[ One-Verse Meditation]

Judges 13:22-23 (NIV)

“‘We are doomed to die!’ he said to his wife. ‘We have seen God!’ But his wife answered, ‘If the LORD had intended 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.’”

[Meditation]

After hearing that his son would be a Nazirite dedicated to God to save Israel, Manoah asks the angel of the LORD for his name. The angel reveals his name as ‘Wonderful’ before ascending to heaven in the flames of the sacrifice Manoah and his wife had offered. Not having realized he was the angel of the LORD until then, Manoah finally understands and is terrified, saying he is sure to die because he has seen God. But his wife says otherwise. She reasons that if the LORD had intended to kill them, He would not have given them the promise. In other words, she is saying that all of this is in God’s time.

Manoah’s knowledge was certainly not wrong. As a man full of sin, he would surely die if he saw the holy God. However, Manoah could not see the grace of God that transcends his knowledge. His wife, on the other hand, saw God working as the ‘Wonderful’ One—the One who transcends our understanding and ability, the One who is distinct from us. The work of that ‘Wonderful’ One is the death on the cross and the resurrection from the empty tomb.

The Bible records that the woman who believed the promise of this ‘Wonderful’ One finally gave birth to a son. This is the life-giving confession that bursts forth from the life of one who knows the gospel and believes in the work of the ‘Wonderful’ One: “The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.”

[Prayer]

Lord, I look to You, who came as the ‘Wonderful’ One and work in ways that transcend my thoughts. Today, sustained by Your Word, let me step forward in faith, anticipating the works You will perform. Amen.
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(Daily Reading)

Judges 13:15-14:4