Jan. 25, 2009
Background Scripture: Judges 13
Devotional Reading: Psalms 91

You don’t have to be a parent in order to appreciate the story of Samson and his father, Manoah, and his unnamed mother, but it helps. It is the story of great expectations not fully realized – the all-too-frequent, but not inevitable, experience of parenthood.
The story of Samson, the great God-sent nemesis of the Philistines, was a popular one passed on from generation to generation. The brief but complete story is contained in Judges, chapters 13-17, seven episodes that trace the story that begins with joy and ends with the bittersweet victory and death of this Hebrew hero of the tribe of Dan.

At approximately the same time (1280-1120 B.C.) the Hebrews were entering the Promised Land from Egypt, the coastal plain was also being occupied by the Philistines, a non-Semitic people that may have come from the island of Crete. At first the Hebrews and Philistines lived in somewhat close proximity – an unsettled and uncomfortable situation that eventually became open warfare.

Written off

Samson became a Hebrew hero in the early days before the warfare ensued. (It is interesting that, like many Hebrews, he bore a typical Canaanite name and the Book of Judges neither commends nor condemns him.) Like Isaac, Samuel and John the Baptist, Samson was born to a mother who previously had been written off as “barren.”

But an angel appears to this woman and says: “Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son” (13:3). It is curious that although the angel calls and appears to the mother, only the husband is named.

The release from childlessness comes with a condition. Just as Sarah the mother of Isaac, Hannah the mother of Samuel and Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist – as well as Mary the mother of Jesus – are informed that their sons are to be born for a specific divine purpose, so the mother of Samson is told that her son is to be brought up as a Nazirite, “one specially dedicated or consecrated.”

A Nazirite would abstain from wine or ritually “unclean” foods, would not allow his hair to be cut and avoid all contact with the dead, who were regarded as “unclean.”

So, Samson’s parents began with great expectations delivered by an angel (a messenger from God). The anticipation for and birth of a child is a time of hope and joy for most parents. Manoah’s response to his wife’s announcement is commendable: “O Lord, I pray thee, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again to us, and teach us what we are to do with the boy that will be born” (13:8).

Every expectant parent needs to realize that without God, he or she is inadequate. Like Manoah, we need to implore God to tell us what is to be our child’s “manner of life” and what she or “he is to do?” (13:12). (I marvel that neither our schools nor our churches prepare us for either of the two most important and consequential roles which most of us will play in life.)

A faith not embraced

With typical Hebrew hospitality, Manoah asks the messenger of God to stay and sup (as with Abraham in Genesis 22 and Gideon in Judges 6:18-22). Manoah and presumably his wife still didn’t know that this stranger was an angel (13:17) and sometimes in the Bible people are uncertain as to whether it is God they have seen “face to face” (13:22), or His messenger (Gen. 32:22-30).

The story of Samson is very realistic in that it indicates that the devout faith of the parents is obviously not shared by the son. His reckless deeds show that he did not embrace the lifestyle of his parents. Many devout parents make that same discovery.
Samson was gifted by God, but for the most part he squandered his gift with unwise choices. The Philistines repeatedly outwitted him, and it was only at the end that, finally seeking and treasuring God’s power, he became his people’s bittersweet hero.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.