Jim Gallagher

Judges 13:4-5

“Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

The book of Judges emphasizes the low moral and spiritual standards in Israel at that time. We find that the people picked up idols and actions from the surrounding nations. It is with that backdrop that we are introduced to a godly couple who had yet to be blessed with children. By all accounts, Manoah and his wife were living exemplary lives: she lived by the Nazarite vow, they offered sacrifice to God and they gave godly, biblical counsel to their growing son. Sadly, however their son…