The Birth of Samson - The Book of Judges

In this Bible Story, Samson is born, and God grooms him to be a mighty judge over Israel against the Philistines. Samson was raised to drink no wine or strong drinks, eat only clean foods, and abstain from cutting his hair. This story is inspired by Judges 13. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Judges 13:5 from the King James Version.

Episode 66: Israel, revealing the issue deep in their heart by drawing close to their sin once again, is now captive to the Philistines. Within that captive nation exists a man named Manoah. He and his wife had no children. But as we have seen, barrenness is no obstacle for God. He appears to Manoah’s wife and tells them they will have a son who will rescue Israel. Manoah and his wife, like many of us today, show profound gratitude for this gift from God and ask Him how they should raise the boy, trusting in God and doing their best to bring Samson up in a way that will honor Him.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray for lo thou shalt conceive and bear
a son, and no razor shall come upon 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. Judge Is thirteen five,

(00:21):
Dear Heavenly Father, just like Samson and Judges thirteen, I
know I too have been called to be set apart.
I will not treat myself as common, because you have
created me to be extraordinary, like extraordinary athletes that require
extraordinary training. I realize that my life is no exception. Therefore,

(00:45):
when my feet touched the ground, I will first connect
my heart and soul to your incredible power. I will
shift my mind and increase my faith, because as I
walk with You, all things become possible. I declare that
I have been marked for greatness. I declare that the

(01:07):
way I choose to live my life will be in
proportion to the anointing and calling I'm stepping into. I
will no longer compare myself to others, because what God
is doing in my life cannot be imitated. I am
one of a kind. I'm not afraid to be different

(01:27):
and do different if it means that I'll be able
to experience a life completely different from others. I have
been marked for greatness, and I accept that life in Jesus' name. Amen.
Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.

(01:49):
Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
in a Year, brought to you by Bible in a
Year dot com The.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Birth of Samson. In our last story, we peered into
the life of the outcast Jephtha. He was a forgotten
bastard son who led Israel out of captivity from the Ammonites. However,
he made a promise to God that he would sacrifice
the first thing he saw after battle. Little did he

(02:27):
know it would be his daughter. So Jephtha mourned and
was remembered for his foolishness. In this story, we learn
of Israel's disobedience and need for another hero. This time,
God prepares the way for another hero, a hero that
would be stronger than all the others combined. Yet his

(02:47):
story would be a mixture of heroism and tragedy. Inspired
by the Book of Judges.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
heard the tragic story of Jephtha, a mighty warrior who
led Israel in victory against the Ammonites, but whose impulsive
and foolish promise cost him his daughter, his only child.
Though Jephtha is remembered as a hero of the faith
in Hebrews, he is also remembered for this crazy vow

(03:19):
and the high price that he paid and his family paid,
because he kept a vow that he should never have made.
Today we'll hear how Israel disobeyed God again and needed
a new hero to rescue them, a new deliverer, a
judge by the name of Samson. Samson doesn't come onto
the scene as a full grown man ready to be

(03:39):
the people's man, the people's hero. We'll get to see
his story from the beginning, from his birth and how
God chose him for a very special purpose. But more
than anything, today's story is one of grateful parents to
be who seek God's wise counsel for how to raise
the child they are about to bring into the world.
So let's listen now to today scripture.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Like moths to a flame, Israel drew close to their sin.
They had an insatiable appetite for idolatry. Their lewdness reflected
a sickness that plagued man since the Garden of Eden,
God would allow them to be held captive by the Philistines.
Their captivity to the Philistines reflected a greater captivity in

(04:24):
their hearts. Their own sin enslaved their souls, and the
Philistines enslaved their bodies. For forty years, they lived in misery.
During this time, there was a man of Zora named Manoah.
Manoah and his wife were childless, for his wife was barren.
Yet God had a plan for them. An angel of

(04:46):
God met Manoah's wife and said to her, you will
conceive a son in due time, and when you do,
he will live a life set apart for me. He
will have no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.
No razor shall come upon his head, for he shall
be a Nazarite of God. For I shall rise him

(05:07):
up to be a conquering hero, and he will do
great things to liberate Israel from the Philistines. The woman
ran to her husband and told him of the visitation
from a strange man. Manoah prayed to God for guidance
and wisdom, imploring that the angel visit again to give
them more insight. God answered, and the Angel appeared again

(05:28):
to the woman. She ran back to her husband, saying, look,
the man from before is here. So Manoah ran to
go greet him. Are you the one who spoke to
my wife before, Manoah asked. The Angel of God nodded
and said it was so. Manoah knelt before him and
begged him to stay longer. How shall we raise our child,

(05:51):
Manoah asked, for they had dreamed of being parents, and
if their son was to be a hero, they wanted
to be faithful. So God instruct Manoah as he did
to his wife previously. He would have no wine or
strong drink. He would eat clean foods and never cut
his hair or face. God wanted to groom a warrior

(06:11):
unlike any other before him. Please stay with us awhile,
Manoah asked, he will have a feast and make a
burnt offering to you, and the Angel of the Lord
refused the food, but remained for the sacrifice made to
the Lord. Manoah did not know he was speaking to
God himself, so he asked the Angel a simple question

(06:32):
with profound implications. What is your name? Manoah asked. God
looked upon Manoah as a father would a child. Why
do you ask me my name? God asked, It is wonderful.
He said the name Wonderful would be prophesied as the
name of the Messiah. Hundreds of years later, Manoah and

(06:52):
his wife laid an offering down at the altar of God.
They watched as the flames danced in front of them.
It was night, and the light of the fire drew
them in close. Then, in a rush, like the wind
was pushing the flames upwards, the Angel of the Lord
rose up with the smoke and disappeared into the sky.
Manoah and his wife fell on their faces, finally realizing

(07:16):
who it was they were speaking to. The Lord will
surely kill us, since we have seen him. Manoah trembled.
If he wanted to kill us, we would be dead.
His wife replied, God would not visit them in this
way again. The two conceived and bore a child. They
named him Samson. The young boy grew into a strong man.

(07:39):
God blessed Samson in everything, and his strength was unmatched
by any one in the land. Year by year God
groomed him. He abstained from drinks that would dwindle his wits,
and he abstained from foods that would weaken his body.
He did not shave and lived in the land under
the training in favor of God.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
For one day he.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Would be called upon to save all of Israel.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
We begin today's story with Israel once again in sinful
rebellion against God. They turned to other gods little gods
know gods at all idols, and they began to do
evil in the sight of the Lord. God gave them
over to the Philistines for forty years. But this time
we don't hear the people crying for the help of God.

(08:30):
So God begins preparing a mighty leader among them. And
it starts with a couple who are unable to have children,
and God chooses to bless them with a son. Manoah
and his wife were clearly God fearing, righteous people. They
were about to be chosen to raise a boy who
would become a great man in Israel. So when an

(08:52):
angel from God appeared to Manoah's wife, she listened carefully
to what he told her. It was joyous news. A
child come into their family and he wouldn't be just
any child. The Angel gave her strict instructions for how
she was to eat and drink while she carried the child,
as well as how he was to be raised to
be set apart as a Nazarite. Manoah's wife runs to

(09:16):
tell her husband the amazing news and the instructions that
she had received. His response is such a great example
for any expecting parent. We read it in Judges three
to eight. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said,
O Lord, please let the man of God whom you
sent come again to us and teach us what we're

(09:37):
to do with the child who will be born. He
had just received the best news of his life. Not
only a child, but a son was coming. Manoah knew
that his child would fulfill a very special purpose. So
what does he do? He once again seeks God and
asks for direction and instruction. What a wonderful thing it

(09:58):
is for any parent to be to ask God for
guidance and to pray that he would enable us to
raise our children for a righteous purpose. That's exactly what
Manoah and his wife did, and God honored their request,
sending his angel once more to instruct them. Manoah invited
the angel to stay and eat with them, and the

(10:19):
angel told them that he would not eat, but would
stay while they made a sacrifice to the Lord. Manoa
then asked the angel his name, so that they could
honor this angel. And the angel's reply is prophetic, for
he says his name is wonderful. It is a title
that will be given one day to the Messiah, the
Wonderful counselor the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. So this

(10:44):
was no angel. This was a pre incarnate appearance of Jesus,
what we know in theology as a theophany, an appearance
of God in the Old Testament, when the flames of
the offering leap into the sky, and his wife watch
as the angel goes up into the heavens with the flames.
Realizing that they've seen God, they fall in adoration, the

(11:07):
only proper response to an encounter with God. The child
is born and his name is Samson. His parents follow
all the instructions, and he grows stronger and stronger and stronger.
He will become a superhero of sorts, a legend, a
strong man like no other. God will use Samson in

(11:29):
a mighty way despite his failings and weaknesses, and we're
going to hear more of his story the next time.
Dear God, we do thank you for the example of
Samson's parents, godly parents who sought You and your wisdom
and guidance for the raising of their child. Help us
to do the same, as we want to bring up
our children in the nurture and in the training of

(11:52):
the Lord. Give us wisdom, Lord to be faithful parents,
to set the right example, and to bring up our
children to love and serve You. You in Jesus' name, Amen,
Thank you once again for listening to today's Bible in
a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham, pastor of the Prestonwood
Baptist Church in the Dallas area here in Texas, and

(12:15):
I want to encourage you to download Theprey dot com
app and make this time together in God's Word a
priority in your life. Tell other people about it, encourage
your family and friends about this podcast. And by sharing
this podcast, you can make a difference in someone's life.
You might even be the one who leads that person

(12:37):
to a personal faith in Christ. Because Christ is in
the Bible, and the Bible is all about Jesus. If
you want to know more about the Lord, how to
know him, how to serve him and be his disciple,
then let me encourage you to visit my website, which
is Jack Graham dot org. We would love to assist

(12:59):
you in any way as you grow in your journey
of faith. Again, that's Jack Graham dot org. God bless
you