March 19 – Judges 13:8-20

March 19 – Judges 13:8-20

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O 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.” ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” ¹¹ 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.” ¹² And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” ¹³ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. ¹⁴ 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.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” ¹⁶ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) ¹⁷ And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” ¹⁸ And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” ¹⁹ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. ²⁰ 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.

Manoah and his wife heard again from the angel of the Lord.  Within these verses we see them filled with gratitude and offer a young goat and grain offering to the one who works wonders.  Indeed, God had chosen them to make known one of his many wonders.  The last verse of this passage states that they fell on their faces to the ground. What an amazing sign of gratefulness to fall prostrate and worship God.  God is a God of wonders? 

How often do you take time to meditate on the wonders of God? 

Think of at least one wonder God has shown or given you in life. 

Take time to share it with a coworker or friend and when the opportunity presents itself, share in good faith with a nonbeliever.

Heavenly Father,

I love this story and how they came to You for wisdom and knowledge of caring for this wonderful baby they knew was a special gift from You.  All of our children are a gift from You.  I  truly wish all parents would come to You for wisdom in raising children.  It all starts with our their children witness us doing.  More lessons are caught than taught.  My parents always told me that and it is so very true.  Father, help me always depend on You for everything, but especially things that impact my children and grandchildren.  They are too precious to do less than my best.  I know I did the best I could as a mom, but I have learned so much since I first became a mother.  Help me share You with others so they can experience truth and get wisdom directly from You.  You are such an amazing Father and no one needs anything more than what You can give through Your word, fellowship with other believers and the direction of the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen!