๐ 26 November 2025
๐ BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
๐ Daily Bible Reading
โ๏ธ Judges 13 โ A Child of Promise
โจ The Birth of Samson โ How God Plants Hope in Hopeless Times
๐ Read online here
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๐ต Introduction
Judges 13 opens in a dark time.
Israel is living under the rule of the Philistines.
There is oppression, spiritual weakness, and deep hopelessness.
And right there, God begins to moveโ
not through a king,
not through an army,
but through a family no one was paying attention to:
An infertile couple.
Where human possibility ends, Godโs beginnings often break forth.
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๐ก Commentary
Israel had once again fallen into the old pattern that shaped their history:
unbelief, turning away from God, and oppression by their enemies.
Forty years under the Philistinesโa heavy cloud of helplessness lay over the people.
In these difficult days lived Manoah and his wife in the town of Zorah.
Their life was quiet, simpleโฆ and overshadowed by one deep pain:
they had no children.
In their culture, infertility meant not only longing but shameโ
a life that felt like a closed future.
And right here, something extraordinary happens.
One day, the angel of the Lord appears to Manoahโs wife.
Not in a temple.
Not to a prophet.
But to a woman who likely felt small, overlooked, and insignificant.
His words fall like sunlight into a locked heart:
โYou will conceive and bear a son.โ
But this child would not be an ordinary child.
He would be a Nazirite, consecrated to God from the wombโ
set apart for divine purpose.
No razor was to touch his head.
He would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
The woman runs to Manoah and tells him everything.
Overwhelmed, Manoah prays:
โLord, let the man of God come again, so we may learn what to do with the child.โ
God listens.
The angel appears againโfirst to the woman, then to Manoah.
Manoah asks:
โWhat shall the boyโs rule of life and mission be?โ
The answer is striking:
The angel does not repeat the childโs mission.
He repeats the parentsโ responsibility:
purity, obedience, preparation.
Samsonโs calling begins with his parentsโ surrender.
Manoah wants to prepare a meal for the messenger, not knowing he is speaking with the angel of the Lord.
The angel refuses to eat and directs him instead to offer a burnt offering to God.
Then Manoah asks:
โWhat is your name?โ
The angel replies:
โWhy do you ask my name? It is wonderful.โ
Manoah offers the goat and grain offering.
And then the miraculous happens:
As the flame rises from the rock altar,
the angel of the Lord ascends in the fire.
Manoah and his wife fall on their faces.
Manoah fears death, convinced they have seen God.
But his wife answers with calm, Spirit-given wisdom:
โIf the Lord desired to kill us, He would not have accepted our offering.โ
The story ends with a simple yet powerful conclusion:
The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.
And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.
Out of darkness rises hope.
Out of an infertile woman comes a deliverer.
With Samson, Godโs quiet but unstoppable rescue begins.
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๐ข Summary
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Israel suffers under the Philistines for 40 years.
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An infertile couple receives a divine visitation.
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The angel announces Samsonโs birthโa child consecrated to God.
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Manoah seeks guidance; God answers.
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A miraculous sign follows as the angel ascends in the flame.
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Samson is born, blessed, and stirred by the Spirit.
God begins salvation long before anyone sees change.
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๐ข Message for us Today
1. God often begins where we come to an end.
Whatever feels barren or hopeless in your life can become the soil for new beginnings.
2. God works in quiet places.
No stage, no spotlightโjust an unknown couple.
God delights in small beginnings.
3. Calling begins with surrender.
Samsonโs mission started with the obedience of his parents.
Holiness begins in the heart.
4. Godโs plans exceed human understanding.
Manoah wanted details.
God said, โMy name is wonderful.โ
We donโt need full clarity to fully trust.
5. God sees your today and your tomorrow.
Samsonโs task was known before his birth.
Your life also fits into a divine storyโand God sees more than you do.
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๐ฌ Thought Prompt
Which โbarren placeโ in your life might be the very place where God is planting the first seeds of new hope?
Perhaps where you expect the least,
the angel of the Lord is already whispering.
Stay open.
Stay obedient.
Stay ready.
God begins rescue stories with people who believe
that He is at work even in the unseen.
~~~~~ โ๏ธ ~~~~~

