Book of Judges chapters 13, 14,
15, and 16 all have some comments
about Samson. In chapter 13, it's the events
surrounding the birth of Samson. In chapter 14, we have the events
surrounding Samson's marriage. And then Samson in verse chapter
15, judging Israel and the defeat of the Philistines. And then
in chapter 16, Samson and Delilah and Samson's death. So as we've
traveled through these four chapters, we'll be touching on those subjects. Before we go and read the book
of Judges chapter 13, I direct your attention one more time
to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11,
we have four judges mentioned. We've dealt with three of them
as we've gone through the book of judges, but there is this
one, Samson. And when we read about his life
and we read about some of the things he did, it's by the grace
of God and the grace of God alone that he or anyone else is mentioned
here in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 of having faith, only by the
grace of God. I appreciated a message that
I heard when I was down in Ashland in last November, that the book
of Hebrews chapter 11 is how God looks at us. And that's really
the truth. It's how God looks at us. Now
we go over to the Old Testament, we find out what we are. And
that's gonna be brought out in the first verse of that chapter
that we're gonna be reading, chapter 13. But in the book of
Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 32, the word of the Lord says,
what shall I more say? Now, this is just after we read,
by faith, the harlot Rahab. Now, this is God's view of Rahab.
It says, perish not with them that believe not, when she had
received the spies with peace. And then in Hebrews chapter 11,
verse 32, and what shall I more say? For the time would fail
me to tell of Gideon. and Barak, and Samson, and Jephthah,
of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets." So couched
in this 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews is four of the judges
that judged Israel. Now, others could have been listed
there, but we find that here's the list that we have. So now
we direct your attention back to our area of study, and that
would be found in the book of Judges chapter 13. The book of
Judges chapter 13, and this chapter deals with the events surrounding
the birth of Samson. And it is so interesting to me
that this chapter that deals with the events surrounding the
birth of Samson starts in such a manner as we have it. It tells
us there in the book of Judges chapter 13 and verse 1, a verse
of scripture that we've read in several times here in the
book of Judges. And it doesn't matter where we
go throughout the Bible, this theme is going to be brought
up. And that's one reason it is so important to find out how
God dealt with with Manoah and his wife. Right after this verse
of scripture, we're introduced to Samson's mother and dad. Now,
by name, Manoah, by quality, woman, we have Samson's mother. But notice this, and the children
of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. This is a
reoccurring theme throughout the Old Testament, and this group
of people are the people that God was going to demonstrate
his favored nation status to. We never see him dealing with
all of the Hittites as he did here, or the Moabites. We may
find Ruth the Moabitess, we may find Rahab the Canaanitess, but
we don't have him dealing with those nations like he did with
Israel. And as we look at that, we find
out that even though God dealt with them in such a great and
grand manner, this is the disposition of their heart, only evil continually. And it tells us in that verse
of scripture that in the sight of the Lord, they did evil again
in the sight of the Lord. And it just takes me over there
to the Psalm where David said, against thee and thee only have
I sinned. So these people, all the crimes
of their very nature against one another and against their
families and all the other stuff that was going on, we find out
as it's recorded here, The Holy Spirit gave the message that
this was in the sight of the Lord. And then the Lord progresses
here and says, and if you notice both times that word Lord is
Jehovah, it's the capital letters, delivered them into the hand
of the Philistines 40 years. Now this is more time in captivity
of the Philistines than the previous four judges that was there and
gave them peace. I believe it was 31 years that
those four judges had and gave them peace, but I can't help
but think that during that time their hearts are over here They
got their groves, they got their idols, they got all this stuff.
And it was just convenient not have to be at battle or have
their plants and their vegetables all tore up by the enemy. But
they have their heart into that. And you know, there are a lot
of people that believe that if we separate our children from
all the other children of the world, all those bad kids, If
we make sure that they don't get around them and they don't
watch TV and they don't play cards and they're away from evil
influence. You know, I went home one time
and my dad was just really put out at a bunch of people because
my youngest brother was spending all of his time with them and
all of his money with them. And I says, dad, he's with them
because they're the same. It's not that he's special. It's really hard for a parent
to admit that there's a problem with the kids. And yet we find
out that problem is just a continuous problem brought on to them by
their father. All right? If all of these things,
all of the education at the temple, if they spent their education
in a temple, in a tabernacle, seven days a week, and were trained
there in the Old Testament as so many of them were. They spent
their time. It wasn't a Sabbath school. It
was a daily school that they went, and they educated them
there seven days a week, and they were never allowed to be
with the opposite sex at any time. It wasn't just being down
to the lake together. It was not that at all. You know,
the Jews said men couldn't read the book of the Song of Solomon
until they're 30 years old. They're trying to prevent the
degradation of their people. And then it says the things of
all their life, this verse still applies that the heart is the
problem. And so if it was true that we,
if we're not around certain people and that influence isn't there,
we should have had a perfect world after the ark, after the
great flood. Because they were separated from
all kinds of people for how long? A long time. And they came out
of that ark, and it wasn't long, and Noah is a drunk, and his
son is immoral, and it just goes downhill from there. It's not
that long. We have the Tower of Babel out of the descendants. So the heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I want to go
to that book of Jeremiah. chapter 17 for just a little
bit because I want to pick up more of that chapter. Chapter 17 of the book of Jeremiah
has a great deal to say here about the problem that we have
in our natural life, our just being born this way. I remember
a pastor friend of mine, Brother Doty, he'd see a kid and someone
would say, how was the kid? He says, just as cute as it could
be. That was his comment. Well, you
know, kids we think are just perfect. But we weren't. And they grow out of it real
quick. And they demonstrate their very nature. Here in the book
of Jeremiah chapter 17, beginning with verse one, the sin of Judah
is written with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond.
Well, it's marked. It is apparent. It is graven
upon the table of their heart and upon the horns of their altars. whilst their children remember
their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high
hills. O my mountain in the field, I
will give thy substance and all thy treasures to spoil, and thy
high places for sin throughout all thy borders. And thou, even
thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee
in all cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou
knowest not. For ye have kindled a fire in
my anger, which shall burn forever. Thus saith the Lord, cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose
heart is departed from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath
in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall
inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, and a salt land,
and not inhabit it. Now that does not mean that everybody's
gonna live in the desert. but where we live is not perfect
by any means because we are there. I remember Brother Mike saying
he was going to move one time, but problems were going to go
with him. And that's just the way it is. I don't know how many
times I drug my family to another church, but the problem was still
there. Me, I was the problem. So put them through a lot of
duress, a lot of problems that they, I shouldn't have had to,
but that's the way it was. Blessed is the man that trusts
in the Lord. and whose hope is in the Lord."
There in Jeremiah 17, verse seven, "'For he shall be as a tree planted
by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river.'"
What a difference is spoken of here in pictured form of the
difference between those that are in their natural estate and
those who have been given a new heart, that have been born again. They shall be like trees planted
by the waters. It's not a dirt there. It's not
desert. Spreadeth out her roots by the
river, and shall not see when heat cometh. But her leaves shall
be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought. Neither
shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" The heart is
deceitful above all things. And that word heart, I was visiting
with a fellow the other day and he just said, well, that's this.
No, it's not this. The Bible never uses this word
in that context. This is speaking of this word
heart here is the inclination or the seat of appetites. It's the seat of emotions and
passions. It's the feelings. It's the will.
The will is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
That's why we can't trust it to get us out of the mess we're
in. We have to depend on the will of someone else that's able
to deal with it. So we have this, the heart is
deceitful above all things. And Robert Hawker said this,
how dreadful is sin? He could have said that twice
and been right both times. How dreadful is sin and what
an awful state it has reduced our nature. Sin has reduced our
nature in such a terrible condition, the heart desperately wicked,
the whole head from the top of the head to the bottom of the
feet. The description is given in the book of Isaiah chapter
one. And you know, if we think we have high qualities, I was
sharing with this with someone yesterday that I have a couple
or three brothers that had, well, their names had been taken down
by the police officers. And they had a record. And my
brother Ken came to me one time, he says, I haven't heard of any,
if you've been in any trouble with the police, are you keeping
your nose clean? I says, I learned a lot from
my brothers. Don't get caught. I didn't have the record. I don't
have the record, but it doesn't mean that I didn't have the heart.
I thought things in my head. I may not have done them with
my body, with my hands, with my feet. I may not have said
them, but I still had the same problem they did. They got caught,
the police got involved. So we have here the heart condition
it is. We find God giving the requirement
for special sacrifice in the book of Leviticus about those
who commit sin and don't even know it. That's just, that was,
we ran into that when we're going through the book of Leviticus
and we said, what is this? It is a sacrifice that was given
to the common people if they sin through ignorance. So if
we think that we're okay, God is marking down the sins we commit
in ignorance, in unawareness. Those are sins just like the
ones we commit and know about. So the problem is great and we
find out there in the book of Judges chapter 13 with regard
to Israel that they had sinned against God. Now no doubt they
committed sin against a lot of other people, their own families,
their the nation and everything else, but they had truly sinned
against God. And you know that word in the
book of Leviticus chapter 4, where they sin through ignorance
and there was to be a sacrifice for it. It was very interesting
and how fantastic today's technology is. Because in the old days,
I'd had to pull down a book and go through a lot of lists about
where's this word found in other places. And now it's instantaneous
right in front of me. And I go over there. Well, this
particular word that's mentioned for ignorance is the same word
that is used every time with regard to the cities of refuge
when someone was killed on a wares. They weren't intending to do
it. It was not their plan. Now, murder had a great deal
of punishment there. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.
And whoever took man's life was having their life taken from
them. But this word, as we find it, is any person unawares. their axe head came off and caught
some friend right in the forehead. And they ran like all get out
to the city of refuge because the Avenger of Blood was on their
tail and he had the right to be on their tail. And so they
did it unawares. They would get into the city
of refuge and then it was decided whether it was a crime or whether
it was unawares. And so we were required in the
Old Testament and I have to say again, I don't think very many
people ever offered those sacrifices because there's very, very few
people that were sinners. They've done some things wrong,
but they were not sinners. And I appreciate a great deal
what that man and Jesus used him and spoke about him. And
that was that man who was a publican. God be merciful to me, a sinner,
the sinner. So the unawares. So if there
was ever a thought about these people being okay, they committed
unaware sin, just like we have. And so we're in desperate need
of help. We just need to be pulled out of the pit that we're in.
You know, as we go here into the book of, excuse me, the book
of Judges again, The next verse is in the book of Judges. It
just is captivating. It's such an interesting thing
to read verse 1. and then go right to verse two
and three. Verse one, let's look at that
again. Chapter 13, verse one, it says, and the children of
Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord
delivered them into the hand of the Philistine 40 years. Now,
during this period of time of being delivered into the hand
of the Philistines 40 years, whether it was early, middle,
whatever, This happens, verse two, and there was a certain
man named Zorah of the family of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah. Now, where were these folks at
this time? They were surrounded by the contents
of verse one. They had that going on all around
them, and I'm sure their family says, why don't you go up to
the groves with us tonight, tomorrow? We're gonna have special services
up at the groves. And here Manoah and his wife
says, you know, we can't do that. We just cannot go because you're
not worshiping the God of heaven. Now, what were they doing there?
They were surrounded by people that are mentioned in chapter
13, verse one, And how long they were in that group, it does not
tell us. But they started in that group.
They were born into that group of those who sinned against the
Lord. They could not have gotten out
of it. That's where we're born by nature. Our parents bring
us into the world and we're born into this very spectrum that
we sin against the Lord, wittingly or unwittingly, planning or not
planning. It is a sin against the Lord
and he will require payment. for those sins. And if we think
for a minute that we can go through a day without a hundred million
of them, we've lost our mind. Because every second, I remember
reading about, I think it was Augustus Toplade, he just figured
out how many seconds there were in a day. And he says, that's
how much I sinned. It's just thousands and thousands of times.
And a lot of it is unwittingly. We just don't know the rules
sometimes. So this all happens. What is
this that takes place here? They're introduced to God who
has shown mercy and grace. This is a very small remnant,
husband, wife. among a whole group of people
that are very interested then in visiting the groves and the
idols, if we can just get them to do that. Well, we find it's
a very small remnant, and it's interesting as we go through
the Old as well as the New Testament, how often that principle is brought
up to us, is brought to our attention, that why can these people be
different than those people? Why can Manoah and his wife be
looking forward and visited with by the angel of the Lord? How could that happen? because
they're not in that group. They've been translated out of
the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son. They
have a new heart. They have an attitude towards
God and they're able to visit with the angel of the Lord. Now we know who he is, pre-incarnate
Christ. That's who appeared unto them.
God appeared unto them in a very special way. But let's look at
a few verses about these two people out of the host of people
that were a remnant according to the election of grace. They,
from what we read, didn't have many people to fellowship. They got to fellowship mama with
dad and dad with mama. That's what it appears to me.
The rest of the folks They were Israel, but they were not of
Israel. They were from Mount Sinai and
not from Mount Zion. They were worshiping the law
and other idols and thought it was okay. And these folks were
not bent on idols, just as we find with regard to 1 Thessalonians
1, when God takes away our bent towards the idols. He gives us
hope in Christ. So let's look at a few verses.
And first of all, I'd like to turn over here to the book of
Isaiah. The book of Isaiah chapter one.
What a statement. Here we have Israel did evil
in the sight of the Lord. And the next thing we find, there
are two people out of all that mess that God's gonna deal with
in mercy and grace. He is gonna talk to them. He's
gonna visit with them. He's coming down from glory to
visit with these two people. They're very special. They're
his children. Now, we have to appreciate what
the Lord said in John 17 with regard to his disciples. I don't
want them taken out of the world. I just want you to watch over
them in the world. He doesn't take his people out until it's
the appointed time. He leaves his people here for
his own purpose. All right, the book of Isaiah
chapter one and verse two. Yes, verse two. Hear, O heavens,
and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished
and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
What a description of Judges 13, verse one. And we could go
back several times in the book of Judges. Verse three, the ox
knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. I used to
go with dad out, and he'd have a bucket, and he'd call, we had
a cow we called Saggy Baggy. The other one was Crippled Heifer. At his voice, they came. They
knew their master, and they knew what he was gonna do for them.
does not know my people, does not consider all sinful nation
of people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children
that are corruptors. They have forsaken the Lord and
have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger. They are gone
away backward. Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, the whole
heart faint. From the sole of the foot, even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises.
And you know what? We meet people every day that's
the exception. We were, we're not quite that
bad, but when the Lord saves us, we find out. Oh my, we were
worse. All right. Bruises and putrefying
sores that have not been closed up, neither bound up nor mollified
with ointment. Your country is desolate. Your
cities are burned with fire for 40 years. This could have been
the commentary on Israel in the days of the judges in Judges
chapter 13. You have been overcome by the
Philistines and it has not been pretty. desolate as overthrown
by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left
as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers,
as a besieged city. Now this is talking about the
church. There's just not many there, but they're there. Except,
verse nine, except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very
small remnant. Now, in the days of Samson, there
was a pretty small remnant. We don't have any record of anybody
else being identified by the angel of the Lord coming down
and visiting them. Now, there may have been. I don't
want to say that they were all known. But there were many who
didn't have any idea who had visited Manoah and his wife.
It was not in their appearing mode. These people did. The angel
of the Lord appeared unto them. All right. Except the Lord of
hosts had left a very small remnant. We should have been as Sodom
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. We should have
been sacked. burned if it wasn't for the grace
of God. Now, that's the only reason Manoah
and his wife could say, God has smiled on us. It wasn't any benefit
that they had, any good deeds that they had done. It was because
of the grace of God that he appeared to them in such a wonderful way. And she's been barren. That really
speaks about us. Cannot have children. If I could
just get a couple of young preachers to believe that. You cannot bear
children, you're barren. Children have to be given by
the Lord. Now I'm not talking about physical children, I'm
talking about spiritual children. Paul was given the grace of God
to preach the gospel and he could call Timothy and Titus his children,
but he let God take care of them. All right, turn with me, if you
would, to Isaiah chapter 10. Isaiah chapter 10. In Isaiah
chapter 10, and this book of Isaiah is just filled with these
verses about a remnant, a picture, a type and a shadow of how it
happens. Isaiah chapter 10, and there
in verse 22, Isaiah chapter 10 and verse 22, for though thy
people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of
them shall return. sand of the sea, innumerable. Well, we have somewhere between
three and six million going through the desert in the days of Moses. And the majority of them died
in unbelief. It didn't matter that they were
of Israel. They were a physical Israel,
but they were never of spiritual Israel. If it hadn't been for
this, there in verse 22, for though thy people Israel be as
the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return. The consumption
decreed shall overflow with righteousness. And then if you'll look with
chapter 17 of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 17 and verse six,
Isaiah chapter 17 and verse six, here is an illustration of the
remnant according to the election of grace. And it's taking us
to the vineyard and it's taking us to the olive yards. It says,
yet the gleaning grapes shall be left in it as the shaking
of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uttermost
bough. Two or three berries. four or
five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord
of Israel." What a remnant, a small proportion. And we see that here
in Judges chapter 13, when we're dealing with Samson's birth,
his parents. have been removed from the idolatrous
worship that the rest of the nation is doing, and the sin
that they had against God had been forgiven, placed on the
sun at the cross. So we have here the remnant,
the two or three berries. Well, we wouldn't think that's
much of a crop to the two or three berries it was. to Manoah and his wife it was,
may not have meant another thing to anybody else, their mother,
dad, brothers, sisters, everything else to them. They were fools,
religious fools, and yet they knew how important it was to
know the grace of God, because left to themselves, they would
have been in verse one, the rest of their life. they would have
continued to sin against the Lord. Well, he has been good
to them, not because of their goodness, but because of his
goodness. In the book of Isaiah chapter 24, Isaiah chapter 24,
we have this verse of scripture that shares with us. Isaiah 24,
verse 13. When thus it shall be in the
midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking
of an olive tree and the zigleaning grapes when the vintage is done. Go through an orchard and after
it's been picked, here's a pear, there's a pear, apple, there's
an apple, there's an apple, there's a peach, there's a peach, but
the bulk of it has been harvested. And that's what he said. remnant
according to the election of grace. Ezekiel brings this up
too, about a remnant. It's a remnant, always has been,
always will be. It's not going to be a great
outpouring. I celebrate the day of Pentecost.
Wow. And the next time we read it,
4,000 were saved. Wouldn't that be wonderful? My
goodness. And yet the Lord saves whom he
has chosen where they are. And it is a berry here and a
berry there. It's an olive here and it's an
olive there. It's the ones that he has chosen
and he will glean out of the rest. The rest is rotten on the
ground. He's picked out these according
to his mercy and grace. The book of Romans. We're going
to jump over to the book of Romans. There's much said there. There's much said there in the
book of Ezekiel, much said in the book of Isaiah, but here
in the book of Romans, if you turn there with me, two passages
we want to pick up here in the book of Romans, and they're not
unfamiliar passages to scripture, for we've often gone here to
see of God's great work of grace. He's not unfair. If he was fair,
Nobody, as Isaiah said, we should have all been. If he was fair,
we should have all been. But he hasn't been fair. He's
been gracious. God's grace demonstrated. The book of Romans, chapter nine.
Book of Romans, chapter nine. Romans, chapter nine. And verse seven, excuse me, 27. Isaiah also crieth concerning
Israel. Though the number of the children
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. And we find right there in the
book of Judges chapter 13, The problem throughout the land is
so evident. God brings the subject up and
says, they again are sinning against the Lord. And the next
two or three verses brought out so clearly that there were two
people out of the whole mess that he's gonna deal with in
grace and mercy. And through them, Samson's gonna
be brought into the world. Well, turn with me one at a time
here in the book of Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11 verse 4. Again, the Apostle Paul is led
by the Holy Spirit to go to the Old Testament and read, quote,
bring to the attention of the people, this has been God's practice. What I'm preaching is not a new
thing. What I'm telling you is not a
new thing. I'm preaching the gospel and
the gospel is good news that he actually is a savior that
saves. He doesn't make them savable.
He is a savior that saves, a redeemer that redeems. So here in the
book of Romans chapter 11, verse four, but what saith the answer
of God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who are not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so
then at this present time, hallelujah, he brought us into the present
time. That was the present time for Paul, it's the present time
for today. Even so, then, at this present time also, there
is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by
grace, then it is no more of works. And he could have put
an explanation point right there. But it goes on, otherwise grace
is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it
is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel
hath not obtained that which he seeketh, but the election
hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Now, that's a hard
verse of scripture, and I've read that to several people.
It's the last two words that they really have a fuss with.
The rest were blinded. They couldn't see. And that's
what's gonna happen here in the book of Judges chapter 13. The
rest couldn't see. But two do. Well, in the short
time that we have left, would you go back with me to the book
of Judges, again, chapter 13, Judges chapter 13, as we read
here about this wonderful lady she's referred to, and I think
it's on purpose, because you remember what God said with regard
to how the Redeemer's gonna get into this world? the seed of
the woman, the seed of the woman. He even called his mother woman.
Woman, what have I to do with thee? And on the cross, woman,
behold your son. So he's not being derogatory
towards her, he's just saying, This is the truth, and I think
that that's probably what's being brought out here. The birth of
Samson is a miracle birth. She has been barren. All right,
going back to the book of Judges, Judges chapter 13, and verse
2 it says, And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of
the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and bare
not. And then the gracious act of
God. And the angel of the Lord appeared
unto the woman and said unto her, behold now, thou art barren. You know, if he'd have stopped
there, she could have said, I know that. I know that. I've wanted to have children,
but I haven't been able to. Embarrass not, but thou shall
conceive and bear a son. Now there's a verse over in the
book of Psalms 127 that I've heard a number of times after
Nathan was born, after Jennifer was born, after Rachel was born,
and after Tim was born. Lo, children are a heritage of
the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. So often
that is simply viewed from a physical standpoint. But what if we looked
at that from a spiritual standpoint, and we will when we get to looking
at Manoah and his wife. Children, God's children are
a heritage of the Lord. And the fruit of the womb is
His reward. Now, God saves His people. It is the reward of His
grace that He saves His people. And He's in charge of it, all
of it. Not any of it is left unto us.
All we do is scatter the seed. That's all we can do. We cannot
produce the child, the seed of the womb. And one last place
I have to go before we close, and we'll be bringing this up.
But in the book of Isaiah chapter eight, Isaiah chapter eight,
and this is gonna just tie right in with this. Manoah and his
wife, as the angel of the Lord appeared and said, you're gonna
have a son. In the book of Isaiah, chapter
8, verses 17 and 18, notice this with me. And I will wait upon the Lord
that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look
for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are
for signs and for wonders in Israel, and from the Lord of
hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion. And this verse of scripture
is quoted over in the book of Hebrews chapter two, I and the
children which you've given me. So we're gonna talk about those
children, spiritual children. Now we see it in a physical sense
with Manoah and his wife in the birth of Samson. But we can look
at that and say, that is a wonderful picture of how God does his business
in bringing many children into the church. We'll stop there
for tonight and we'll pick this up. And we do thank you for allowing
us to be with you. And let's, one more time, we'll
thank the Lord for his goodness. Father, we just thank you for
the word of God. We're thankful for these verses
of scripture. We're thankful, Lord, that you
saw fit to leave them for us. And the condition of man, in
verse one, and then your grace in the rest of this chapter.
We're so thankful. Bless us for Jesus' sake, we
pray, amen.