The following is a study of Judges 13 and how it relates to married women called into ministry.
Judges 13 (King James Version)
1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
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 bare not.
Manoah was from the tribe of Dan. His name actually comes from a word that speaks of being a man who is settled at home, quiet, and peaceful. It would not be an assumption to say that he was a Godly man but very content not pursuing anything great for the kingdom of God other than just doing his daily chores and providing a home for his wife hoping to one day be blessed of the Lord with children to carry on his name for his inheritance.
3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
It is interesting to note that the angel of the Lord came to the woman, and not the man. You can well imagine how her heart must have longed for a child and that longing and reached the throne of God and his compassion and mercy was seen in the events to follow. Notice that the woman never questioned the angel of Lord but accepted this divine visitation without question knowing in her heart that this was indeed an answer to her prayer. A woman's prayers are important to God. He hears the prayers and longings of women who pray for their families. We will see this more clearly has the story unfolds.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
The woman had a word from the Lord. She was eager to share it with her husband, full of expectation for what was about to unfold in her life. Notice that her prayer and was one that would benefit her husband because without offspring his name would not be carried on and there would be no one to receive his inheritance. in knowing the customs and ways of her people, She not only wanted a child to fill the longing of her soul, she longed for a child that would bless her husband with a name to carry on the family. If one would take the time to research the importance of generations among the children of Israel, it would be easily understood that a man whose wife was barren wasa man who was cursed. However, this precious woman wanted nothing but the best for her husband, she wanted his name to be known throughout generations to come, she wanted his reputation to be good, and she wanted to be the source of abundant blessing to her husband. The only way the longing of her soul could be eased was to give her husband a child. She not only had purpose, but her prayers were for her husband to receive everything that the Lord had promised the children of Israel. And there is much to be said about prayer with purpose that is dedicated to our husband's success.
8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
As we see in so many cases, this husband was not convinced of his wife's experience with the angel of the Lord. He prayed and asked the Lord for confirmation of his wife's explanation of what had happened. And the Lord was quick to oblige as he wanted this husband to understand the purposes of his wife in this "ministry".
Take a moment to reflect on what has transpired thus far: the wife longed for something which would not only fulfill her purpose, but which would ultimately bring blessing to her husband and generations to follow; the Lord heard her prayer, and a supernatural encounter took place confirming in God's answer to her prayer; she went to share this "calling" with her husband and immediately he asked the Lord for confirmation; and, the Lord confirmed what she was saying was true . . . He revealed to him the mission and purpose of his wife.
It is a known fact that men as a rule are driven by facts rather than emotion! That is not to say that they are not spiritually sensitive by any means, but that because their logic is based more on fact, they are generally suspect of women's emotional responses even when it comes to things of the Lord. We see this in this chapter . . . his wife had a supernatural encounter and rather than taking her word for it, he went to the Lord and asked for confirmation. It is interesting, however, that all the way through this account he attempts to apply natural responses to a supernatural calling and purpose.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
God responded to the husband's prayer through his wife. It is interesting to note that a divine purpose for this family was revealed to woman, a command for purity and being set up part for God's purposes was directed to the woman, and her husband, although he was an integral part of the manifestation of this "calling" or "mystery", he was reluctant to accept it at face value even though it was a response to his cry to the Lord for a blessing!
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
Confirmation from the Lord appeared to the woman as she went to get her husband so that he, too, could understand what she had been called to do in response to his prayer to the Lord for a child - the blessing that would grant him favor in his family and community.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
The angel of the Lord gave the husband no new revelation. He repeated what he had told the wife and confirmed to him what was about to transpire and what was required of his wife.
We do not have a situation of an "unbelieving" husband, he readily sought the Lord for confirmation of what his wife had been told. But we have what happens in many situations where the wife has an encounter with the Lord and is called for a specific purpose but that the husband questions God and seeks for confirmation.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
And the husbands response and was one that showed limited understanding of his wife's purpose. And immediately he wanted to honor the visitor with a sacrifice because he did not know or recognize that this was an angel of the Lord. He was obviously grateful that his wife had this encounter and that he would be blessed as a result of his wife's "calling" to be a mother, however, he failed to recognize this as a divine appointment or an anointing or a calling.
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
Many times the husband will acknowledge a wife's ministry, but they do not understand the extent and the purpose and the anointing. They do not understand that God's calling on their wife is direct response to their prayer for the Lord's blessing on themselves and their family. Their response is to be happy that the wife had an encounter with God, but they can't see that the Lord has called and set apart his wife for purposes beyond the obvious family responsibilities. They, at times, even see themselves being fruitful and being blessed but they fail to see the divine appointment that brings forth the blessing and how it comes through the wife's calling.
18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
Here we see where this husband failed to see this as a supernatural encounter. He saw it with his natural eyes a rather than in the spirit. And, his response a natural response rather than a spiritual one.
19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
It wasn't until this point when the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar that this husband recognized this as a divine encounter.
God will confirm his calling and anointing on the life of the wife when the husband stops looking for natural reasons for the blessing and begins to appreciate the spiritual and divine encounter as confirmation of the wife's ministry. It is very easy to see that if the angel of the Lord had not done "wondrously", this husband would not have recognized the specific calling through a divine appointment of his wife.
21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
Even at this point, it's curious that there may have still been some doubt in the mind of Manoah. It was not until the angel of the Lord disappeared and did not return that the husband recognized this as truly an encounter with the Lord.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
Forgetting the purpose for this encounter with the angel of the Lord, this husband's response was once again a natural response rather than spiritual. Although he had bowed his knee and worshiped the Lord for the things that his wife had been told would happen, there was still this element of doubt or he would not have feared dying because of this encounter with the Lord. His natural reason superseded his spiritual understanding. In other words, why would he fear dying if he truly understood the scope of his wife's calling. If he truly believed the word of the Lord to his wife that she would bare a son, he would have responded to this encounter with the angel of the Lord much differently.
23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
This wife never doubted the word of the Lord, she never doubted her calling and stood closely to her husband helping him to understand what was happening. She did not ridicule him for not grasping the reality of her calling, but gently and with wisdom allowed him the room to come to this understanding on his own. It did not happen overnight. And, in fact, until the evidence was seen in his wife that she was indeed with child, he must have had doubt as to the validity of what his wife was called to do.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
The good news is that the word of the Lord was proven as she bare a son just as the angel of the Lord had told her. And her husband's doubt did not change what she had been anointed and appointed do. Her response to her husband was always gentle yet with wisdom she sought the Lord on his behalf that he would understand what the Lord had revealed to her as our purpose through this divine encounter. She manifested grace in her relationship with her husband not demanding that he understand the depth of this encounter. She held the truth of her calling in her heart without doubt and continued to walk each day by faith as her husband was working through his own issues with doubt and unbelief. She never approached her husband demanding that he just accept what she had been appointed to do but she dealt with him with wisdom and grace. She trusted the Lord to reveal to him her purpose and calling and allowed the Lord to deal with her husband in his own time and according to his own ways. Even when there was evidence of unbelief after he had met with the angel of the Lord, she held it silently in her heart knowing that God would confirm everything to her husband in his time.
Please note also that throughout this entire chapter, the wife of Manoah was never named. The Hebrew language attributes meaning to names, and in an effort not to categorize the type of woman his wife was or to place limits on the scope of the ministry to which she is called, she remained nameless throughout this story. Regardless of what her background was, regardless of her personality, and regardless of the origin of her name, she was called of God for a specific purpose. Manoah, on the other hand, struggled with the understanding this calling as being a divine appointment. It's not that he didn't believe his wife, but that he did not understand God's purposes that would be manifest through her life as she walked in the calling and anointing of the Lord. It's very possible he didn't understand how God would bring blessing to the family through the wife rather than through himself as the head of the household.
Many times a man who is quiet and content with his life fails to recognize God's purposes for his wife that are beyond his understanding. God will, however, revealed to the husband what his purpose was for his wife. It may take many signs and more than one encounter with God to open the eyes of a man who, like Manoah, is content to be just a man of God quietly working to provide for his wife. It may not be until the evidence of God's calling can be seen in his wife as Manoah obviously saw the signs of pregnancy as she fulfilled God's purposes for her. It is never the wife's place to demand that her husband see what God has called her to do but she is to be as Manoah's wife dealing with her husband peacefully and with wisdom, sharing with Him openly, and walking full of grace to help him to share in the blessings that come as a result of God's calling.
God's calling and anointing will always be confirmed as his gifts and callings are without repentance. A wife should never struggle, argue, or strive for her husband to acknowledge and recognize God's calling in her life. A Godly woman of virtue and faith will pray for her husband and gently help him to see the same thing that God has revealed to her when his purposes for her were made it known. She will not be aggravated or frustrated because he cannot see her purpose or level of her ministry, but she will continue to walk above reproach in her relationship with her husband as God meets with him and gives him the confirmation he desires regarding his wife's calling.
You can well imagine the response of Manoah when his wife gave birth to her son. The manifestation of God's promise to her was the source of much blessing to him. As he looked upon the tiny child in her arms, it would be easy to assume that he would reflect back on the encounter with the angel of the Lord as he revealed God's purposes for his wife to him wondering why he ever doubted the word of the Lord!
25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
No comments:
Post a Comment