this Guest, the Angel says He will not eat, but directs Manoah instead to offer the kid to the Lord. Verse 16 tells us that the Angel said this because Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord. In other words, He spoke of God in the third person only because Manoah did not know this was God standing in front of him.
Secondly, when Manoah asks the Angel’s name, He answers “Why do you ask My Name, seeing it is wonderful?” This puts us in mind of Genesis 32:29 in which the Angel would not tell Jacob His Name, and of Isaiah 9:6 which includes “Wonderful” among the names and titles of the promised Messiah.
Lastly, when Manoah makes his offering to the Lord, the Angel goes up in the flames of the altar, indicating that He has accepted the sacrifice Manoah made. Appropriately, Manoah and his wife fall on their faces in worship.
That the Angel of the Lord, the eternal Son of God Himself, came to Samson’s parents to instruct them concerning the birth and upbringing of their son tells us that we should pay particular attention to what God will be doing in the life of Samson. He will use this man mightily for His purposes to deliver Israel from the Philistines. In verse 5, the Angel promised the child would “begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” The deliverance from the Philistines begun in Samson’s day will be completed by King David. Likewise, our deliverance, begun from God’s first declaration of the Gospel in Genesis 3:15, has its completion in David’s descendant, Jesus Christ.
Questions
- What three clues do we have that this Angel is God Himself?
- Why is it important that Christ, Himself, visited Manoah and his wife?
- In whom do we find complete deliverance?
Prayer Points
- Thank God for the deliverance we have in Jesus Christ.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.