Jephthah’s reign lasted for only six years as he was succeeded by Ibzan of Bethlehem, who was the ninth Judge of Israel. Unlike his predecessor, Ibzan had many children, thirty sons and thirty daughters. That would mean that he followed in Gideon’s footsteps and adopted the lifestyle of a king with his own harem. He marries his thirty daughters to outsiders and does the same for his sons for whom he found brides from outside his clan.
Abimelek was a self-imposed king while Jephthah was chosen by the elders of his town to be their leader. Gideon was chosen by the Angel of the LORD to be the deliverer of Israel and Barak was summoned by Deborah who was relaying the message of God. However, we are not told how Ibzan came into power and given that his reign lasted only seven years, he must have had his children married to outsiders before becoming the leader of Israel. Maybe he used his kids as bargaining chips to secure the voting bloc that was needed to bring him to power. That would explain why he deliberately had all his children marry outsiders during a period in Israel’s history when such intermarriages were not that common.
After him, Elon became the tenth Judge of Israel and led the country for ten years. Not much is mentioned about him, so we can assume that the land was at peace and not embroiled in a battle with one of its neighbours. Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. After his death, Israel was led by a man called Abdon, who similar to Gideon had birthed many sons and had amassed a lot of wealth as he had seventy sons and grandsons who had their own personal donkey as their ride. Donkeys were a status symbol in those days and only princes had the honour of owning them as their means of conveyance. Abdon died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
Judges 13:1 (NIV)
The Danite Deliverer
The twelfth judge of Israel came from the tribe of Dan, born in the town of Zorah. Back then, the Danites were settled in the southern part of the kingdom and shared their borders with Philistia. The continuous abandonment of everything that was moral, led the Israelites to be subjected to their old foe. The LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years before raising a deliverer from the most unexpected source. No Judge or deliverer of Israel had ever come from the modest tribe of Dan. But that was about to change as God himself chose the unborn child of Manoah and his wife to bring Israel out of its latest misery.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean.
Judges 13:2-4 (NIV)
In general, pregnant women are told to refrain from certain foods that would otherwise be harmless or even healthy for them. In the specific case of Manoah’s barren wife, she was to give birth to a son that she had received from God, that too during her advanced years. The son she received was to remain a Nazirite for all the days of his life and she simply took part in the first nine months of that journey with her child to maintain that vow. Ironically, her son would grow up to violate all aspects of the Nazirite vow.
“You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:5 (NIV)
A Nazirite vow is supposed to be voluntary for a specific time with the person abstaining from wine and other fermented drinks. During this period, they will not be cutting their hair or come in contact with the corpse even if it is for the funeral of one of their own family members. For the duration of the vow they were set apart as a living offering to God. Thus, they restrain themselves from anything that would deem them unclean. However, Samson’s Nazarite vow was a little different, it wasn’t voluntary and it was to last a lifetime right from the womb. The only other two people in the Bible with a lifelong Nazirite vow are John the Baptist and the prophet Samuel.
Manoah’s Disbelief
At the time when the Angel of the LORD visited his wife, Manoah was not with her and thus found it hard to believe that his barren wife would give birth to a son at their age. Manoah’s wife recited all the instructions that were given to her by the heavenly being, regarding her abstinence from fermented drinks and how the boy would be under the Nazirite vow for his whole life.
Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
Judges 13:8 (NIV)
Manoah wanted to do everything according to the instructions as he realised that the boy they will be having was chosen by God for a purpose. However, he does not know what to make of the encounter that his wife supposedly had with a man of God. Even though his wife was able to compose herself and convey the message word for word, he still needed to hear it directly from the angel. His faith was based on evidence and not on his experiences with God. We often find ourselves in the same position and want to see some evidence to build our faith. Some people will need evidence and assurances as everything they hear will be new to them. But for people like Manoah who know very well what God has to offer, their faith should be based on their past experiences of God’s deliverance and not on new evidence.
God heard Manoah’s prayer and sent the Angel of the LORD again to build up his faith. There is no new information given to the couple as the Angel of the LORD simply repeats all that was conveyed to Manoah’s wife. After listening to the instructions, Manoah compelled the Angel of the LORD to stay for supper and offered to prepare a young goat for the distant traveller. This incident is similar to the three visitors who met Abraham at the entrance of his tent when he was staying near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham offered the three mysterious visitors a similar meal and Jesus was invited to dine with the two travellers when they met Him on the road to Emmaus.
The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)
Judges 13:16 (NIV)
In the ancient world, it was unimaginable for a visitor to be allowed to leave without a proper meal. But more than that, we as humans have the need, for expressing our gratitude to the one who brings us positive news. This is somewhat quid pro quo on our part as we want to return the favour in kind to our benefactors and look for ways to convey the appreciation we feel towards them.
Unfortunately, we try to do the same in our relationships with God not to repay our debt but to satisfy ourselves. If we think that we can even express our gratitude to God for what He has done for us, we are grossly mistaken. When we receive something from God, rather than looking for ways to tip the messengers we must remember to come to Him with an honest heart of worship.
Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
Judges 13:17-18 (NIV)
He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.”
People try to establish the identity or validate the credentials of the person whom they are meeting for the first time. It is easier for people to associate with someone if they know their name or a few details about them. Similarly, someone new to the faith who does not completely understand God needs a name to differentiate Him from the customs and religions of the world. Among the gentile population, our God was known as the God of Abraham. This was not because of Abraham’s faithfulness but it was easier for them to associate God with the person worshipping Him. Thus God became the God of Israel for most of the world.
In the ancient world, kings and other prominent members of society used couriers to carry their messages to inform the generals of the battle plan during a war or convey an important message to someone on the other end of the country or simply summon someone. A message written on a scroll would have the king’s seal but verbal messages needed to be authenticated.
It was common for the receiver to ask for the messenger’s name and who they represented to establish the validity of the transmission. The message from the Angel of the LORD took the couple by surprise and at the same time it was asking for a huge commitment from them. Perhaps, Manaoh who was still finding everything hard to believe wanted some assurances about the source of this revelation.
You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (NIV)
God Reveals Himself to the Couple
So Manoah took the young goat, along with a grain offering and sacrificed it on a rock for the LORD. Much like the case with Gideon, Manoah’s faith was lacking till he witnessed firsthand the awesome power of God. As the sacrifice began to be engulfed in the flames, the Angel of the LORD also ascended to heaven with its embers. Seeing the sight of the Angel disappear in thin air, the couple were petrified as they realised who they had been talking to all along.
“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
Judges 13:22 (NIV)
But Manoah’s wife understood the purpose of the two visits by God and assured her husband that God has a plan for their life as the deliverer will be born through her. Sometime later, she gave birth to a son just as God had told them. She named him Samson and the LORD blessed him with His Spirit. Manoah’s wife was more perceptive than he gave her credit for, as she is able to understand the purpose of the LORD’s visit. But why does she name her son after the sun god of the Canaanites (Samson) even after being visited by the LORD twice?
There was a reason why God led the Philistines to overtake the Israelites and rule over them for forty years. They had abandoned the path leading to Him and chosen to adopt the cultures of the world around them. Parents choose names for their children either to express their desires for their newborn or name them in honour of someone they valued immensely. Similarly in the ancient world, a mother had such an opportunity when she decided on a name for her kid.
Eve chose to honour herself when she gave the name Cain to her firstborn (loosely meaning that she had brought forth or acquired a man). Rachel and Leah took turns to one-up each other when naming the kids born to them and their respective slaves. When Sarah gave birth to a son in her old age, she recalled her dismissive nature when she first heard that God would bless them with a child, and named her son Isaac (the one who laughs).
Samson’s mother could have also done the same, especially given the miraculous nature of events that led to the birth of her son. However, she chose to name her son after the god of the people who were oppressing her. Perhaps the people around them like their friends and families influenced them to name their sons after the pagan god whom they would have worshipped. So the deliverer of Israel, who was to remain a Nazirite for all the days of his life, had a name that gave glory to a foreign god. God still worked through Samson as His Spirit came upon him, but his parents missed out on an opportunity to give glory to the LORD. Let us not waste time in fulfilling vows and commitments in the name of God but build a real relationship with Him that will help us know His will for our lives.
Discussion Questions
- Why would Ibzan arrange the marriages of his children to outsiders?
- What was the problem with consuming wine and fermented drinks while Manoah’s wife was pregnant? Is it true for all pregnant women or only Manoah’s barren wife?
- What is a Nazirite vow and what is its significance?
- Why does Manoah want the Angel of the LORD to come and teach them how to raise their son?
- Everyone who has such an encounter with the Angel of the LORD or a messenger from God wants to offer them something. What compels them to do so?
- Why did Manoah want to know the name of the Angel of the LORD? Why do we humans in general want to know the name of God before they worship Him?
- Manoah’s wife is more perceptive than he gives her credit for, as she is able to understand the purpose of the LORD’s visit. But why does she name her son after the sun god of the Canaanites (Samson) even after being visited by the LORD twice?
The Jordan Valley 
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