68 – The Birth of Samson
Judges 13:1-25
There was a man from the tribe of Dan whose wife couldn’t have children. This was during the time when the Philistines had taken control of Israel. The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said, “Soon you’ll become pregnant. The child you’ll be carrying is going to have the vow of a Nazirite from the time he’s born. So be careful. Don’t drink alcohol or eat anything that is against the Law of Moses. And never cut your son’s hair. He will save Israel from the Philistines.”
The woman didn’t realize she was talking to the angel of the Lord. She ran to her husband and said, “A man of God came and told me that you and I are going to have a baby. He told me not to drink any alcohol or eat anything that is against the Law of Moses. I’m not to cut his hair because our son is going to keep the Nazirite vow from birth.”
Her husband immediately prayed and asked God if he would once again send the man of God to them. He wanted more instruction on exactly what they were to do when the child was born.
Later, the woman was sitting in the field, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to her again. She quickly ran and got her husband. She said, “That same man of God is out in the field.”
The husband ran to meet him. He said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
“Yes, I am.”
The angel then gave him the same instructions he had given the woman. The man said, “Please stay here as we prepare a meal for you.”
The angel said, “I’ll stay, but I won’t eat a meal with you. Instead, present a burnt offering to God.”
The man and his wife still didn’t know they were talking to the angel of the Lord. The man said, “What’s your name? We want to honor you when all you say comes true.”
The angel said, “I’m not going to tell you my name. It is too wonderful for you.”
So the man prepared a burnt offering and sacrificed it on a rock. The flames rose up into the sky. Suddenly, as the man and his wife watched, the angel of the Lord went up into the flames.
The couple immediately fell to the ground. The man said, “We’re going to die! We’ve seen God!!”
The woman said, “I don’t think we’re going to die. He accepted our burnt offering. Besides he said we were going to have a baby.”
The woman followed the instructions she was given, and at the appointed time, she gave birth to a baby boy. They named him Samson.