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The Birth of Samson - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. For lo, thou shalt conceive and bear
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  Speaker 1: a son, and no razor shall come upon his head.
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  Speaker 1: For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from
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  Speaker 1: the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out
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  Speaker 1: of the hand of the Philistines. Judges 13.5 Dear Heavenly Father,
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  Speaker 1: Just like Samson in Judges 13, I know I too
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  Speaker 1: have been called to be set apart. I will not
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  Speaker 1: treat myself as common because you've created me to be extraordinary.
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  Speaker 1: Like extraordinary athletes that require extraordinary training, I realize that
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  Speaker 1: my life is no exception. Therefore, when my feet touch
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  Speaker 1: the ground, I will first connect my heart and soul
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  Speaker 1: to your incredible power. I will shift my mind and
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  Speaker 1: increase my faith because as I walk with you, all
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  Speaker 1: things become possible. I declare that I have been marked
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  Speaker 1: for greatness. I declare that the way I choose to
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  Speaker 1: live my life will be in proportion to the anointing
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  Speaker 1: and calling I'm stepping into. I will no longer compare
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  Speaker 1: myself to others, because what God is doing in my
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  Speaker 1: life cannot be imitated. I am one of a kind.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not afraid to be different and do different if
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  Speaker 1: it means that I'll be able to experience a life
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  Speaker 1: completely different from others. I have been marked for greatness,
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  Speaker 1: and I accept that life. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening
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  Speaker 1: to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue
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  Speaker 1: hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in
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  Speaker 1: a Year. Brought to you.
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  Speaker 2: The birth of Samson. In our last story, we peered
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  Speaker 2: into the life of the outcast Jephthah. He was a
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  Speaker 2: forgotten bastard son who led Israel out of captivity from
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  Speaker 2: the Ammonites. However, he made a promise to God that
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  Speaker 2: he would sacrifice the first thing he saw after battle.
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  Speaker 2: Little did he know it would be his daughter. So
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  Speaker 2: Jephthah mourned and was remembered for his foolishness. In this
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  Speaker 2: story we learn of Israel's disobedience and need for another hero.
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  Speaker 2: This time God prepares the way for another hero. A
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  Speaker 2: hero that would be stronger than all the others combined.
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  Speaker 2: Yet his story would be a mixture of heroism and tragedy,
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  Speaker 2: inspired by the book of Judges.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
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  Speaker 3: heard the tragic story of Jephthah, a mighty warrior who
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  Speaker 3: led Israel in victory against the Ammonites, but whose impulsive
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  Speaker 3: and foolish promise cost him his daughter, his only child.
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  Speaker 3: Though Jephthah is remembered as a hero of the faith
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  Speaker 3: in Hebrews, he is also remembered for this crazy vow
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  Speaker 3: and the high price that he paid and his family
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  Speaker 3: paid because he kept a vow that he should never
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  Speaker 3: have made. Today we'll hear how Israel disobeyed God again
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  Speaker 3: and needed a new hero to rescue them, a new deliverer,
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  Speaker 3: a judge by the name of Samson. Samson doesn't come
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  Speaker 3: onto the scene as a full-grown man ready to be
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  Speaker 3: the people's man, the people's hero. We'll get to see
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  Speaker 3: his story from the beginning, from his birth and how
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  Speaker 3: God chose him for a very special purpose. But more
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  Speaker 3: than anything, today's story is one of grateful parents-to-be who
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  Speaker 3: seek God's wise counsel for how to raise the child
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  Speaker 3: they are about to bring into the world. So let's
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  Speaker 3: listen now to today's scripture.
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  Speaker 2: Like moths to a flame, Israel drew close to their sin.
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  Speaker 2: They had an insatiable appetite for idolatry. Their lewdness reflected
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  Speaker 2: a sickness that plagued man since the Garden of Eden.
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  Speaker 2: God would allow them to be held captive by the Philistines.
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  Speaker 2: Their captivity to the Philistines reflected a greater captivity in
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  Speaker 2: their hearts. Their own sin enslaved their souls, and the
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  Speaker 2: Philistines enslaved their bodies. For forty years they lived in misery.
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  Speaker 2: During this time there was a man of Zorah named Manoah.
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  Speaker 2: Manoah and his wife were childless, for his wife was barren.
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  Speaker 2: Yet God had a plan for them. An angel of
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  Speaker 2: God met Manoah's wife and said to her, You will
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  Speaker 2: conceive a son in due time, and when you do,
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  Speaker 2: he will live a life set apart for me. He
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  Speaker 2: will have no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.
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  Speaker 2: No razor shall come upon his head, for he shall
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  Speaker 2: be a Nazarite of God. For I shall rise him
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  Speaker 2: up to be a conquering hero, and he will do
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  Speaker 2: great things to liberate Israel from the Philistines. The woman
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  Speaker 2: ran to her husband and told him of the visitation
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  Speaker 2: from a strange man. Manoah prayed to God for guidance
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  Speaker 2: and wisdom, imploring that the angel visit again to give
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  Speaker 2: them more insight. God answered, and the angel appeared again
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  Speaker 2: to the woman. She ran back to her husband, saying,' Look,
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  Speaker 2: the man from before is here.' So Manoah ran to
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  Speaker 2: go greet him. Are you the one who spoke to
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  Speaker 2: my wife before? Manoah asked. The angel of God nodded
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  Speaker 2: and said it was so. Manoah knelt before him and
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  Speaker 2: begged him to stay longer. How shall we raise our child?
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  Speaker 2: Manoah asked. For they had dreamed of being parents. And
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  Speaker 2: if their son was to be a hero, they wanted
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  Speaker 2: to be faithful. So God instructed Manoah as he did
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  Speaker 2: to his wife previously. He would have no wine or
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  Speaker 2: strong drink. He would eat clean foods and never cut
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  Speaker 2: his hair or face. God wanted to groom a warrior
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  Speaker 2: unlike any other before him. Please stay with us a while,
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  Speaker 2: Manoah asked. He will have a feast and make a
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  Speaker 2: burnt offering to you. And the angel of the Lord
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  Speaker 2: refused the food, but remained for the sacrifice made to
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  Speaker 2: the Lord. Manoah did not know he was speaking to
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  Speaker 2: God himself, so he asked the angel a simple question
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  Speaker 2: with profound implications.' What is your name?' Manoah asked. God
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  Speaker 2: looked upon Manoah as a father would a child.' Why
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  Speaker 2: do you ask me my name?' God asked.' It is Wonderful,'
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  Speaker 2: he said. The name Wonderful would be prophesied as the
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  Speaker 2: name of the Messiah hundreds of years later. Manoah and
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  Speaker 2: his wife laid an offering down at the altar of God.
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  Speaker 2: They watched as the flames danced in front of them.
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  Speaker 2: It was night, and the light of the fire drew
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  Speaker 2: them in close. Then, in a rush like the wind
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  Speaker 2: was pushing the flames upwards, the angel of the Lord
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  Speaker 2: rose up with the smoke and disappeared into the sky.
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  Speaker 2: Manoah and his wife fell on their faces, finally realizing
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  Speaker 2: who it was.
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  Speaker 1: They were speaking to.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord will surely kill us since we have seen him,
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  Speaker 2: Manoah trembled. If he wanted to kill us, we would
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  Speaker 2: be dead, his wife replied. God would not visit them
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  Speaker 2: in this way again. The two conceived and bore a child.
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  Speaker 2: They named him Samson. The young boy grew into a
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  Speaker 2: strong man. God blessed Samson in everything, and his strength
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  Speaker 2: was unmatched by anyone in the land. Year by year
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  Speaker 2: God groomed him. He abstained from drinks that would dwindle
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  Speaker 2: his wits, and he abstained from foods that would weaken
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  Speaker 2: his body. He did not shave and lived in the
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  Speaker 2: land under the training and favor of God. For one day,
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  Speaker 2: he would be called upon to save all of Israel.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's story with Israel once again in sinful
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  Speaker 3: rebellion against God. They turned to other gods, little gods,
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  Speaker 3: no gods at all, idols. And they began to do
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  Speaker 3: evil in the sight of the Lord. God gave them
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  Speaker 3: over to the Philistines for 40 years. But this time,
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  Speaker 3: we don't hear the people crying for the help of God.
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  Speaker 3: So God begins preparing a mighty leader among them. And
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  Speaker 3: it starts with a couple who are unable to have children,
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  Speaker 3: and God chooses to bless them with a son. Manoah
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  Speaker 3: and his wife were clearly God-fearing, righteous people. They were
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  Speaker 3: about to be chosen to raise a boy who would
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  Speaker 3: become a great man in Israel. So when an angel
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  Speaker 3: from God appeared to Manoah's wife, she listened carefully to
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  Speaker 3: what he told her. It was joyous news. A child
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  Speaker 3: would soon come into their family. And he wouldn't be
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  Speaker 3: just any child. The angel gave her strict instructions for
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  Speaker 3: how she was to eat and drink while she carried
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  Speaker 3: the child, as well as how he was to be
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  Speaker 3: raised to be set apart as a Nazarite. Manoah's wife
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  Speaker 3: runs to tell her husband the amazing news and the
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  Speaker 3: instructions that she had received. His response is such a
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  Speaker 3: great example for any expecting parent. We read it in
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  Speaker 3: Judges 3.8. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said,
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  Speaker 3: O Lord, please let the man of God whom you
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  Speaker 3: sent come again to us and teach us what we're
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  Speaker 3: to do with the child who will be born. He
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  Speaker 3: had just received the best news of his life. Not
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  Speaker 3: only a child, but a son was coming. Manoah knew
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  Speaker 3: that his child would fulfill a very special purpose. So
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  Speaker 3: what does he do? He once again seeks God and
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  Speaker 3: asks for direction and instruction. What a wonderful thing it
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  Speaker 3: is for any parent to be to ask God for
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  Speaker 3: guidance and to pray that he would enable us to
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  Speaker 3: raise our children for a righteous purpose. That's exactly what
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  Speaker 3: Manoah and his wife did. And God honored their request,
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  Speaker 3: sending his angel once more to instruct them. Manoah invited
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  Speaker 3: the angel to stay and eat with them, and the
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  Speaker 3: angel told them that he would not eat, but would
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  Speaker 3: stay while they made a sacrifice to the Lord. Manoah
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  Speaker 3: then asked the angel his name so that they could
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  Speaker 3: honor this angel. And the angel's reply is prophetic, for
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  Speaker 3: he says his name is Wonderful. It is a title
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  Speaker 3: that will be given one day to the Messiah, the
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  Speaker 3: Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. So this
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  Speaker 3: was no angel. This was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: what we know in theology as a theophany, an appearance
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  Speaker 3: of God in the Old Testament. When the flames of
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  Speaker 3: the offering leap into the sky, Manoah and his wife
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  Speaker 3: watch as the angel goes up into the heavens with
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  Speaker 3: the flames. Realizing that they've seen God, they fall in adoration,
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  Speaker 3: the only proper response to an encounter with God. The
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  Speaker 3: child is born, and his name is Samson. His parents
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  Speaker 3: follow all the instructions and he grows stronger and stronger
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  Speaker 3: and stronger. He will become a superhero of sorts, a legend,
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  Speaker 3: a strong man like no other. God will use Samson
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  Speaker 3: in a mighty way despite his failings and weaknesses. And
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  Speaker 3: we're going to hear more of his story the next time.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we do thank you for the example of
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  Speaker 3: Samson's parents, godly parents who sought you and your wisdom
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  Speaker 3: and guidance. for the raising of their child. Help us
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  Speaker 3: to do the same as we want to bring up
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  Speaker 3: our children in the nurture and in the training of
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. Give us wisdom, Lord, to be faithful parents,
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  Speaker 3: to set the right example, and to bring up our
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  Speaker 3: children to love and serve you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you once again for listening to today's Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham, pastor of the Prestonwood
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  Speaker 3: Baptist Church in the Dallas area here in Texas. And
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  Speaker 3: I want to encourage you to download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 3: and make this time together in God's Word a priority
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  Speaker 3: in your life. Tell other people about it. Encourage your
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  Speaker 3: family and friends about this podcast. And by sharing this podcast,
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  Speaker 3: you can make a difference in someone's life. You might
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: even be the one who leads that person to a
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  Speaker 3: personal faith in Christ. Because Christ is in the Bible.
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  Speaker 3: And the Bible says, is all about Jesus. If you
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  Speaker 3: want to know more about the Lord, how to know Him,
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  Speaker 3: how to serve Him, and be His disciple, then let
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  Speaker 3: me encourage you to visit my website, which is jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 3: We would love to assist you in any way possible
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  Speaker 3: as you grow in your journey of faith. Again, that's jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 3: God bless you.