3 Things God looks for in people he wants to choose.
The Book of Judges Chapter 131 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. 2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’” 8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” 9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!” 11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?” “I am,” he said. 12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?” 13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.” 15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” 16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.) 17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” 18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.[a]” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. 22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” 23 But his 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 now told us this.” 24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Sampson gets a lot of the recognition. He’s the one in the children's coloring book going ape on a lion, he’s gets all the shine during dating sermons at churches, he’s the character with the prestige television like story arc. But Sampson - for all his notoriety was honestly a terrible Judge, and we learn alot from his misadventures and shortcomings, more so than his actions and example of faith. Instead, today I want to focus on a beautiful story, one I think is even more powerful than that of Sampson - and that is the one of a man of Zora, Manoah, and his wife who remains unnamed in the story. And I want to answer 1 question today: What type of people does God choose? And before I even start speaking … site a minute and think through that question.... A quick recap of the Book of Judges: 3:7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord 3:12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord 3:15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord 4:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord 6:1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord 10 6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord Finally 13:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord As we jump into Judges 13 and Israel is continuing their ongoing cycle of rebellion, a cry for God’s mercy, and God’s incredible display of patience. And even as the nation of Israel is in their downward spiral we see this couple display 3 important qualities of people that God seeks and God uses to fulfill his purposes. Verse 8: Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us” Manoah and his wife may not have even understood what the calling God had on their life was fully, but we see here their response was of obedience. They sought to know what it was that the messenger wanted for them to do, and to learn how to do it. We have some evidence and examples of the life of a Nazerite, and their lives now included at least the sacrifices of habits and diets - and probably more likely included holistic dedication to a new cause for their lives. I can’t even go without dairy for a week even though I'm lactose. What type of person does God use? I firmly believe God wants to use people ready to be instructed and led to doing the good things he has in store for them. Verse 10: The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! Twice the messenger shows up, and both times Manoah’s wife drops what she is doing to go tell her husband that the messenger was there. This shows an incredible amount of hospitality, and reverence. We see several examples of an urgency in hospitality in Scripture
How often do we drop what we are doing for others? How often do we drop what we are occupied with when God shows up in our lives? I watched a hallmark movie last night, and (synopsis) there was a guy who met this girl at a Christmas festival - they hung out for 6 hours, then I guess when he needed to show up and seal the deal, he bailed on her because he had his own thing going on. 28 years later they meet each other again; there’s tension, there’s hijinks, and strangely a hashing out long overdue build up of feelings. Ultimately he’s presented with another opportunity to leave the now fully grown woman who’s holding onto the memory of their Christmas festival encounter from 3 decades ago, and this time he makes the right choice not to take the photography job in Alaska, but instead stay with the woman - and fall in love I guess? Much like the generic male actor from the Hallmark movie, I firmly believe God wants us to drop our own agendas, priorities and preferences to help others around us. And I believe if we become a people who learn to be hospitable, we will find love (just kidding - it's literally 2:21am) What type of people does God use? I firmly believe God wants to use people who drop their own agendas, priorities and preferences - so they can be vessels of relentless desire to service others. Verse 15: Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” I am not sure if this one is going to stick out, but we’ll see. I can’t stop reading this phrase , “we would like you to stay.” It’s very close to the previous hospitality idea, but yet so different. It’s as if now that the guest is there, they understand the value of them being there, and now they want to, in reverence, respond in whatever way they can. It's different from hospitality, but strangely similar. In the same hallmark movie, the guy character was so so enamored by the lover he had spurned 28 years ago. He spends a full 2 hours doing everything to get her back. Today, we don’t offer sacrifices like Manoah and his wife, but we can offer our lives. When’s the last time you thought about your life - not just your time, or resources, or skills - But yourself? - I’m talking about your emotions, and desires, your actions - as something that should be offered up on the altar for God.. What type of people does God use? I firmly believe God uses the type of people who are ready to place their own lives on the altar so God’s name can be praised. Alright - So what type of people does God use? “I beg you God to come again to teach us.” People who are ready to be instructed and led - Desperately looking to God for direction on what to do. “Hurry when you are here” People who are ready to be hospitable - Drop their own agenda for the chance to serve. “We would like you to stay until we can place something on the altar for you.” People who are willing to sacrifice - Ready to be “set apart” - there’s a Nazarite analogy or something here but, I’ll leave it alone for now.
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