Judges 13:6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.
17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”
18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
The children of Israel were delivered into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years for doing evil in the sight of YHVH. Then a wonderful event takes place: an announcement to a barren and childless woman that she will conceive and bear a son. The announcement is given by one who is called “malach-YHVH”, literally “Angel (of) YHVH. This messenger, in two separate appearances, reveals God’s commandments concerning the boy to be born. At the angel’s behest, the couple offers a sacrifice to YHVH, then they ask to be told his name.
What happens next opens the eyes of the woman’s husband, Manoah. The angel asks why do they desire his name for it is, “פלאי”, a Hebrew word translated variously as, “miraculous”, “wonderous”, “supremely wonderful”, “secret”, “beyond understanding”, and a word seeming to be used as both an adjective and a noun. But then, as the flame of their sacrifice blazes up from the altar toward heaven, this angel of YHVH ascends in the flame! At this, Manoah exclaims to his wife, “We are doomed to die! We have seen God!” From this, we conclude that the Image of God, the pre-incarnate Yeshua has once again appeared to His beloved servants for deliverance at a critical moment in the history of His people Israel.
Forty years, often described as a number of testing, a long season during which time the Lord allows the sins of His people to produce their inevitable fruit of judgment and subjugation. Then, at His chosen moment, our God returns for deliverance. And He returns in Person, with unequivocal authority and deep wonder.
Are you also wondering, “When will God show up!?” The story of the birth of Samson may hold an answer. God will show up precisely when His time of testing has been accomplished! And when He does, you may need to deal with the divine impact of His revelation, and as you worship Him, stand in awe of how “absolutely and supremely wonderful” He is. So, don’t be impatient during the time of testing. The deliverance and the wonder will be well worth the wait.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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Talking to people about God has become a regular part of our lives. Between meeting people on the boards and in our chat rooms (which you should really come and visit at !) and the opportunities which open up in our daily lives, we find ourselves sharing with people from all walks of life – unbelievers, new believers, people who have come and gone from the faith and back again.
The place we call home in Israel is in the rebuilt city of Arad, an ancient city rebuilt in 1962 near the historic site of Tel Arad. It was the first planned city in Israel.
Tel Arad was an ancient fortress that, according to archaeologists, has been destroyed and rebuilt at least ten times. The citadel was thought to have originally been built during the times of King David and Solomon. The Negev desert’s arid conditions have remarkably preserved the fortress’s archaeological layers, providing a continuous record of its history for hundreds of years.
Last week, I did a series of devotionals on the Dead Sea scrolls. As I’ve been pointing out the archaeological discoveries as well as their prophetic significance, I’ve saved the best for last! Recently discovered fragments of the Bible in the Dead Sea region containing two passages of Scripture are incredibly relevant. I spoke of the passage in Zechariah last week.
When we study a translation of a Scripture passage we often miss out on the nuances hidden in the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament). Often, it’s not that a word is mistranslated, but that rendering the meaning in one English word is difficult if not impossible.
When Moses sent out the 12 spies to report on the condition of the land of “milk and honey”, ten of the spies brought back a bad report. They focused on the giants, and the great obstacles in their way. They walked with eyes set on the physical realm and said within themselves, “We are but grasshoppers in the sight of these giants!
Living in Israel all these years, I often encounter amazing stories of God’s deliverance and grow increasingly fond of listening to the fascinating ways He shows His power. During our tour in England recently, we met a man whose family experienced a great miracle during WW1. He tells this incredible story…
In this world we will face all kinds of obstacles, trials and tribulations and we should be wary of any doctrines or teachings that say we shouldn’t have to face these things. Why? Because the Lord said we will have tribulations. So the encouragement He is giving is simply this: You’re going to face trials, but GOD is greater than any problem you will face in this world!