2025 Bible Study Group

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 6

1 Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh; and Yahweh gave them into the hands of Midian seven years.

Notice how the text says this over and over again: Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. See how the narrative takes God's perspective into account. This narrative device will be used later in the book. Keep an eye out for it.

13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wondrous deeds which our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14Then Yahweh turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”

The Angel of the Lord visits Gideon and commissions him to save Israel from the Midianites. There are strong textual reasons to believe that this is an encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ. One, he is sitting under a tree when Gideon meets him. It is evocative of God meeting Abraham under the Oak of Mamre. Trees are highly theologically charged in the Bible. You had the two trees in the garden of Eden. You have the cross. I submit to you that the pillars in the Temple are symbolic of the trees in Eden, as the Temple is itself a reclamation of Paradise. Two, verse 14 straight up calls him YHWH.

Three, he accepts a sacrificial offering from Gideon. Messengers may represent those who sent them, but this does not mean they are entitled to all the rights of the one who sent them. You may pick a man to represent you for whatever reason, in matters of business, legal proceedings, etc. But this does not entitle him to everything you have. For example, he is not entitled to the rights of your spouse even though he represents you. In the same vein, God's representatives are not entitled to receive worship on God's behalf. Only God has the right to accept worship, which the Angel of the Lord does from Gideon.

15 But he said to Him, “O Lord, with what shall I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

Gideon sees that he is an unlikely choice to be Israel's savior. But it is this sort of irony that God works wonders in. God will use the weak to bring down the strong.

25 Now it happened on the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull aand a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the bAsherah that is beside it,

God commands Gideon to pull down the idols of his father's house. Like Peter says, judgement begins with the people of God. After Gideon does this, his father's people want to kill him for blasphemy. But Gideon's father sees that the idols are powerless to defend themselves and defends Gideon from the mob. Figuratively, the son becomes the father and the father becomes the son, to quote Superman.

33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34But the Spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.

The Midianites prepare to war against Gideon. Notice the language of verse 34. The Spirit of Jehovah clothed Gideon. He covered him. A Catholic lady friend of mine once asked me if I "had God's grace in my substance." I replied that God's grace has covered me.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 7

2 And Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel honor themselves, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Monergism is not just a strong theme in the New Testament only, but it is a strong theme in the Old Testament as well. Just as God will not allow you to boast of your own works as if they merited salvation, neither would He permit the Israelites to boast in themselves. Gideon had a large army but God wanted a smaller army so that it would be clear to the Israelites that it was not by their strength or might but by God's Spirit that He has already given them the victory over the Midianites. So God filters the army twice, cutting it's size down from 22,000, to 10,000, and finally to 300.

5 So he brought the people down to the water. And Yahweh said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set him aside by himself, and so also everyone who kneels to drink.” 6Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7And Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will save you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his place.”

The first test filtered out the cowardly, only the courageous remained. The second test filtered out those who would maintain their dignity and not lap water on their hands and knees as a dog would. In so doing, God impresses on us these qualities: courage and humility. Courage and humility are two concepts that do not go together in the world's thinking. Courage and pride are often confused for each other, as are humility and fearfulness. But in Christ, you are to have a courageous yet humble character. Even as Christ Himself exhibited perfect humility and perfect courage by taking on Himself the penalty for our sins and dying the death we deserved.

12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

Here is a "Hebraism." God's enemies are described as numerous as locusts, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. This is language that you see in Revelation. Both of locusts and of the dragon standing on the sand of the seashore.

15 Now it happened that when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”

Gideon starts off humble enough. He needs constant reassurance that God is with him. God gave Gideon signs to confirm His word that He would be with Gideon. There is no shame in this. If you lack faith, ask God and God will be gracious to give it to you.

20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and called out, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!”

Another Hebraism. Breaking the pitchers is a symbolic act of defeating your enemies. Elsewhere in the Bible, God is said to destroy His enemies as one smashes a pot. But there is a portent here. The battle cry glorifies Gideon as well as God. How could Gideon remain humble if he is given over to self-glory?

The Israelites overrun the Midianite camp and kill two of their princes. As you know, the Battle of Thermoplyae boasts of "300" Spartans battling against innumerable Persians, and the point that most people draw from that glorifies man, not God. But God's 300 was meant to glorify Him, not men.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 8

4 Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. 5And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6But the princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” 7And Gideon said, “Thus, when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

The men of Succoth were from the tribe of Gad. Gideon asked them to supply his army with bread but they refused. Since they were fellow Hebrews, there is no reason that they should refuse so Gideon threatens them with vengeance. The men of Penuel also do the same. Notice the thorn language. In the Hebrew mindset, thorns are symbolic of death.

There are some interesting parallels between Gideon and Moses and this is one of them. In Numbers, the Hebrews ask their distant relatives, the Edomites (remember that the Hebrews are descended from Jacob and the Edomites from Esau), if they can pass through their territory, which the Edomites refuse on pain of death. God added this to their list of sins, which eventually brought His judgment.

Another parallel is in the theophanies that they experience. Gideon's calling is very similar to Moses' calling. It's no wonder, since both men were the leaders of Israel in their time. I believe their similarities also underscore their eventual dissimilarities, Gideon would not prove to be as good of a leader as Moses did.

16 Then he took the elders of the city as well as thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

Gideon captures the two Midianite princes he was pursuing, and on his way back, he exacts revenge on the men of Succoth and Penuel. He "taught them a lesson" is a good translation. The underlying Hebrew reads something to the effect of "he learned them" as in "that'll learn ya."

20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth. 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and smite us; for as the man, so is his might.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.

Jether is another name for Jethro, who was Moses' father-in-law. Another connection between Gideon and Moses. Gideon tasks his son with killing the Midianite princes, but he is too weak to do it. So Gideon kills them after they taunt him and he takes spoil. Here is a marked difference between Gideon and Moses. When the Hebrews destroyed the Midianites in Numbers 31, they took spoil but Moses rebuked them and limited what they were allowed to keep, but Gideon shows no such discernment.

22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Yahweh shall rule over you.” 24Yet Gideon said to them, “I would make one request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil.” (For they had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

The Israelites want to make Gideon a king, and to his credit, Gideon refuses, reminding them that they already have a king, God. But Gideon does ask for gold instead. Notice that the Ishmaelites had crescent jewelry. The Ishmaelites were Arabs, and the Arabs worshiped the stars, as all the pagans did, but most especially the moon. To what extent this bled into Islam is debatable, but it makes sense when you consider that their sign is that of a crescent moon. Be careful that you glorify Christ with your lips and not deny Him with your actions. Instead of asking for more, Gideon should have said: "I am an unworthy slave, I have only done my duty." God is a greater rewarder than men could ever be. You do not need the reward of men, be content with the reward of God.

27 Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. 28So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Gideon takes the gold, jewelry, and purple garments and makes it into an ephod, and the people whored after it, what it represented, an earthly king. The ephod was normally associated with the priesthood but Gideon's ephod takes on a more kingly connotation. Despite this idolatry, the land was peaceful for 40 years.

33 Then it happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel turned back and played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34Thus the sons of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35nor did they show lovingkindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.

Forgetting their history, the Israelites are doomed to repeat it. After Gideon died, they commit idolatry again. They make an idol out of Baal-berith, the lord of the covenant, breaking covenant with the true Lord of the Covenant, Jehovah.

 

[Wutang]

Something I noticed is that in the Old Testament is how a lot of the figures that get chosen or anointed seem to make a big screw up at some point. There's Gideon making the priestly garments into an idol as shown above, David arranging for his officer to be killed so he could take his wife, Samson being seduced by Delilah etc. Yet thisey still were chosen though in the case of Saul he did lose his annointing. Does this have any sort of theological implication - specifically on how God brings his favor down on people that end up messing up later on?

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Something I noticed is that in the Old Testament is how a lot of the figures that get chosen or anointed seem to make a big screw up at some point. There's Gideon making the priestly garments into an idol as shown above, David arranging for his officer to be killed so he could take his wife, Samson being seduced by Delilah etc. Yet thisey still were chosen though in the case of Saul he did lose his annointing. Does this have any sort of theological implication - specifically on how God brings his favor down on people that end up messing up later on?

I believe in a general sense, it serves as a reminder that we are all sinners and fall short of God's glory. But I believe it more specifically functions as a thematic refrain. At the beginning of the Bible, God promises to send Christ to destroy Satan. Then whenever God would anoint a savior, they would come out swinging. You're meant to go, "Is this the one? Is this the Christ?" Then the saviors would show you their fatal flaw, and they would fall in some way. Then you understand that they're not the Christ and you are still looking forward to Him.

It is at this juncture that everyone else, especially the Jews, are still stuck in. They're still looking for the Christ but they can't find Him. Just as He says in John 7:34: "You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” So they invent for themselves idols. They make idols out of themselves. But the one true religion has the Christ revealed in the person of Jesus.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 9

1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and spoke to them and to the whole family of the household of his mother’s father, saying, 2“Speak, now, in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.”

Before he died, Gideon (Jerubbaal) had at least 70 sons from multiple wives and concubines. One of his sons, Abimelech who was born of a concubine, would grow up and become a villain to Israel.

You see this name Abimelech reoccur in the Bible. It can be a proper name or it can be a title or designation. But it is given to enemy kings of the Israelites. The original usage refers to the king who kidnapped Abraham's wife Sarah.

So Abimelech goes to his mother's side of the family, the people from Shechem, and he cuts a deal with them. He tells them that he will rule over them alone, rather than he along with Gideon's other sons, which they agree to. At least he is one of them they figured.

4 So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him. 5Then he came to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar which was in Shechem.

Abimelech sells out his brothers for seventy pieces of silver and killed them all. Sound familiar? You see how the flap of a butterfly can become a hurricane. Had Gideon followed God's ideal for marriage, he would have no concubines. No concubine, no Abimelech killing all his half-brothers. Only Gideon's youngest son, Jotham, survived because he hid himself. The Shechemites make Abimelech their king.

7 Then they told Jotham, so he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you....

Jotham makes a prophetic announcement against the Shechemites. They did evil to turn against the house of Gideon since Gideon had saved them from the Midianites decades prior. He also gives a parable of men as trees, asking for anything or anyone to be a king over them. The trees ask the olive tree to be their king, the olive tree refuses (think of Gideon). The trees then ask the fig tree to be their king, the fig tree refuses. The trees go further down and ask the vine to be their king, the vine refuses. Finally, the trees ask a bramble to be their king, which the bramble (Abimelech) accepts but threatens the trees to not cross him. It is a strange and peculiar truth that men would rather be slaves of Satan than freemen (eleutheroi) in Christ.

19 if then you have dealt in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, be glad in Abimelech, and let him also be glad in you.

You are meant to pick up on the irony and sarcasm in Jotham's pronouncement.

20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”

But this is where irony ends and only truth remains. God, through Jotham, is essentially saying, "You two deserve each other. May you destroy each other." If you've ever seen The Green Mile, you might remember the scene where John Coffey gives a demon to Percy Wetmore, who then goes and shoots Wild Bill and ends up in a mental institution as a result. This is very similar to how God works. He loves to use the wicked to destroy the wicked, smashing them against each other, canceling each other out. Two birds, one stone.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 9

22 And Abimelech governed over Israel three years. 23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

God sends an evil spirit between Abimelech and the Shechemites, to turn them against each other, because God intended to avenge the sons of Gideon on them both. The Shechemites pick a new man, Gaal, to be their champion against Abimelech. The leader of the Shechemites, Zebul, was still secretly loyal to Abimelech so he sent spies to report to Abimelech concerning Gaal. Abimelech and Gaal fight each other but Abimelech overpowers him and chases him off. Abimelech seems to be a strong warrior like his father, and he wipes out the Shechemites. He burned the last of them alive in the temple that they hid themselves in.

Then Abimelech went to another city called Thebez to conquer it. The city had a high tower that the people hid themselves in. Abimelech prepared to burn down the tower with them in it as he burned down the temple.

53 But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and she smashed his skull. 54Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and put me to death, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So the young man pierced him through, and he died. 55Then the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, so each went away to his home.

Here is another instance of the head-crushing fate reserved for God's enemies. A woman dropped a stone from atop the tower and it smashed Abimelech's head in. Not wanting to be known for being killed by a woman, he has his armor bearer put him out of his misery. Prideful to the very end. Abimelech’s forces then disband.

56 Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their own heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

Two horrific ways to go, for Abimelech and for the Shechemites, and God was the one behind it all. He fulfilled the curse that Jotham prophesied. This vengeful God has been sanitized out of much of modern Christianity, which tends to follow more the Greek philosophical god who does nothing about evil, and does nothing else really but float there. But the true God is a vengeful God and an orchestrator of dark fates. He will repay evil to the evildoer.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 10

1 Then after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

Two sets of judges rise, one after the other, to judge Israel. You then have 40ish years of peace. See a pattern? It reminds me of how in America, you will have 4 years of unrestrained leftist chaos, then 4 years of a semblance of sanity. Who can break the cycle?

13 Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.

Predictably, Israel breaks the covenant, abandons Yahweh, and turns to idols. So God gave them into the hand of their enemies, and let them get brutalized and oppressed. When they could bear it no longer, they cried out to God for help. He tells them that they should ask their idols for help instead.

15 Then the sons of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned, so You, do to us whatever seems good in Your eyes; only please deliver us this day.” 16So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh; and He could bear the trouble of Israel no longer.

The people do the right thing. They admit their guilt and they tore down their idols. Living on a prayer that God will save them, which God does. He will next raise up Jephthah to be their deliverer. Do not be afraid to admit your guilt before God, but be afraid to defend your innocence before Him.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 11

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead became the father of Jephthah. 2And Gilead’s wife 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."

The narrative is already setting the stage for irony. Jephthah was an outcast, even from his own family. But God will use him to deliver Israel from the Ammonites.

Why does the Bible employ so much irony? So that God may have the last laugh and that you would know that nothing is too hard for Him. God uses the weak to shame the strong and the simple to confound the wise. Nothing is too hard for Him.

But we are prone to wander, too easily tempted to believe that some things indeed are too hard for God and that we should take matters into our own hands, works over faith. So God's Word is replete with irony to constantly remind us and to constantly pull us back into the truth, that God is God and we are not.

The Israelite elders come to Jephthah and ask him to be their champion against the Ammonites. Jephthah chides them but he agrees, on the condition that he will also be a judge.

12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13Then the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; so now, return them peaceably.”

Jephthah sends back word to the Ammonite king, giving a brief recounting of Israel's exodus from Egypt, and how they wandered from land to land, being denied passage, how God gave it to them to fight Sihon and gave them his territory.

24 Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever Yahweh our God has taken possession of before us, we will possess it.

In other words, there is no neutrality. If Satan claims this world for himself and Jesus claims this world for Himself, there can be no neutrality. Only one can be left standing. As it was then, so it is today.

30 Then Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

Jephthah makes a vow to sacrifice to God in return for victory. He will sacrifice whatever comes out of the doors of his house first when he returns. Then Jephthah went and beat the Ammonites into submission.

So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. 34 Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35So it happened that when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me. But I have opened my mouth to vow to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.”

Jephthah's daughter is willing to be sacrificed, so as not to cause Jephthah to break his vow, nor break the Law (since it was unlawful to break a vow to God and vows must be honored). She gets two months to mourn her virginity, a life that could've been. Then after the two months, Jephthah did as he vowed.

My friends, this is why you must believe the Lord Jesus when He says "I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of the evil one."

Jephthah made a vow because he lacked faith. He said "if You will indeed give me victory..." So he dealt with God conditionally, tit-for-tat. In return, God dealt with him conditionally. You must believe that God is unconditional. He is gracious.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 12

One of Joseph's tribes, the Ephraimites come against Jephthah for not including them in his war against the Ammonites.

4Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim down because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” 5And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 6then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’ ” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not apronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim.

The Ephraimites call the Gileadites fugitives, in a threat that instigated the Gileadites, but the narrative then calls the Ephraimites fugitives after the Gileadites beat them into submission. Another twist of irony.

The word 'Shibboleth' is interesting. The word has changed meaning. It was used as a military password in this narrative (and as it has come to mean), but what it literally meant in the original context is a bit up in the air. The Ephraimite accent would give them away when they pronounced it. This is a good sign that the tribes were not only formally distinct, but even began to take on cultural distinctions as time went on. They all had come from Egypt in the Exodus, but Judges takes place over the course of the centuries following that.
https://forward.com/news/10474/an-ancient-shibboleth/

After this, Jephthah judged for 60 years in total then died. Another series of judges rise after him. Then Israel falls into idolatry and God gives them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years.

 

[GodfatherPartTwo]

Judges 13

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 had borne no children. 3Then the angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall be with child and give birth to a son.

Now we begin the story of Samson. His mother was barren and could have no children. She is then visited by the Angel of the Lord, who promises her she will have a son. This whole story recalls to mind Abraham and Sarah. One marked difference is that Samson's parents do not laugh at this prophecy. Being good Hebrews, they would've known how their people came to be, that God could grant birth even to a barren woman.

Psalm 113:9: He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord!

The Angel of the Lord tells her that she could not drink alcohol nor eat any unclean thing during her pregnancy nor cut Samson's hair for he was set apart, consecrated to be a Nazirite. The Nazirite vow was established when the Hebrews still wandered in the wilderness, in Numbers 6. The Nazirite vow was sometimes temporary, but Samson would be one from his birth to his death. Samson was also set apart to be a deliverer, a savior of the Israelites from the Philistines.

When the Angel of the Lord visited Gideon, there were strong reasons to believe that he was the pre-incarnate Christ. The reasons for believing that this visitation is a Christophany are even stronger.

The woman tells this to her husband, Manoah. Manoah then prays to God and asks him to send the Angel again. The Angel returns and Manoah's wife leads Manoah to the man. Manoah talks to the man, not knowing him to be the Angel (think of Hebrews 13: some have entertained angels unawares). Then Manaoah offers to give a young goat (presumably to eat) to the man, to which the man tells Manoah to sacrifice it to Jehovah instead.

17 Then Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?” 18But the angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

This is the strongest evidence that the Angel is God. The word "wonderful" has lost some of it's meaning due to common usage, where it has come to be a synonym for "really good." What it means here is that his name is incomprehensible. Scripturally speaking, only God is wonderful, incomprehensible.

19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to Yahweh, and He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20Indeed, it happened when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife saw this, so they fell on their faces to the ground.

I always get chills when I read this. See how the Angel mingles himself with the sacrifice? It blurs the lines between Sacrifice and God. It prophetically signifies the cross. Manoah and his wife fall on their faces in worship. It is glorious.

21 Now the angel of Yahweh did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh. 22So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.” 23But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh had desired to put us to death, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”

When Moses asked to see God, God told him, "You may not see my face, for no one shall see Me and live." But He allowed Moses to glimpse Him through the cleft of the rock as He passed by. We can glimpse Him, as it were, through the Law; He is partially revealed. But the Law prevents us from coming to Him due to our sinfulness so He comes to us by Grace. It is only through Grace, God becoming your sacrifice, that you may see Him as He fully is. To this, John says "No man has seen God at any time, except for the Son who is Himself God and at the Father's side, He has revealed Him" and "the Law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ."