Judges 13:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
This verse brings to mind a saying I’ve heard before. I have no idea who coined the phrase, but I first heard it in Sunday School: “We either say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ or God says to us, ‘Thy will be done.’” And while it may seem like a great idea for God to give us our way, it doesn’t turn out well for us, as the Israelites saw time and again.
Judges 13:2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, … had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth.
Manoah is an interesting figure. My heart goes out to him in that his wife’s infertility seems to have shaken his faith. Even though his wife takes the angel of the LORD at his word, Manoah seems to need additional reassurance, which I completely understand. And while at face value it seems a completely different struggle than the Israelites were facing in verse 1, it is still a struggle accepting and following God’s will.
Judges 13:22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reminder that there are many ways one can struggle to follow Your will. Help us seek, always, Your will and not our own. Help us, even when we are afraid to believe the goodness You are giving us, to be bold for You and in You. Always. Draw us closer. Amen.
Judges 13:23 But the wife answered, “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 told us this.”
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.