Read Judges 13 – 16
And Manoah said unto his wife, we shall surely die, because we have seen God. Judges 13:22 KJV
Judges 13 describes an unusual visit to Manoah and his wife announcing the birth of their son, Samson. The announcement was made by the Angel of the Lord, whose appearance in Scripture always raises questions regarding his identity, was he a messenger of God or an appearance of God? Some instances are easier to discern that others. Here, Manoah was also confused by the identity of his visitor, was he a man, an angel, or more? To help Manoah, the angel did three things to reveal his identity. (1) He revealed his name as wonderful. Some take this as a proper name as in Isaiah 9:6, and some understand it to say his name is beyond comprehension. (2) The angel performed wondrous acts before Manoah and his wife. (3) The angel ascended to heaven in the flame of the sacrifice offered by Manoah. Based on these three things they concluded their visitor was God.
Lord, like Manoah, I too am sometimes confused about the identity of the Angel of the Lord, but each appearance reveals a comforting truth about you. Your compassion, awareness, and involvement with your people are obvious and comfort me when I need to know you care.
