09-18-05

(Judg 13:1-5)  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD [Jud 6:1, Gideon]; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines [rolling, migratory (the unsaved peoples of the world)] forty years [number of testing]. And there was a certain man of Zorah [place of hornets /// to scourge, to be stricken with leprosy: leper, leprous (symbolically, city of sin – a man of sin)], of the family of the Danites [judge], whose name was Manoah [rest]; and his wife was barren, and bare not [seven barren women in the Bible; ref: the seven churches of Rev 2,3]. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman [the church], and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son [1^st mention of a promised son]. Now therefore beware [(1^st mention of outside warning to the church) shamar; to hedge about, be on guard, protect, attend to: beware, take heed (to self), keep, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), watch (man)], I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing [1^st mention of inside warning for the church – take heed of what you take in]: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son [2^nd mention of a the promised son]; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite [separated] unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand [power] of the Philistines.

1.     (Gen 2:15)  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it ['abad; serve, worship] and to keep it [shamar; to hedge about, be on guard, protect, attend to: beware, take heed (to self), keep, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), watch (man)].

2.     According to the command of the angel of the LORD, the woman, symbolic of the church, was to bear the promised son, i.e. Jesus in archetype and us in type, and he would be a Nazarite from birth (us immediately as we become born-again) and “begin to deliver Israel” (Jud 13:5); but the woman-church was admonished herself to adhere unto the Nararite vow, which is to be separate unto God, “holy unto the LORD” (Num 6:8). By common analogy, women who are pregnant are admonished to not smoke or drink alcohol or eat fatty foods for the sake of their unborn child, and their selves.

3.     (Rev 12:5)  And she [the church] brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron [symbol of judgment]: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

4.     (Rev 12:5) And she brought a son male, who is about to shepherd all nations with rod an iron: and was caught away her child to God and his throne. [Interlinear Greek-English New Testament by Berry]

MANOAH WAS A MAN OF THE TRIBE OF DAN

(Gen 3:14,15)  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity [hostility: hatred] between thee and the woman [the church], and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise [break, cover] thy head, and thou shalt bruise [snap at (i.e. rebel at that covering)] his heel.

1.     (Gen 49:16,17)  Dan shall judge his people [i.e. a position of great authority], as one of the tribes of Israel [good connotations]. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder [a kind of serpent (as snapping)] in the path, that biteth the horse [symbol of earthly power] heels, so that his rider [who is dependent upon earthly power] shall fall backward [i.e. fall off his horse by the failure of natural power, backward away from God, rather than forward and prostrate before the Lord].

2.     (Isa 28:11-13)  For with stammering lips and another tongue will he [God] speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept [command] upon precept, precept upon precept; line [a cord (espec. for measuring)] upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken [by Satan].

3.     (John 18:3-6)  Judas then, having received a band of men and officers [Temple Police (power) appointed by man (power)] from the chief priests and Pharisees [the highest man made religious authority of that day (power)], cometh thither with lanterns and torches [man made lights (power) because they knew not that they were blind] and weapons [man made tools of destruction (power) because they knew not peace]. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he [a clear manifestation of the power of the Word made flesh (John 1:14)], they went backward, and fell to the ground [i.e. snapping at the covering heel of natural man’s power].

(Judg 13:6,7)  Then the woman [the church] came and told her husband [Manoah – a man of sin], saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [appearance] was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible [reverential; frightening: dread, reverence (awe-inspiring)]: but I asked him not whence [from where] he was, neither told he me his name [although I wondered, but I was too respectful to ask; in fact, I didn’t say a word]: But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son [3^rd mention of a promised son]; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing [2^nd mention of inside warning for the church – take heed of what you take in]: for the child shall be a Nazarite [separated] to God from the womb to the day of his death.

(Judg 13:8-10)  Then Manoah entreated [prayed to] the LORD [Jehovah], and said, O my Lord, let the man of God ['elohiym] which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste [to be liquid or flow easily], and ran, and showed her husband [i.e. the church came to the man of sin twice], and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

QUESTIONING (synonym: interrogating) THE ANGEL OF THE LORD

The act of questioning God is often an act of unbelief.

(Judg 13:11-14)  And Manoah arose, and went after his wife [connotations of possession], and came to the man, and said unto him [thereby illustrating, contrary to the woman’s exceedingly respectful attitude, no reverential fear or awe, i.e. NO FEAR], Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman [the church]? And he said, I am [“I AM THAT I AM” Exo 3:14]. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order [fashion (i.e. bring up, train, teach)] the child, and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware [(2^nd mention of outside warning to the church) shamar; to hedge about, be on guard, protect, attend to: beware, take heed (to self), keep, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), watch (man)]. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing [3^rd mention of inside warning for the church – take heed of what you take in]: all that I commanded her let her observe [(3^rd mention of outside warning to the church) shamar; to hedge about, be on guard, protect, attend to: beware, take heed (to self), keep, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), watch (man)].

1.     (Jer 2:19)  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee [Zorah = to scourge, to be stricken with leprosy], and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

2.     “Now let thy words come to pass” = In effect, Manoah said to the angel of God: I give my permission; I am agreeable to what you want to happen. Being a man of sin, Manoah’s mind was darkened and he was unable to clearly perceive or mentally grasp the godly nature of the angel to whom he was speaking. Manoah could not “see the light” (glory) of the angel, exactly like the men of Sodom who were unable to “see the light” (glory) of the two handsome men whom they fervently lusted after to have sexual relations with; the two men who were, unbeknownst to them, angels from Heaven, although righteous Lot perceived their godly nature immediately and correctly at the gate of Sodom. Manoah’s concept of angels and God was vague and ill-defined, and from within the dark cloud of his conceptual ignorance (blinded by the god of this world: 2 Cor 4:4), Manoah presumed that because the world revolved around him, that his authority had preeminence over the speaker whosoever he might be. And further, were one to consider the actual value of a son in terms of heritage, work, and continuance of the family name in Old Testament times, any possibility of gaining a valuable son from this otherwise barren woman would be of great practical benefit to himself. Manoah was self-centered rather than God-centered.

THREE SCRIPTURE REPETITIONS INDICATING EXCEEDING EMPHASIS IN JUDGES 13:1-14

1.     The church is assured that she will bear a promised son three times.

2.     The church is warned, commanded, to beware of things from the outside three times.

3.     The church is warned, commanded, to take heed of what is taken inside three times.

4.    Example: (Luke 2:9)  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone [perilampo] round [perilampo] about [perilampo] them: and they were sore afraid.

Amen