The Birth of a Deliverer

Summary

Judges 12 begins with the men of Ephraim threatening Jephthah for not calling them to the fight. The conflict ends with the shibboleth test at the Jordan fords and 42,000 Ephraimites dead. The chapter ends with the minor judges Ibzan, Elon and Abdon. The takeaways: unchecked pride and poor communication lead to needless conflict, and invest in your family because it may be how you are remembered.

In Judges 13 Israel again does evil and is given into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. The angel of the Lord appears to the wife of Manoah of Zorah, who is barren, and tells her she will bear a son who will be a Nazirite from the womb. The slides give background on the Philistines, and on the angel of the Lord, who speaks as God, receives worship, and appears at turning points.

The slides give historical grounding on the Philistines, who appear throughout the Samson story. They likely came from the Aegean region, possibly Crete, as part of the Sea Peoples who migrated to the Levant around 1200 BCE, and settled five coastal cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath. They were known for ironworking and distinctive pottery, and for a culture that blended Aegean and Canaanite elements. The name “Palestine” comes from “Philistia”; the Romans adopted it as Palaestina, and Hadrian renamed Judea “Syria Palaestina” in 135 CE after the Bar Kokhba revolt. The slide notes that modern Palestinians are not direct descendants of the ancient Philistines.

Manoah prays for the man of God to come again and teach them how to raise the child. The angel returns, and Manoah offers a burnt offering. When the angel goes up in the flame, they fall on their faces. Manoah’s wife reasons that if the Lord had meant to kill them, He would not have accepted their offering. Samson is born, the Lord blesses him, and the Spirit begins to stir him.

Two chapters

A civil war and a birth.

Practical takeaways

The slides draw out these lessons: