We open the word together today in the book of Judges, chapter 12, the end of chapter 12 and into chapter 13. We spent a few weeks looking at Jephthah, three chapters there with Jephthah dealing with the Ammonites. And now we'll take four chapters in Samson as he begins to take on the Philistines. Now, I want us to be careful because what we're not really doing in these next few weeks is a character study of Samson, although that can be a lot of fun and we're certainly not going to ignore Samson. But if that's all we see, we're going to miss the central character and we're going to miss really what God is doing in Samson, through Samson, and where he's pointing. If we're looking only at Samson, we're going to miss the perfect judge and savior to which this account points. So we've printed part of the passage. We're going back to backing up a little bit into Chapter 12 because it sets the stage for this announcement and for the work that God is going to do. So follow as I read. Judges chapter 12 beginning in verse 7. Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead. After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had 30 sons and 30 daughters he gave in marriage outside his clan and 30 daughters he brought in from outside for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. Then Ibsen died and was buried at Bethlehem. And after him, Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel. And he judged Israel 10 years. Then Elon, the Zebulonite, died and was buried at Ajalon in the land of Zebulon. After him, Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Parathonite, judged Israel. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years. Then Abednon, the son of Hillel, the Parathenite, died and was buried at Parathon in the land of Ephraim in the hill country of the Amalekites. And then at verse 1 of chapter 13, and the people of Israel again was evil in the sight of the Lord, So the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for 40 years. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, open our ears, open our hearts. Lord, we would have the power of your word and its truth at work, Lord, to pierce our hearts and to cleanse us, to lead us into that truth and in truth into life. So lead us now, Lord, we ask and pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Friday, after all the wind, I thought, sure, need to go to work. Only took me a little over an hour and a half to get here because every route I took, I was turned and detoured and back. And so with the help of chainsaws and giant tractors, I eventually made it here. where of course we had no power. So I packed up my computer because I hadn't printed anything off and didn't have my sermon and took it home. And of course I was thwarted getting home as well. But every day I take essentially the same route and there's one strong curve that I go around. And so I see this beautiful and very large walnut tree every day, at least twice a day, going home I saw the walnut tree. It had some damage in the top of it some years ago, but it looked strong and healthy. But as I came around the curve this time, the tree was split in half. Well, actually, one half was still up, but the other half was down completely. And what was as clear as day, because it was clear at that point, was that the trunk had looked perfectly solid, but there was nothing inside the bark. It was completely hollow, except for the exterior of maybe two or three inches. And so a good strong wind didn't have any trouble at all knocking that down. The situation in Israel, I think, as we're getting the introduction here, is like that. The people were living, functioning as if everything was okay. On the surface, it was bearable, but what was happening underneath is that Israel was rotting away. All is not well. And that's what these verses, I think, point out to us. Things were falling apart. Things weren't. Let me say that again. Things weren't falling apart under these, we call them minor judges, but underneath, There was an absence of rest. There was an absence of peace. There is this that peace you'll notice was not mentioned throughout those judges nor rest. We haven't heard it since Gideon. And so we go through judges number 9 10 and 11 with these minor judges and we come to judge number 12, we're coming to Samson. We read of these judges and their names read really like something out of the rocks and minerals exhibit at the Natural History Museum. We have the pyromorphite, we have the rhodochrosite, the pyrite, the zebulonite, the pyrathonite, the gileadite. I think we could fit them in there. But what we hear is this ominous refrain. Now, we've heard it before. It's been there all along. But now it hits us like it's like a gunshot that comes now. And so Jephthah judged six years, and he died. And Ibsen judged seven years, and Ibsen died. And Elon judged 10 years, and he died. And Abdon eight years, and he died over and over again. And now we're beginning to hear it. We've kind of passed over it. Well, yes, that's just the natural way of things. But now it's being fired at us, if you will. No peace. No rest. Short periods. And they died. Five judges over a period of 31 years. And that's the period when we had some stability with the judges. Double that. and you have the bondage periods throughout that time. But there's an appearance of rest. I mean, as judges, we're prosperous. Jephthah is sandwiched between two men who have 30 sons, if you will. And so we have these prosperous men, Ibsen, With his alliances, he brings in other tribes for wives for his son, and he sends his daughters out to other tribes. And so he's building his alliances. Abdon, 40 sons, 30 grandsons, puts them all on donkeys and sends them out like royalty into the countryside wherever they go. Reminds us of Jair and his sons on their donkeys. But again, there's no mention of rest. There's no deliverance. There's no like Shamgar who's saved. There's no Othniel who delivered his people. Is rest simply the absence of conflict that Brian talked about a few weeks ago? You know, that desire that we have for peace and for rest. Is there any really here? And I think we have to say the answer is no. There's no rest at all. Abdon's grave is in the land of Ephraim in the hill country of the Amalekites. Well, they aren't supposed to be there. They should have been driven out centuries before. But now we get the impression that it may be the land of Ephraim, but it's dominated by the Amalekites. And so he's buried among the Amalekites. What peace is there? And so here we have them in a sense, we get this picture like people are thinking all is well. Meanwhile, what's happening is things are rotting away and it's evil in the sight of the Lord is what's going on underneath. The more I read the book of Judges, the more I'm convinced that he's talking. It is not bound to 12 or 1400 BC, folks. It's where we are right now. when everything appears on the surface to be going quite well and everybody's really content because, ooh, hey, we're doing pretty well. We're prosperous. The economy is beginning to pick up and run again and, you know, we're going to take our place in the world and we're going to, you know, reestablish ourselves. It's going pretty well. Meanwhile, even in the church, it appears that we are being, many are being captured by the ideals, the philosophies, the entertainments, the values, the mores of the kingdoms of this world. We're not even sure where we're really living. Are we really seeking the kingdom of God knowing that the Lord will, if we do that, add everything that we need to us readily and abundantly? Or are we instead thinking, doing pretty well, doing just fine, we can manage it, and the world around us saying, yes, especially if we can get rid of those religious nuts who want their spiritual privileges of a conscience. All is well? I think not. And all was not well in Israel because judgment would fall upon them. And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And again, that's a refrain we've heard over and over again. It's the last time we're going to hear it because from now on it will be, and the people did what was right in their own eyes. The Lord will be removed from the equation altogether. But what we see here is the people were now trying to define what was good and evil. They did evil in the sight of the Lord because it's God who defines what is good and what is evil. And he has given us clear, unchanging, inalterable standards and laws that would govern, that would encourage life to flourish, that would encourage us to know goodness and grace and his work in us. But the world says, Follow your heart. When the Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things. And the world says what I desire I should have. And of course Proverbs 19 too says desire without knowledge is not good. And whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. You just follow what your desires are and you're going to end up with things that you never wanted or anticipated, but it's what the world says. We do not define what is good. If what my heart tells me is my standard, then you and any rational, reasonable person reasonable person understands that there is then no standard whatsoever for what is good or right, because your heart tells you one thing and your heart tells you something else. And of course, since I'm the judge, you can't tell me I'm wrong, although we try. No, it's God who defines what is good and right. Their actions were and their attitudes and their practices and their syncretism. They're trying to join together their various gods and and the Lord was justified in their own eyes. They didn't see the offense because it wasn't wrong in their eyes. Lord protect us. Lord deliver us from such blindness. because that's what it is. We can readily be justified in our own eyes because we can easily be deceived by our own hearts. Personally, culturally, we can deceive ourselves and we do. And as a result of that rot that was spreading through the people, The Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines, 40 years. They became blind, and this is why I say all is not well, because they become blind even to the bondage that it brought or it created. They were living under the rule and under the oppression of the Philistines, but it became normal. To be buried among the Amalekites, well, that's just perfectly normal. They didn't see it. They were blind. They grew accustomed to the captivity. The ways of the Philistines became their ways. And so they lived in bondage and didn't even know it. There is no cry for deliverance in those 40 years and not at the end of those 40 years. You remember that cycle that we saw. This is what's but it's not there. It is not there. Even that is now missing in God's people. And yet. God provides. God shows his compassion and I I contend that at every turn through this book when God acts to deliver it is an act of his compassion. It is not because of the strength or the power of their confession or how passionately they cried out to the Lord. It was because the Lord was compassionate. And so and because he would show mercy. And so as we press on, we see mercy revealed. Follow from verse two of chapter 13. And I believe this is printed for you. There was a certain man of Zora of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, behold, you are barren and have not born children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore, be careful and drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for he, for the child, shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Then the woman came and told her husband, a man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name. But he said to me, behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, oh Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born. And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah, her husband, was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me. And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, are you the man who spoke to this woman? And he said, I am. And Manoah said, now when your words come true, What is to be the child's manner of life and what is his mission? And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, of all that I said to the woman, let her be careful. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her, let her observe. Hear the mercy of God. is revealed. He comes to a barren woman. We don't even get her name. That's how much we know about her. We have the name of Elon, although we know nothing about him other than the length of his reign. We don't even have this woman's name. He comes to a childish woman, to a childless woman. to bring forth one who will begin to save his people. Now we're beginning to get the picture because the Lord will, the angel of the Lord, the spirit of the Lord will come upon a childless woman, a virgin, in order to bring forth the one who will bring to completion that work of salvation. But we meet Mrs. Manoa, nameless and obscure, because the Lord uses the weak and the barren and the lonely. Like Sarah, who would bring forth Isaac in her old age. Like Hannah, who was barren for years and dedicated Samuel, the last of the of the judges, if you will, whom the Lord would raise up to anoint the first kings of Israel. Or Elizabeth, barren and in her old age, bringing forth another who would be set apart for that work and ministry to prepare the way of the Lord. There aren't many, but it's a distinguished group. And of course, Mary, another childless woman. And so the power of God is revealed through the angel of the Lord. This woman will bear a son. He is going to take away her reproach because it was, at the time, a reproach to be without children. It's hard for us today, I think, to understand that particularly, although even today For those who cannot have children, the sorrow and weight of that is always there when they stand in a group of moms and they wonder and they long for that same joy. Today we've reversed it, haven't we? If you have too many children, be prepared. You are going to be shamed. Now you're going to bear reproach for having all of those children because we no longer understand what it is to trust God and to look and understand the blessings that he pours out. And so I do pray for you moms and dads who have seen the blessing of God upon your household and seen it grow that you will be able to bear graciously and steadfastly the approach that the culture would heap upon us. But here the angel of the Lord appears. Now, he's not recognized as that. They keep talking about the man, the man, the man who appeared. Oh, yeah, he was kind of glorious, but I couldn't get his name, and I don't know where he was from. I don't know which tribe, so I don't know how we can get him back. Well, I'm going to pray. Manoah prays, and the Lord answers his prayer so that he might meet this one who has given this great news of one who is going to be set apart, because here God's purpose is being revealed. This child that you are going to bear, judge number 12, as I said, will be a Nazarite from birth, chosen as the first of the judges, the first judge who is chosen before he's even born. It's usually voluntary, but not in this case. And so a Nazirite would undergo that vow and what was included in there was the abstention from any wine or strong drink, anything to do with the grape, not even the grape skins, not raisins, nothing. You can't have any of those nor any unclean foods. The hair will not be cut as long as the vow, as long as you are under the vow. And in Samson's case, it was to be his entire life because the vow would never be set aside it would never be completed, if you will. And finally, you abstain from any dead bodies. And as we'll see in Samson, every one of those is violated, but we'll pick that up. We'll pick that up later. But because from his conception he will be set apart to the Lord, she too must maintain no strong drink. Nothing from the vine. No unclean things. Because everything that comes into her is going to the child. In utero and as a nursing infant. So she is under that Nazarite vow until such time as he is weaned. And here's God's purpose. He shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. What an amazing word. Amazing word. The Philistines, if you go back to Chapter 3 of Judges, was the first of the peoples listed of those who were supposed to be driven out but are left behind, essentially to test Israel. Now the beginning. has started of driving them out. He will be set apart for this purpose not for a specific period of time but for his life not for some personal reason of thanksgiving or petition or desire that they have but to begin to save them from the Philistines from conception. But it's a work he will begin but he can't finish it. because deliverance simply from worldly oppression isn't going to cleanse what we were talking about with you, children, what's going on in our own lives, what's going on on the inside. We're being pointed to one who would have to come to complete that deliverance, who would do more than simply drive out a foreign power, but who would drive out the wickedness, the sin of our own hearts. Samson would begin that work. And so I was wrestling with this announcement, this presentation, if you would, the Lord's power being revealed, His purpose being revealed, His compassion and His mercy being revealed in this lengthy introduction to the birth of this boy. And I was struck by the assurance that God gives here. Verse 9, he has prayed that the Lord would send him back. Manoah prays, okay, it's not that he didn't believe, but would you send him back so that I can hear that message so that I can know just what it is I need to do. And his prayer is answered. The messenger comes back. He returns again. They still think of the man and they don't know. They don't recognize him as the angel of the Lord. Verse 12, he asks his his question, if you will. Now, when your words come true, and I love that because it's a statement of faith. OK, When your words come true, what's to be the child's manner of life and what is his mission? There's no doubt there. He just wants some more information. But he doesn't get information, does he? The Lord doesn't add to the message that he gave to Mrs. Minoa at all. What he gets is affirmation. I think Noah would have been happy to have kind of a rule book. These are all the things you need to do, and this is how it's going to work, and you can watch this. But he doesn't get that. The messenger says, I told you what you need to know. Let her do everything that I've commanded. You already have the information. You believe. You trust. There's the affirmation. And as the passage goes on, he asks this messenger to stay so that he can prepare a meal for him. And the messenger says, no, skip the meal, but you can bring an offering to the Lord, to Yahweh, literally, you can bring that offering. And now the revelation, the self-revelation begins in the passage. Noah is given affirmation but not information. As he's preparing that offering, he wants to know his name. And he doesn't get that either. Well, yes, he does, in a sense, because the passage says, in verse 18, why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful? And then Manoah took his young goat and the grain offering, and he offered it on the rock to the one who works wonders. And Manoah and his wife were watching. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. As I said, now it's revelation. Why do you want to know my name? My name is wonderful. In other words, you cannot even comprehend my name. It is beyond you. It's Job in chapter 42 when he has been humbled before God and finally says, therefore, I uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Or we think of Psalm 139. When he is pondering God's omnipresence, he cannot escape God anywhere. His omniscience, he knows absolutely everything. His omnipotence, there is nothing that is not under the control and the power of God. And what does the psalmist say? Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It's too high. I cannot attain it. My name is wonderful. Isaiah nine, verse six. My name is too wonderful for you. Wonderful counselor. That is a counselor whose wisdom and knowledge and and grace and power is beyond what we have or can fully grasp. Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Yes, I do believe that this is what we call a theophany, that it is an appearance of the Lord. They fall down in worship and Manoah rightly says, Manoah knew it was the angel of the Lord and he said to his wife, we shall surely die for we have seen God. But that wasn't the Lord's purpose in making himself known. To kill them? Thank God for a good wife. You know, it's dawning on Manoah what is going on here, where I'm dead. He knows enough about his faith to know Exodus 33, 20 of the warnings. You can't see God and live. And yet, what does his wonderful nameless wife say to him, if it was his intention to destroy us, why would he give us such gifts? Why would he tell us such glorious and wonderful things? Why would he make such a promise and call us to this obedience? Why would he even receive our offerings and our gifts? No his intention was not to destroy. It was to show his favor. His mercy. His power. His kindness. He is bringing salvation. It is beginning. Deliverance is coming. We're not being destroyed we're being saved. What a promise. And what was Manoah's work? And what was Mrs. Manoah's work here? To believe. To believe. What work are we called to, brothers and sisters, when the Lord reveals his glory, when he sets before us not the one who will begin to save, but sets before us the one who will finish, indeed has finished that work of salvation. What are we called to do? Believe. And so we hear, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. how we should be stirred, rejoicing, delighting in such wonderful words. It is not what I must bring as an offering. It is not what power I have. It's not what knowledge I can conjure up to bring in order to present something to God that He is finally going to say, that's good enough, I take it, I accept it. No, it is to believe when God says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. This is the one in whom salvation is found. There's no other name in heaven or on earth where salvation will be found. It is in the name of Jesus. And we're called simply to believe. You know, one whose name is so wonderful, we spend our whole lives contemplating it and still can't grasp its glory. and beauty and wonder. And so why did I read John 14? Hey, I'm like Philip or Thomas or Peter or you pick them. I think I could have been the guy. Well, hey, you know, I've missed this completely. Just show us the father. OK. And Jesus has to say, have I been with you so long? and you still don't understand. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. How? By faith, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, Samson, in dramatic and some spectacular ways, is going to point us to the need, and not just the need of, but point to that Savior, the true Deliverer, the one who can and will save fully and mightily. Like Manoah and like nameless Manoah's wife, believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess your sins. Acknowledge your Stand before God knowing that what's on the inside just is not as cleaned up as well as what I can do with the outside. And believe in the one who can save. And then let me just close with this. You don't need to be great. You don't need to be important. You don't need to be a completely finished work to be used as an instrument for God, as a tool, as a servant before him. Think of that barren woman whose name we don't even know. It wasn't important. What was important is that she would believe and receive, and God would work through her to begin to deliver God's people and point to the one who would bring that complete deliverance. We're just like them. We don't need to be great people, famous. named. We just need to believe and trust that he will use you and me. Father, open our eyes, open our hearts. Father, we would not be a people who have, who declare all is well, we're doing just fine, but don't even see what is going on in us or around us. Open the eyes. of those you have brought here today, Lord, to see with eyes of faith, to see that need for a deliverer, for one who can save, save us from ourselves, from our blindness and from our sin. And then, Lord, let us walk, believing. all of our days we pray in Jesus name. Amen.