My journey through the book of Judges.

So I haven't been blogging much lately, mostly because I have been too busy, but also because the first 12 chapters of Judges are basically the same. God appoints a judge, the judge dies and the Israelites start worshipping false gods and God punishes them. But, a great story starts in chapter 13, it is the story of Samson. I know that many of you know Samson's story, at least the part about Delilah, but I had forgotten the beginning of the Story. Here are the things I learned in chapter 13

1) God calls his people to give up things.

In the story of Samson's parents, the angel of the Lord appeared to them.

"In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and said, "Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food."
-Judges 13:2-3

With her becoming pregnant, God told her to not drink alcohol or eat forbidden or unclean food. If God was going to do a miracle in her life, she had to first submit to His will for it! What is God calling you to give up so that he can do a work in your life? It may not even be in Scripture directly, but if God calls you to give up something and you refuse, you are living in rebellion to the Lord.


2) God is too awesome for us to fathom.

"Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, 'What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.' 'Why do you ask my name?' the angel of the Lord replied. "It is too wonderful for you to understand."
-Judges 13:17-18

Look at this passage closely...
1) THE angel of the Lord....not an angel of the Lord...this is God himself in this passage! God came to them, spoke to them directly!!
2) They had faith...it says for WHEN all this comes true, not IF! Praise God!
3) God reminds them who they are...you can't handle to even hear my name. These were Godly people, however they cannot understand.

3) We must fear the Lord.

"We will certainly die, for we have seen God!"

Manoah was convinced that this encounter was the end of them, however, it was just the beginning! Look at his wife's reply...
"If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn't have appeared to us this wonderful thing and done these miracles." -Judges 13:23

WOW! Let that sink in...she understood that God had an amazing plan for their life. A child that would save the nation of Israel was about to be born! What an amazing story of fear and confidence intertwined within a family. Manoah's first reaction was intense fear, but his wife talked some sense into the situation! (I hear that happens in marriages all the time).

I firmly believe that God chooses people that fear Him to do the most amazing things for Him.

This school year is setting up to be amazing...keep this scripture in mind.

I WILL GO
Chase Culbertson