Acknowledging when God is present.

STUDY: # 838 – CHURCH IN THE HOUSE FROM: DECEMBER 2 @ 8, 2014

Topic: "Acknowledging when God is present." Judges 13: 1-23 Manoah, Samson’s father, had an intense desire that the angel would visit again. "Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born’." (Judges 13:8) This desire was not motivated by doubts about what he had seen, nor was he suffering from anxieties. This was the result of a living faith, and his great commitment to follow the orders given. God was revealing Himself to Manoah and his wife. During those days God would reveal Himself to His people of Israel in the form of men who were regarded as men of God. The angel established the order of things for Manoah. Manoah wanted to cook a goat to please the one who stood before his eyes. Manoah wanted to thank the messenger, and show his compliance. But the angel refused to accept the present Manoah offered, and told him to offer sacrifice to the Lord. "The angel of the Lord replied, ‘Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.’ (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.” (Judges 13:16) That creature, a stranger to Manoah, declined the offered hospitality, and indicated that if the meat had to be an offering it should be brought to the Lord. Manoah was far from knowing that the messenger was an angel. He was receiving the angel as a foreigner, a prophet or mere human messenger. He did not know that he had been left before the presence of God, with instructions directly from Heaven, to let him know what the Lord would do amongst them. The angel showed Manoah the difference between the ordinary (food) and the divine because he wanted to clearly reveal that the visit was from God. The angel tells him He would not eat the food and that if he wanted to give a burnt offering it should be made to God. The angel wanted Manoah to get out of the ordinary, move away from what was common, to be able to see God. This was so that Manoah could give the glory to God, who is real, and who knows how to work in the necessities of life. The importance of this is that, just like the angel took Manoah to see God, we too can see God when He becomes present in our lives. The angel did not hint or give difficult explanations. He spoke in a simple manner. It was as if He said to Manoah, "I will not eat. If you want to acknowledge someone, let it be God. Because it's not what your eyes are seeing. What’s important is: THE GOD YOU DO NOT SEE! Because the order, good desire, power and greatness belongs to the ONE YOU DO NOT SEE! This is why Jesus said," ... Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Manoah wanted to honor the angel, but the angel continued His conversation, letting him know that He would not feed Manoah’s curiosities or inquiries. Jesus Himself can appear to whomever, can take human form. Here the Lord Jesus Christ came as a messenger. So this "angel" was God, and all the glory was for Him. At that moment, the time of grace had not yet arrived; it was not the Lord's time to appear as the Messiah. But the Lord Jesus attended that sacrifice that Manoah made, and received it for Himself, showing that He was God. That is, the Lord Jesus appeared before Manoah, many years before His incarnation, up on that altar’s flame (Judges 13:20 “As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.”). The reaction of being close to God is very scary, very frightening. Manoah feared (Judges 13:22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”). His wife however was strengthened in her faith (Judges 13:23 “But his wife answered, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering, and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.’ "). She was not afraid because God's visit was not a trial; it was to bring good to their lives, and Israel needed to be freed from the Philistines. While Manoah said, "surely we will die," the woman replied: "NO! The signs we have received of His favor prohibit us to think that He intends to destroy us.” She says, "If He had wanted to kill us, He would not have accepted our sacrifice." "He would not have shown us all these things nor given us a glorious promise of a son who will be a Nazarite and liberator of Israel." You have to reason like Manoah’s wife did. We can say: God would not have done what He has done for my soul if He intended to abandon me and let me perish, because His work is perfect and never leaves

unfinished what He has begun (Philippians 1:6). God never tries to make a mockery when He grants us His favors. Let us acknowledge when God is before us! "God, I love you with all my strength." Amen.