In the Flame
June 15, 2025
“In the Flame”
Blessings folk!
Manoah and his wife desired to provide a meal for the man of God.
The man told them that he would not eat, but they could offer a sacrifice to the Lord.
This they do…
Judges 13:19-25
So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.
And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar,
the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar.
Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife.
Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.
And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”
But his wife said to him,
“If the LORD had meant to kill us,
he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands,
or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”
And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson.
And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him.
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan,
between Zorah and Eshtaol.
ESV
The Lord, the One Who works wonders, consumed the offering with fire!
Not only did He consume it.
He went up in the flame of the altar!
Imagine for a moment.
You are watching a food offering being consumed by a spontaneous fire from the Lord.
Then, the man joins with the fire and ascends!
They then knew it was the angel of the Lord.
Manoah freaked.
He knew they would die because they had seen God.
His wife, coolly knew better.
- The Lord could have killed them anytime.
- The Lord would not have accepted their offerings if He wanted to kill them.
- The Lord would not have shown them the things He did if he wanted to kill them.
- The Lord would not have announced these things…the baby, etc.
The baby is born.
A boy.
They named him “Samson”…”sun child”.
Hummm…
Echo of the culture and society.
Not a good sign.
Samson grew.
Samson was blessed by the Lord.
Then, Samson was stirred by the Spirit of the Lord…