π 26 November 2025
π BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
π Daily Bible Reading
βοΈ Judges 13 β A Child of Promise
β¨ The Birth of Samson β How God Plants Hope in Hopeless Times
π Read online here
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π΅ Introduction
Judges 13 opens in a dark time.
Israel is living under the rule of the Philistines.
There is oppression, spiritual weakness, and deep hopelessness.
And right there, God begins to moveβ
not through a king,
not through an army,
but through a family no one was paying attention to:
An infertile couple.
Where human possibility ends, Godβs beginnings often break forth.
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π‘ Commentary
Israel had once again fallen into the old pattern that shaped their history:
unbelief, turning away from God, and oppression by their enemies.
Forty years under the Philistinesβa heavy cloud of helplessness lay over the people.
In these difficult days lived Manoah and his wife in the town of Zorah.
Their life was quiet, simple⦠and overshadowed by one deep pain:
they had no children.
In their culture, infertility meant not only longing but shameβ
a life that felt like a closed future.
And right here, something extraordinary happens.
One day, the angel of the Lord appears to Manoahβs wife.
Not in a temple.
Not to a prophet.
But to a woman who likely felt small, overlooked, and insignificant.
His words fall like sunlight into a locked heart:
βYou will conceive and bear a son.β
But this child would not be an ordinary child.
He would be a Nazirite, consecrated to God from the wombβ
set apart for divine purpose.
No razor was to touch his head.
He would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
The woman runs to Manoah and tells him everything.
Overwhelmed, Manoah prays:
βLord, let the man of God come again, so we may learn what to do with the child.β
God listens.
The angel appears againβfirst to the woman, then to Manoah.
Manoah asks:
βWhat shall the boyβs rule of life and mission be?β
The answer is striking:
The angel does not repeat the childβs mission.
He repeats the parentsβ responsibility:
purity, obedience, preparation.
Samsonβs calling begins with his parentsβ surrender.
Manoah wants to prepare a meal for the messenger, not knowing he is speaking with the angel of the Lord.
The angel refuses to eat and directs him instead to offer a burnt offering to God.
Then Manoah asks:
βWhat is your name?β
The angel replies:
βWhy do you ask my name? It is wonderful.β
Manoah offers the goat and grain offering.
And then the miraculous happens:
As the flame rises from the rock altar,
the angel of the Lord ascends in the fire.
Manoah and his wife fall on their faces.
Manoah fears death, convinced they have seen God.
But his wife answers with calm, Spirit-given wisdom:
βIf the Lord desired to kill us, He would not have accepted our offering.β
The story ends with a simple yet powerful conclusion:
The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.
And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.
Out of darkness rises hope.
Out of an infertile woman comes a deliverer.
With Samson, Godβs quiet but unstoppable rescue begins.
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π’ Summary
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Israel suffers under the Philistines for 40 years.
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An infertile couple receives a divine visitation.
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The angel announces Samsonβs birthβa child consecrated to God.
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Manoah seeks guidance; God answers.
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A miraculous sign follows as the angel ascends in the flame.
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Samson is born, blessed, and stirred by the Spirit.
God begins salvation long before anyone sees change.
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π’ Message for us Today
1. God often begins where we come to an end.
Whatever feels barren or hopeless in your life can become the soil for new beginnings.
2. God works in quiet places.
No stage, no spotlightβjust an unknown couple.
God delights in small beginnings.
3. Calling begins with surrender.
Samsonβs mission started with the obedience of his parents.
Holiness begins in the heart.
4. Godβs plans exceed human understanding.
Manoah wanted details.
God said, βMy name is wonderful.β
We donβt need full clarity to fully trust.
5. God sees your today and your tomorrow.
Samsonβs task was known before his birth.
Your life also fits into a divine storyβand God sees more than you do.
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π¬ Thought Prompt
Which βbarren placeβ in your life might be the very place where God is planting the first seeds of new hope?
Perhaps where you expect the least,
the angel of the Lord is already whispering.
Stay open.
Stay obedient.
Stay ready.
God begins rescue stories with people who believe
that He is at work even in the unseen.
~~~~~ βοΈ ~~~~~

