Judges 13:15–25

Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”

And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.)

Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”

And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD.

And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”

But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, 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 told us such things as these at this time.”

So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Manoah tries to respond to the Angel’s commands with hospitality. He recognizes the Angel as an authority and is willing to follow his commands. But the Angel is more than just an authority; He’s the author of all things. It’s time for the big reveal.

So, He declines the offer of a feast by suggesting a sacrifice to the LORD. Manoah is happy to do that but stays curious. “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”

The Angel’s response is puzzling. “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

It seems that the Angel is refusing to answer Manoah’s question.

But what happens next answers it better than words ever could.

This scares the bejeebers out of Manoah and he thinks they’re about to die, but his wife does an impressive job of applying logic. Their dying now wouldn’t fit what just happened.

She’s known from the get-go that whatever this is, it’s definitely some kind of blessing.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.