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Day 64 Judges 13:1 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 bear 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 did 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 showed 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 spoke 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 anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.” 15 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 honor?” 18 And the Angel of the LORD said unto him, “Why ask 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 showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these. Doubt keeps people from believing in God and His power. People believe what they see and touch. The Angel of the LORD came to a man’s wife and told her she would have a child who would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. The woman told her husband, Manoah, who prayed for the man of God to appear to them again. When He did, Manoah realized they talked with God face to face when He accepted his offering and disappeared in the flame of the altar. As Christians, you look for signs that Jesus will do what He said He would do for you. Satan brings doubt that Jesus would do what He said. Yet, Jesus never failed to do anything He promised. Manoah proved the Angel of the LORD, the pre-incarnate Christ. When He accepted the offering, then Manoah knew He talked with God, not an angel, and feared he would die. Yet, his wife told him not to fear because He would not show them what to expect if He would kill them. Too often Christians try to prove that what God told them is real or their imagination. You need to trust God and let Him work in your life His will and you will see God’s provision and presence in your life. Let’s pray: Father, help me know when You speak with me. Show me Your will for my life and act upon what You tell me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 16 August 2021 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay.