Judges 13:15 - Meaning and Application

Here we have more of what passed between Manoah and the angel at this meeting. It was kind of God to keep Manoah from knowing at first that he was speaking with an angel. If he had known, he would have been too frightened to talk as freely as he did (Judges 13:16). So Christ was in the world, and the world did not know him. God often hides himself from us, because we could not bear his glory if it were fully shown.

God has chosen to speak to us through people like ourselves, prophets and ministers. Even when he spoke through angels, or through his Son, they appeared in human form and were taken for ordinary men of God. Manoah wanted to honor the stranger and show gratitude for the good news he had brought, so he asked him to stay for a meal. He said, “We will soon prepare a young goat for you” (Judges 13:15). Those who welcome the message of God should be kind to his messengers for the sake of the One who sent them (1 Thessalonians 5:13).

But the angel would not eat his food. Instead, he told Manoah to offer it to God, just as he had told Gideon to do with his offering (Judges 6:20, 21). Angels do not need food or drink. Their food is doing God’s will and giving him glory, and that was Christ’s food too (John 4:34). In the same way, we do God’s will when we eat and drink for his glory, turning even ordinary meals into acts of worship.

The angel also refused to tell Manoah his name. Manoah asked for it so they could honor him properly, maybe visit him again, and know more of a good man and good minister. He may also have wanted to honor the child by naming him after the angel, or to send a gift in gratitude for one whom God had honored. But the angel answered with a rebuke to his curiosity, “Why do you ask my name?” (Judges 13:18). Jacob himself could not get such a favor from the heavenly messenger (Genesis 32:29).

We often do not receive what we ask for when we ask for things we do not truly need. Manoah’s request was sincere, but it was still denied. God told Moses his name because there was a real need for that knowledge (Exodus 3:13, 14), but here there was no such need. Manoah had already been given clear direction about his duty (Judges 13:12, 13), and that was enough. God has given us full guidance about what we should do in his word, but he has not promised to answer every question a curious mind may raise.

The angel gave one reason for refusing: “It is secret,” or “It is wonderful.” At that time, the names of angels had not been revealed, so people would not start honoring them in the wrong way. After the captivity, when God had cured his people of idolatry, angels did reveal their names to Daniel, such as Michael and Gabriel. Later, the angel told Zechariah his name without being asked, “I am Gabriel” (Luke 1:19). Here, however, the name is hidden, or beyond our full grasp. One of Christ’s names is Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6). His name was hidden for a long time, but through the gospel it is now made known, Jesus, a Savior.

Manoah must not ask because he was not meant to know. There are secret things that do not belong to us, and we must be content to leave them hidden in this life. We should never feed a vain curiosity about such things (Colossians 2:18). It is wise learning to be content not to know what our great Master does not choose to teach us.

Then the angel helped with the sacrifice and showed them who he was as he left. He had told them to offer the burnt offering to the Lord (Judges 13:16). Praise offered to God is the kind of gift angels most gladly witness and approve of, as in Revelation 22:9, “Worship God.” Manoah, with good reason and though he was not a priest and had no altar, turned the meal into a grain offering and offered it on a rock to the Lord (Judges 13:19). In effect he said, “Lord, here it is, do with it as you please.” So we should bring our hearts to God as living sacrifices and submit ourselves to the work of his Spirit.

When everything was ready, the angel did something wonderful, fitting his name. The wonder was likely the same kind of sign he had once shown Gideon, sending fire either down from heaven or up from the rock to consume the sacrifice. Then he went up toward heaven in the flame of the offering (Judges 13:20). This showed that he was not merely a man, as they had thought, but a messenger who came directly from heaven. He had surely come down from there, since he returned there again (John 3:13, John 6:62).

This also showed that God accepted the offering. It points to what gives all our offerings their acceptance, the mediation of the angel of the covenant, meaning Christ, who presents the prayers of his people before the throne (Revelation 8:3). Prayer is the soul rising up to God. But it is Christ within us by faith that makes our worship a pleasing sacrifice. Without him, our services are like offensive smoke. With him, they are acceptable flame. We may also see here a picture of Christ’s own sacrifice for us, for he entered the holy place by his own blood (Hebrews 9:12).

As the angel did this, Manoah and his wife watched closely, and the text says this twice (Judges 13:19, 20). That confirms the miracle. The fact was real, because two eyewitnesses saw it. They did nothing in the sacrifice except watch, but surely their hearts rose with the angel in thanksgiving for the promise that had come from heaven and in hope of its fulfillment. Yet when the angel went up, they did not keep staring into heaven, as the disciples did after Christ’s ascension. They fell on their faces to the ground in holy fear and reverence.

Then they knew that he was an angel (Judges 13:21). It was clear this was not an ordinary human body, because it was not held down by the earth or harmed by the fire. It ascended, and ascended in flame, so they rightly concluded that he was an angel, for God makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. After that, he did not appear to them again. He had been sent for this special occasion, and now that the purpose was finished, he was not sent to keep up a steady contact with them, as prophets did.

They must remember and hold on to what the angel had said, and not expect any further message. We also see the effect this vision had on Manoah and his wife. While the angel was working wonders, they watched in silence, and that was fitting. It is right for us to observe God’s wonderful works carefully and keep quiet before him. But after the angel left, and his work was finished, they had time to think about what had happened.

Manoah’s response shows great fear (Judges 13:22). He had spoken with confidence about the son they would soon joyfully have (Judges 13:8, Judges 13:12), yet now he is so shaken by the very thing that should have strengthened his faith that he expects both of them to die at once: “We will surely die.” A common belief among the ancient Jews was that anyone who saw God or an angel would die immediately. For the moment, that idea overpowered his faith, just as it had Gideon’s (Judges 6:22).

His wife, however, shows great faith (Judges 13:23). The weaker vessel, as people say, was here the stronger believer, which may be why the angel appeared to her more than once. Manoah’s heart was beginning to fail, but his wife, as a suitable helper for him, encouraged him. Two are better than one, because if one falls into discouragement, the other can lift him up. Husbands and wives should help each other in faith and joy whenever they can.

No one argues better than Manoah’s wife does here. Her husband said, “We will surely die.” She answers, in effect, “No, we need not fear that. Let us not turn what is really for our good into something against us. We will not die unless God chooses to take our lives. Our death must come from his hand and his will. But the signs of his favor we have received do not point to destruction.” If he had meant to kill them, she says, then:

(1) He would not have accepted their sacrifice, and shown his acceptance by causing it to burn up (Psalm 20:3, margin). The sacrifice stood in the place of their lives, and the fire falling on it showed that his wrath had turned away from them. The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful to God, but theirs was clearly not rejected.

(2) He would not have shown them all these wonders at a time when open visions were rare and scarce (1 Samuel 3:1). Nor would he have given such great and precious promises about a son who would be a Nazarite, a person set apart to God, and a deliverer of Israel. He would not have told them these things if he meant to kill them. We do not need to fear that the roots will be destroyed if such a branch is still meant to grow from them.

This shows that God does not mean death for sinners when he has accepted the great sacrifice Christ offered for their salvation, opened the way for them to receive his favor, and promised that favor to those who repent. If he had meant to destroy them, he would not have acted in this way. And let believers who have known God’s presence in his word and prayer, and who have seen signs that he has accepted their work, take comfort from this in dark and cloudy times. “God would not have done what he has done for my soul if he meant to forsake me and let me perish in the end, for his work is complete, and he will not deceive his people with his kindness.” Learn to reason as Manoah’s wife did: “If God had meant for me to perish under his wrath, he would not have given me such clear signs of his favor.” O woman, great is your faith.