I am from the tribe of Dan. For as long as I can remember, we have been under the rule of the Philistines. My mother taught me that the reason for our submission to the Philistines was because of the misbehavior of our ancestors. For being the Children of God, Israel has a history of being rather horrible toward God.
Now, I am married. My husband, Manoah, is also from the tribe of Dan. I was thrilled to be getting married. I wanted to have children who I could raise and teach as my mother did me. Unfortunately, I am barren. Unable to conceive children. Manoah, also eager for sons to carry on his family name, has tried finding remedies. He feeds me mandrakes and offers sacrifices as he pleads for children. Sometimes, he’ll tell me that he can tell that this time it worked. “You are glowing! You must be with child!” I try to tell him that I know my body and I am certainly not with child, but he won’t listen until several months later he sees that I am still not showing.
One day, while Manoah is out in the fields, I sit in the house praying, as I do every day, for a child. And this time, something amazing happens – an angel of the LORD appears!
“You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
I gaze up at the angel, tears streaming down my face at this joyous news. Not only would I finally have a son, but he would deliver us from the Philistines! We would finally be free! As the angel disappears, I run out to find Manoah and collapse by his feet.
“A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.'”
I expected that my husband, too, would be happy at this news. Instead, he seems suspicious. He thinks that I am being silly. This man couldn’t possibly be an angel, he reasons. What kind of instructions are those for having a child, he questions. And he prays to the LORD that this mysterious man might return so that he could hear this message for himself.
Of course, I am frustrated. I know what I have seen and heard, but Manoah has never really trusted my intuition or perception, so I suppose I’m not surprised by his reaction.
A few days later, while I am out in the field gathering grain, the angel appears to me again. I run, tripping over my skirts, anxious to bring Manoah out before the angel leaves. “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
Manoah trails along behind me as I race back out to the field. I bow low before the LORD’s messenger, and expect Manoah to display respect as well. Instead, he stands before the angel, hands on his hips, and asks, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
With my head bowed low, I roll my eyes. Really? He doesn’t think I can remember who spoke to me only a few days ago?
The angel confirms that he is indeed the one who visited me. Manoah asks how we are to raise the child we have been promised. To my delight, the angel replies, “Your wife must do all that I have told her,” and then he repeats the same message he gave me the other day. I smirk. This angel just told Manoah what I’ve been trying to tell him for years – that his wife is competent and was speaking the truth to him.
Manoah insists that we feed our visitor, but the angel says, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.”
Manoah and I do as the angel suggests, preparing a young goat and some grain as an offering to the LORD. And as the offering burns, the angel ascended to heaven in the flames. It is a beautiful and stunning image, and I watch, grinning, as our visitor evaporates in the smoke.
Apparently refusing until this moment to believe that our visitor was an angel, Manoah exclaims, “We are doomed to die! We have seen God!”
It takes great self control not to roll my eyes again and instead say in an even voice, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
And all these things have come to pass just as the angel said. Even though Manoah continues to question what I say and how I raise our son, Samson, I know better than to pay heed to his doubt. I am a competent and wise woman, and nobody can tell me otherwise.
Judges 13
Neglected Word 