he shall begin to save…

And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” (Jdg 13:3-5 ESV)

There are only a few times when an angel foretold the birth of a child.  Isaac, Samson, John the Baptist and Jesus are the only ones who come to mind at the moment.

As a parent, that has to do something to the way you think about your child.

Isaac was going to be the father of a great nation.  Samson was going to be a deliverer.  John was going to prepare the way for the Messiah and Jesus was to be the Messiah.  That has to change something in the way their parents raised them.

We are told that we are part of a priesthood – a holy nation set apart to God.  We are ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation.  We are peacemakers and children of God.  Check this out from Romans 8:

  • We are not condemned (vs 1)
  • We are free from sin and death (vs 2)
  • The Power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us (vs 9-11)
  • We are adopted and God is our father (He chose me!) (vs 15)
  • We are heirs with Christ (We are legitimate) (vs 17)
  • When bad things happen, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us (vs 35)
  • We have already won (No losers here!) (vs 37)
  • Nothing can separate us from His love (vs 38-39)

Shouldn’t that change something!

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Evil in the sight of the LORD …

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. (Jdg 13:1 ESV)

So often, we think we know what is best.  Best for ourselves, best for others, best in this world – politically, economically, in health, in relationships.  Yet the history of mankind seems to indicate that we are sadly mistaken the overwhelming majority of the time.

We just don’t know enough.

We decide based on our own knowledge and experience, but also on our fears, expectations, anger, bitterness, insecurity and a host of other emotions.  What we believe is best, is usually what we want or is the most comfortable or convenient.  Rarely do we see a best that is more beneficial to someone else while requiring a great sacrifice on our part.

We just don’t know ourselves enough.

In Star Trek, they had the Prime Directive.  This supreme command was in, around and over all other commands.  It was the idea that mankind just didn’t have enough information.  We zigged when we should have zagged.  We stood when we should have sat.  We walked when we should have run.

And we never seemed to see it until we put out our own eye.

The Prime Directive prohibited Star Fleet personnel from interfering in the natural development of another species or civilization.  Usually it meant “less developed” societies.

We don’t always have enough information.  We don’t always know enough.  But if we will follow God’s principles, even when they don’t make sense to us, He will make up the difference.

I get it wrong way more than I get it right, but it’s okay.  God’s got this.

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Again …

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. (Jdg 13:1 ESV)

What is it about mankind?  We just won’t stay fixed.  It seems that the surest sign that we are about to unravel is that things are going pretty good.

I think Mr. Incredible, from the Disney movie, The Incredibles expresses it well:

Fortunately, God never gives up on us even though we can’t seem to remember that He has already saved us.

 

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he was the son of a prostitute…

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” (Jdg 11:1-2 ESV)

Jephthah was the “black sheep” of the family.  He was told that he was unworthy – that he wasn’t even a part of the family.  His half brothers drove him away.  Wandering in exile, he was separated from his home . . .

until they needed him.

There will be some who don’t accept us.  There will be some who hold our past against us.  There will some who think we are not good enough.

But, they don’t speak for God.

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