Manoah

So the lord whom he killed so that the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshter in the tomb of Manoah his father.

He had judged Israel twenty

years."

I'm a man of unclean lips." He realizes he's in the presence of God.

Or Manoah in the Old Testament, when the angel of the Lord shows up and a miracle is performed, and he says to his wife, "We're gonna die.

We just saw God." It's that kind of a fear and trembling.

And then notice that Jesus says, "Daughter, daughter." The only time Jesus uses this term in the entire New Testament is here.

telling her that you're barren, but you're gonna be with child.

And then what do you know? She has a kid and great, Manoah has a son.

Right.

And again, the father is named, his wife is not.

And if you are paying attention to the Haftarah reading, it then goes on to describe a particular Nazir, a particular Nazirite named Shimshon, Samson, who was a Nazir from birth.

In the Haftarah we read this morning, we learned that a Melach Adonai, an angel of the Lord, appeared to Manoah and his wife, who was barren, and told them that they would have a son and that he was to be a Nazir from birth.

Again, you know, repeated over and over and over again certain things that even, not just the child, but even the mother should not do until the child was born.

Consume any alcoholic beverage, particularly grapes, because anything from a grape you're not allowed to consume as a nazir is, you know, then you're supposed to like not, well, you're supposed to As a child, he was never supposed to cut your hair.

Then crying, let me die with the plishtim, he pushed with all of his might and the building collapsed on the chiefs and all the people inside.

So he killed more at his death than he had during his life.

His brothers and all his father's family came down, took him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtoel in the tomb of his father Manoah.

He had judged Israel for 20 years.

That was a Nazir.

Samson's mother got this prophecy that her son is going to be born even though she couldn't have children and he's going to be a Nazirite not only is he going to be a Nazirite when she gets pregnant she is not allowed to do these three things she herself could not drink wine because the baby was in her stomach and the baby would not have wine okay she gets this prophecy she goes home she tells her husband her husband's name was Manoah the typical arch-skeptic of the Bible.

Manoach was the arch-skeptic of the Bible.

His wife comes along.

It doesn't say her name in the Bible.

We don't have a record of her name.

We know her father's name was Manoah.

We don't know what his wife's name was.

So when you want to look at the orphanies of God throughout scriptures and you want to check, is this person, since God is three, Who was the person that visited Joshua at the battle of Jericho, before the battle of Jericho? Who was the person that visited Abraham? Who was the person that caught the covenant with Abraham? Who was the person, you know, there are different appearances of God which we see.

Who was the person that actually came and met Manoah and his wife, that's Samson's parents? you know, and had a conversation with them and promised them they were going to have a son because they sacrificed offerings to the person that they knew was good.

Who was the person of the Godhead that fought with Jacob, you know? So you want to ask, I often ask the question, I don't know if you ask the question, if you're like me and you're inquisitive like me, I often ask, Was it Jesus that fought with Jacob? Was it the Holy Spirit or was it Papa God? So Papa God is reputed to always be on the throne.

He never leaves the throne.

During that time, a man named Zorah.

A man of Zorah, sorry, named Manoah from the tribe of Dan was married to a wife who could bear him no children.

So the messenger of the Eternal One, appearing to Manoah's wife, said to her, You are barren and have no children, but all of that is about to change.

You will conceive and have a son.

Be careful that you do not drink wine or any other spirits, which is a strong drink, and don't eat anything that is ritually impure.

Don't drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean.

The boy will be God's Nazarite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.

Manoah prayed to God, Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born.