Jdg 13:15-25 We Shall Surely Die, for We Have Seen God

[Study Aired July 5, 2021]

Jdg 13:15   And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 

Jdg 13:16   And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. 

Jdg 13:17   And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 

Jdg 13:18   And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? 

Jdg 13:19   So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 

Jdg 13:20   For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 

Jdg 13:21   But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. 

Jdg 13:22   And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 

Jdg 13:23   But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these. 

Jdg 13:24   And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 

Jdg 13:25   And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. 

The first part of Judges Chapter 13 focuses on the encounter of an angel of the Lord with the wife of Manoah concerning the birth of a child who was to be born a Nazarite from birth. The angel also gave instructions about what must be done to give birth to the child. Here the woman was advised not to drink wine nor strong drink nor eat an unclean thing. Spiritually speaking, to be advised not to drink wine or strong drink is being warned to avoid taking in false doctrines which will make us unable to bring forth a son – the new man!! Unclean thing also signifies false doctrines which comes from spiritually dead children of God. It can also imply unrighteousness as follows:

Lev 20:21   And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

So if we want to give birth to the new man, then we must avoid taking in false doctrines and live righteously!!

Today’s study continues with the encounter with the angel of the Lord and the birth of a son called Sampson.

Jdg 13:15   And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 

Usually, when we have an encounter with the Lord, we want to preserve the experience. For example, there are times that the Holy Spirit brings us inexplicable joy or we are miraculously provided for or protected.  We think we can preserve this experience of anointing by doing something for the Lord. The same thing happened to Peter when he was with our Lord Jesus Christ when He was transfigured and saw Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah. This is what ensued:

Mat 17:3  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 

Mat 17:4  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 

Mat 17:5  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 

So here our Lord Jesus was telling Peter that what is most important in our walk with Christ is not what we do, but hearing His voice. In other words, when our eyes begin to see and our ears begin to hear, that is the ultimate experience we can have with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mat 13:16   But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Mat 13:17   For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Jdg 13:16   And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

When we do not know the Lord, just as Manoah did not know the angel of the Lord, we think that we can please the Lord by what we do. Here in verse 16, however, the Lord told Manoah that He will not eat of his bread, which means that He is not interested in our works when we do not know Him. We also used to think like Manoah that we must offer something to God. All over the world, people are offering praise and worship, building exotic churches, evangelizing the world, praying and fasting for forty days, etc. However, none of these things is what the Lord requires if we do not know Him intimately through His words. The Lord calls all these works we do when we do not know Him as works of iniquity.

Mat 7:21   Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22   Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23   And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

What the Lord required of Manoah was a burnt offering to the Lord. The traditional burnt offering by Israel was carried out using a bull, sheep, or goat; a male with no defect. These animals were killed at the entrance to the tabernacle. The animal’s blood was drained, and the priest sprinkled blood around the altar. The animal was skinned and cut into pieces, the intestines and legs washed, and the priest burned the pieces over the altar all night. A turtledove or pigeon could also be sacrificed, although they weren’t skinned. The smoke from the sacrifice ascended to God as “a soothing aroma to the LORD”.

Lev 1:9  But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was the ultimate burnt offering for our sins. As He is, so are we here on earth. We, too, are being offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Offering our bodies as a living sacrifice means that we, too, must be without blemish. A vital ingredient in a burnt offering is the fire which consumes the flesh and causes smoke which is the sweet aroma to the Lord.  This fire is our judgment. We are first to be judged here on earth so that we will learn righteousness or become unblemished. It is this fire, or judgment, that burns down our flesh or the old man and causes us to offer a sweet aroma of smoke to the Lord. This is what the Lord requires, not what we, of ourselves, offer!!

1Jn 4:17   Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Jdg 13:17   And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 

This verse is to confirm to us the fact that Manoah did not know the Lord. That is why he was asking the angel of the Lord His name. He was not even sure whether what the angel was saying will come to pass. He was going t