Jesus: Creator, Savior, Lord, King -#6 Jesus Surprise Samsons Parents

 

#6 Jesus Surprise Samsons Parents

Review: Angel of the Lord so far. Garden of Eden, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon

Today we are going to look at The Angel of the Lord’s appearance to the parents of the great Samson. It is an interesting story even before we get to Samson himself.

In our society today we hear lots of ideas and procedures about how to parent children.

The first one I remember when our kids were being born was a book entitled “Baby and Child Care” written by Benjamin Spock in 1946. (When I heard that Spock had written a book I thought it was about Star Trek which I loved as a kid. I was really disappointed when instead of a Vulcan being the author it turned out to be a communist named Benjamin Spock who taught parents it was evil to punish their children. Nor did he even have any children or any pointy ears. Total disappointment. Some believe that Dr. Spock’s book was the single most important reason for the lost generation of the 1960s, hippies, the anti-war movement and so many other social catastrophes. I think the real Mr. Spock would have done better.

Today we here about Helicopter parenting which is refers to an overprotective and overly involved parenting style. Just like a helicopter hovers, so do these parents. They typically involve themselves in all aspects of their children's lives, sometimes to the detriment of the kids.

Or how about Tiger parenting? Which is a form of strict parenting, where parents are highly invested in ensuring their children's success. Tiger parents, mostly Tiger Moms, push their children to attain high levels of academic achievement or success in high-status extracurricular activities such as music or sports.

Or one more how about “Free-range parenting?” Kind of like with chicken only its with kids. Actually, free range parenting is the idea of raising children to function independently with limited parental supervision. It is seen as the opposite of helicopter parenting. My parents were definitely “free range parents” with a dash of “whoopins” and “go to your room until I tell you can come out. And don’t ask for any snacks.” I guess that was the “My kid is driving me crazy school” of parenting.

Who knew you had so many ways to raise kids and this morning I’m going to give you another one straight from the Old Testament. We could call it the Nazarite Method of child rearing. There are actually two examples of the school of parenting style one in the Old Testament that didn’t work out so well and one in the New Testament that incredibly successful, so much so that Jesus said, No man was greater.” Let’s start with the first one in Judges 13.

The Angel of the Lord Appears – Judges 13:1-14

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: 7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. 8 Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 9 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. 10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. 11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. 12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? 13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 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: all that I commanded her let her observe.

Surprising Visit, Surprising Instructions

We’ve intitles this Sermon “Jesus surprises Samson’s parents” and you can tell from their reaction to the appearance of the Lord as the Angel that it’s pretty surprising. Samson’s mom runs to find the husband and he asks the Lord to repeat the whole announcement. Which the Lord graciously does. Nor are the surprises done yet.

The first surprise is the visit. The second surprise is the return visit. Now look at a second surprise, the instructions the Lord gives the parents in how this child is to be raised. He tells it to the mother and then repeats it with the father.

We see it in verse Judges 13:4-5 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

And in Judges 13:13-14 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 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: all that I commanded her let her observe.

The surprise was that the child was to be raised from the womb as a Nazarite. Which meant Samson’s unnamed mother would have to live as a Nazarite while she was pregnant. Interesting isn’t it that the Bible here clearly shows a relationship between the Mother’s lifestyle and diet and the child who is in her womb. Something that science didn’t catch up to until centuries later.

Now the Nazarite vow is not fully explained here, because Manoah and his wife know what the Nazarite vow entailed as it was given to Moses by the Lord at Mount Sinai along with all the law and commandments.

But since you and I probably aren’t as well versed on our Old Testament vows as they were lets to a little research on the Nazarite vow and then draw some application to how that might relate to a godly child rearing today.

No Surprise For Us

What was a surprise to Samson’s parents should not be a surprise to us. The Lord has very clear, concise instructions on how you as a Christian parent are supposed to be raising your children. Parent’s if that is a surprise to you it means you haven’t been reading the instruction manual God has provided.

So let’s do some research and application here. Now I doubt I’ve ever seen it put in terms exactly like that, but here we go. I now present Nazarite Parenting. You ready for this?

First, some research. The vow of the Nazarites is found in Numbers 6:1-8 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. 5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. 7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. 8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

Basically, the Nazarite was a person consecrated to God, who denied the world, dedicated their body to God’s service and demonstrated a godly life.

 Let’s break this down just a bit.

Deny the World The Nazarite was to abstain from anything from the vine. The word Nazarite means consecrated or separated one. The vine represented Israel's at ease and wealthy. Vineyards could only be planted and tended in times of extended peace. It takes years to get a vineyard to produce well. Once it was established it could mean a time of luxury and prosperity for its owner and for the land itself. The denial of all from the vine showed faith in God and His care not the what the world could offer .

Dedicate the Body.  The Nazarite was also to look physically different. They could not cut their hair or in the case of a man, their beard during the vow. At the end of they vow they were to go to the temple and there shave the head. All this was an outward sign of their vow of consecration and separation.

Demonstrate the Life  Finally, the Nazarite was to avoid any dead bodies. The one, who was representing the Living God, through their vow, could not be associated with death. They could not even attend the funeral of a family member. If they accidentally touched a dead body then vow was over. As a Nazarite, they were be holy, consecrated lives, to look and act differently because they were representing the living God to Israel.

Apply the Nazarite Vow to Christian Child Rearing.

I’m not really advocating for something called Nazarite parenting, though it might make a fortune if you could put it in a book and promote it. Instead, I’m saying that the way Samson’s parents were told to raise Samson has direct application to the way Christian parents today should be raising their kids.

Let me give you the overall goals again, Parents you are to teach your children that they should Deny the world’s influence, Dedicate their physical bodies to God and His service and also Demonstrated how a godly life is lived.

We see the importance of godly Biblical parenting taught throughout the Bible. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (I know that is not a guarantee, but it is the best guideline and hope you have for you child not being swallowed whole by this world. So be consistent and diligent in doing it everyday and at every opportunity. Training up a child doesn’t take a break because you’re tired, worn out and sick of being a parent all the time. That excuse only works when you’re raising rowdy, stubborn puppies. Just ask my wife about that. But your children are vessels which contain a soul, created by God in His image. You don’t take a break, or let it ride when your charge is eternally valuable .)

Look at Proverbs 1:8-19 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. (That’s denying the world.)

Titus was told to instruct the churches he was sent to by Paul. He was acting as a pastor and as a parent to pagans who didn’t know how to raise a child by God’s standards. Look at Titus 2:1-8 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. (That’s dedicating our bodies and demonstrating a godly life.)

Paul put it in New Testament terms in Ephesians 6:1-4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The Christian Parent never forgets that they are bring up their children in the nurture and admonition, the full and complete way of the Lord. When it comes to your child, its all about Him. That child ultimately will stand before their God and creator. It’s a parent’s job to make sure they are ready when that day comes.

Let’s wrap this up quickly. Notice what comes after Jesus returns

The Angel of the Lord Ascends – Judges 13:15-23

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

Surprising Goodbye

The next surprise for Manoah and his wife? Wait a minute that wasn’t just a prophet or a man with a message, that was the Angel of the Lord. Did you see what just happened?

Manoah kind of losing it at this point. “We’re going to die!” His wife, “Really? Then why did he accept the sacrifice and give us instructions on raising our son? I think you just need to calm down.”

This is once again how we know this is the Lord, in His pre-incarnate state, instructing Samson’s parents. He accepts their meal, but turns instead into a sacrifice, a burnt offering and then steps into the fire and ascends into heaven. Surprise! That was no mortal man.

He leaves them with His instructions and then goes back to heaven. It is up to the parents of Samson to follow those instructions and raise their son to be a Deliverer of Israel.

Surprising Responsibility

I don’t know if you noticed but appearances of the Lord are pretty rare. They have always been rare in the Old Testament, Jesus bodily was only for about 30 years in the Gospels and once again became very rare after that. The point is this, when the Lord returned to heaven, He didn’t intend to come back and take over raising Samson. That’s why He left instructions for Samson’s parents and for Christian parents today.

He will not come back to raise your children for you. That is one of the most important jobs he left for you to do. The good news is that you have a lot more instructions than Samson’s parents were given. You have the entire revelation of God in your Bible. It covers everything you need to live the life, serve the Lord and sanctify your children. It’s in the book!

And instead of getting our instructions on the family and child rearing from Dr. Spock, Tiger Moms, Helicopter Moms or even Free Range Parents, we need to go to the eternal, unchanging book of infallible instructions and then “Train up your child in the way, make it a capital W, The Way, he should go.” Train them up in The Way of the Lord, the Way of Faith, the way of the Truth, The Way of Love, the way of Salvation.”

Train them up! You have no more important calling as a Christian Parent than to bring your child to know and recognize the Lord when He calls. They should not be surprised when the Holy Spirit touches their heart and lets them hear the call of Jesus Christ to be their savior.

Lets close this.

 The Angel of the Lord’s Advocate – Judges 13:24-25

 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Surprise of Samson

The biggest of all the surprises was of course Samson himself. A surprise because his mother could birth a child after all those barren years, but also because of his incredible superhuman, supernatural strength given him by God and then finally the surprise no one wanted, Samson was a terrible judge and advocate for the Lord.

Yes, God would use him to begin the eradication of the Philistines but it would be left to Samuel, Saul, and ultimately David to finish that task.

Samson broke all his Nazarite vows. He drank wine, he took honeycomb from a dead lion’s carcass and finally, he let his hair be cut by the original femme fatale, Delilah. It took Samson’s repentance and his life to really hurt the Philistines but destroying their Temple of the sea god, Dagon with 3000 thousand of the lords and elites of Philistia.

Why did Samson turn out so opposite of what he should have been? We aren’t told but if I had to guess, I think it was something the parents did or didn’t do. We don’t have the details but we can surmise by the way he treats them, talks to them and the way they give into him when it comes to marrying a Philistine woman, that they didn’t “Train up their child in the way he should go.”

If I’m wrong about this, then you all remind me when we get to heaven and I’ll go find them both and apologize. There’s going to be a lot of pastors apologizing to a lot of Bible saints I’m afraid.

Samson’s parents fail to get Samson to live the dedicated life of a Nazarite, , but you know who didn’t fail in this same commandment and consecration. John the Baptist’s parents Zachariah and Elisebeth.

Luke 1:15-17 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

I think John the Baptist was a Nazarite also like Samson from his mother’s womb. He did not fail in living a dedicated, world denying, truth demonstrating life. He fulfilled all that God gave him to do.

Jesus gave John his highest praise in Luke 7:24-28 24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist…

Both parents were given instruction from heaven on raising their child, one failed to make it real in their son’s life, but the Zacharias and Elizebeth did not fail and John the Baptist, made straight the way of the Lord.

Surprise of Serving the Lord as Parents

Warren Wiersbe wrote this in his commentary on Judges, “When God wants to do something really great in His world, He doesn’t send an army but an angel. The angel often visits a couple and promises to send them a baby. His great plan of salvation got underway when He called Abraham and Sarah and gave them Isaac. When He wanted to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, God sent baby Moses to Amram and Jochebed and when in later years Israel desperately needed revival, God gave baby Samuel to Hannah. When the fullness of time arrived, God gave Baby Jesus to Mary; and that baby grew up to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

I doubt that anyone in this day and age will raise up another Samson or John the Baptist, but the stakes are just as high. We don’t know how God might use our child in His service. He may call them to pastor, to take the Gospel where it has never been heard, to serve faithfully in His house or just the call to salvation.

It is the task of Christian parents to prepare their children for that call of God, whatever and whenever it might be. It’s not enough to make sure they learn to read and write, do math or play sports. Those things only count for a short time and eternity is what you must prepare your children for.

LeeOra and I pray every single day, every single prayer that we utter, “Oh Lord be with our children as they raise our grandchildren! Don’t let this world corrupt and pollute their innocent lives. Don’t let Satan deceive them and rob them of the hope of salvation and eternal life.”

We pray for them but we can’t raise them. That is the parent’s calling and commission from the Lord, just as real and important as the calling given to Samson and John’s parents. Parents of Calvary Baptist Church, don’t let anything stand between you and the Lord’s command to “train up your children in the way.”

Conclusion

A Parent’s Prayer

Dear Lord, as I sit beside the bed of my child and watch their sleep, I am overcome by the blessing you have given to me.  How can something this precious be placed in my care?  How can this beautiful creation look at me with eyes so full of admiration and wonder?  How can I live up to the task of not losing that innocent beauty to a world that would destroy it?

Lord, the time I have is so limited and cluttered with demands and deadlines.  Yet when the deadlines pass I can't remember what made them so important.  While at my feet a child looks up and asks me to play ball or be their horsy, look at their latest crayon masterpiece or just hold them in my lap.  I know that I am the most important thing in the world to them.  When will I also realize that they must be the most important thing in all the world to me?

Lord, I know that someday they will walk away, no longer a child but a young man or young woman.  I understand I must release them either to You or to this world.  Will I have been the teacher you wanted me to be?  Will that child see in me the loving hand, the words of wisdom, the inexhaustible love of You, their Heavenly Father?  Help me to make the time to show my children your love for them through me.  Oh, my God if only one task I accomplish before my life is over, please let it be that my children will know You through me.

I ask this in the name of your own Son. Amen  -DKM 93'