A Complete History and Mystery of the Old and New Testament, Biblical tract · Volume 2 · Commentary on the book of Judges · Chapter 13
Judges, CHAP. XIII.
JUdges the Thirteenth holds forth the Nutivity of Samſon, in the Circumſtances Antecedents and Conſequents.
Firſt, The Antecedents affords thoſe Remarks. As,
Firſt, The Angel's Apparition the firſt and ſecond time: The firſt time was when God had again ſold Iſrael for their new Apoſtacy and Idolatry into the hands of the Philiſtines for Forty Years, ver. 1.
N. B. There be two Opinions when thoſe Forty Years began: Some ſay,
Firſt, That they began about the Fifth Year of Ibzan; becauſe 'tis ſaid here, that Iſrael was under the power of the Philiſtines at Samſon's Birth, ver. 5. So that the firſt Twenty Years is ſuppoſed to begin ſoon after Jephtah's Death, and the great Slaughter that Jephtah had made upon Ephraim (which Tribe was look'd upon as the Chief Bulwork of Iſrael) might well encourage the Philiſtines to make Incurſions into their Countrey of Cannan; and give the computation of the firſt Twenty Years Oppreſſing Iſrael, and then the ſecond Twenty is the exact term of Samſon's Judgeſhip, Judg. 15.20. But.
The Second Opinion begins the firſt Twenty of the Forty at Samſon's firſt Year, and carries on the ſecond Twenty downward to thoſe that ſucceeded him, as Eli and Samuel; and that for thoſe Reaſons.
N. B. The Firſt is, Theſe over-Numbers are always computed under the following Judges, who delivered the People from their Oppreſſions.
The Second Reaſon is, This Apoſtacy of Iſrael (which cauſed God to deliver them into the Philiſtines hands) muſt be after the Death of Abdon, ſeeing 'tis ſet down ſo expreſly in the Text, that after his Death, Iſrael ſinned again, &c. ver. 1.
The Third Reaſon is, It doth not appear, that Iſrael fell into Idolatry during the three laſt Judges, but lived in a profound Peace, as above; for we read not either of any Oppreſſions by their Enemies, or of any Deliverances from their Oppreſſors in any of theſe Therelaſt Judges times.
The Last Reaſon is, It is plainly apparent, that Iſrael was under the Oppreſſion of the Philiſtines, a great part of that time wherein Eli Judged Iſrael, even until after his Death that Samuel ſucceeded him, 1 Sam. 7.9, 10, 11, 12. Whether of thoſe Two Opinions be moſt certain, I ſhall not determine, but leave it to the Judicious Reader.
N. B. However, this I dare confidently affirm, That the Sin of Iſrael (whenever it began to break forth to cauſe this Calamity by the Philiſtines) was a moſt grievous Eye-ſore to a moſt Gracious God, who had now deliver'd them out of the hands of their Oppreſſours five ſeveral times already, under the Government of the Judges: If any ſin be an Eye-ſore to that God who is of pure Eyes, and cannot behold Iniquity, Hab. 1.13. (who cannot look upon it, but he muſt loath it, who cannot behold it, but he muſt puniſh it) how much more are thoſe great and groſs Sins of Apoſtacy and Idolatry; but more eſpecially in God's Iſrael, who ſinned againſt greater Light and greater Love than other Men; and who ſhould have ſaid, [Shall we again, after ſo many Deliverances, turn away from God?] ver. 9.13.
N. B. Thoſe ſins in them, were ſins of the greateſt Aggravation, their ſins were therefore worſe than others, becauſe they ought to have been better than others; and hereupon God moſt juſtly ſells his own Circumciſion to be plagued by the Ʋncircumciſion. The Lords of the Ʋncircumciſed Philiſtines, do Lord it over God's Circumciſed Heritage, moſt probably during the Days of Samſon and Eli, becauſe they had miſimproved that pretious Peace they had enjoyed under the three forementioned Judges: The Proſperity of Fools deſtroyed them, Prov 1.32.
The Second Remark is, Now the ever-flowing and overflowing Fountain of Divine Compaſſion towards his own Oppreſſed People, begins to break forth, and to raiſe up a ſuitable Remedy for their ſore Malady: In order hereunto, no leſs than the Angel of the Covenant, the Eternal Son of God (who had appeared to Joſhua and to Gideon in an Humane Shape) now appeared unto Manoah's Barren Wife of the Tribe of Dan (though Idolatry had broke forth firſt publickly in that Tribe) ver. 2, 3, &c.
N. B. Some indeed ſay, He was but a Created Angel, becauſe he would not have Manoah to Sacrifice to him, but to the Lord, ver. 16. But this is eaſily Anſwered, being ſpoken only according to Manoah's Opinion of him, that he was no more than a Meer Man, like that of Chriſt, [Why calleſt thou me good? There is none good but God,] Matth. 19.17. becauſe he thought him to be but a Man: But this here was more than a Man, even foreign, God-Man, and more than an Angel, even the Lord of Angels, whom Manoah afterwards calleth Elohim, ver. 22. and his Wife calleth him Jehovah, ver. 23. and by himſelf he is called [Wonderful,] which is one of thoſe Names given to Chriſt, Iſaiah 9.6.
N. B. The Meſſiah appeareth to Manoah's Wife, who is not named here, yet had ſhe her Name writ in the Lamb's Book of Life, and was undoubtedly a good Woman, and poſſibly the better becauſe ſhe was Barren; for this Providence was an Ordinance to her, and a bleſſed Means to humble her, and ſo to prepare her for ſuch a Mercy in her ſingular Son Samſon.
N. B. 'Tis an excellent Obſervation, that the Barren Women in both Teſtaments, ſuch as Sarah, Rachel, Elizabeth, &c.) had the beſt Children.
N. B. Chriſt tells her, though ſhe was Barren by the Courſe of Nature, yet ſhould ſhe be Cured by the Power of God: He foretells Samſon's Conception and Birth, Inſtructs her how both to Breed him in the Womb, and to bring him up, when brought forth into the World, according to the Law of the Nazarites, Numb. 6.1, 2, 3, &c. as one ſeparated from the World, and Conſecrated unto God, ver. 3, 4, 5. Thus Samſon muſt be both Conceived and Born Supernaturally of a Barren Woman, and muſt be the firſt Nazarite we read of in Divine Record, and all this to be a fitter Type of Chriſt himſelf, who is the Grand Votary, &c. as after, and who gave thoſe Directions here to his Mother, that ſeeing he muſt draw Nouriſhment from her, both in her Womb, and at her Breaſts, ſhe hath her Dyet preſcribed both for Meat and Drink, that the Sanctifying of her Son might take its beginning from her ſelf, and the Mother muſt obſerve all theſe Rules only for her Son Samſon's ſake, becauſe commonly [Partus ſequitur ventrem] the Birth follows the Belly, the Child taketh after the Mother.
N. B. And therefore that Mother, who would have an Holy Child, muſt be careful that her ſelf be Holy; and Parents may learn from Samſon's Parents to be praying Perſons, ver. 8. and to cry, [How ſhall we order the Child?] ver. 12. Such Sollicitude is laudable, and God's Direction for Childrens Education is very needful.
The Third Remark upon the Antecedents of Samſon's Birth, is the ſecond Appearance of the Meſſiah to both his Parents, from ver. 6. to ver. 20. As ſoon as he had appeared to the Wife the firſt time, and delivered his Meſſage to her, ſhe immediately ran and told her Husband, that a Man of God had been with her, and had ſaid to her, that ſhe ſhould Conceive, &c. ver. 6, 7.
N. B. Joſephus tells us, that this Manoah was a great Prince in the Tribe of Dan, that his Wife was a moſt Beautiful Woman, and that he was Jealous of her, &c. But who told him ſo? Thus to ſlander a godly Couple; for had he indeed been Jealous of her to her knowledge, ſhe would hardly have told him ſuch a Story of a moſt Majeſtick Man (with an Angelical Countenance) coming to her in her Countrey-Farm, as Joſephus reports: Waving therefore thoſe Fables, the Scripture of Truth tells us, as ſoon as Manoah heard theſe Tidings, he prayed to the Lord, that the Man of God might come again, &c. ver. 8. God hearkened to his Prayer, and the Meſſiah came again to his Wife, ver. 9. and not to him, becauſe (as is ſuppoſed) ſhe was more afflicted about her own Barrenneſs, than her Husband was, and therefore had ſhe been a longer and a more Ardent Sutor, for the Removal and Cure of it: Chriſt comes to her [as ſhe ſat in the Field,] about her Country Affairs, not to her Husband (as Joſephus ſaith untruly) but to her, who immediately call'd him, and when come, he held a long Conference with the Angel, wherein he hath a Confirmation of his Wives Information, and new Inſtruction for the Order of the promiſed Son, ver. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. upon this, Manoah invites this Man of God to a Banquet, accounting him worthy of a Prophet's Reward, even double Honour, 1 Tim. 5.17. namely Reverence and Maintenance; he muſt give him the uſual Reſpect and Entertainment of Strangers, Gen. 18.5. Judg. 6.18. Manoah cannot demonſtrate his Gratitude to him (for appearing at his Prayer, and thus directing them as a Prophet) better than to feaſt him with a Kid, and thereupon begs his Patience to be detained a while with them, unto which he conſented.
N. B. Oh Happy we, if Christ may be detained a while, if we can conſtrain him to stay a little with us as the two Diſciples did at Emmaus, Luke 24.29. Chriſt ſtays here until the Kid can be prepared; and Oh how profitably was that ſhort time Improved in Divine Diſcourſe! would to God we could learn to do ſo. The Man of God tells Manoah, though he was willing to be detained, yet would not he eat of his Meat, becauſe he needed it not as Mortal Men do, ſo he adviſeth him to turn his Feaſt into a Sacrifice: Hereupon Manoah enquires after his Name, the Meſſiah anſwers his Name was Secret, or Wonderful, the Hebrew Word ſignifying both.
Firſt. It was Secret, ſo not to be pryed into by Curioſity, Deut. 29.29. And,
Secondly, Wonderful, ſo that it cannot be comprehended by any Humane Underſtanding; and therefore 'tis rather to be adored than ſearched into, ver. 15, 16, 17, 18. This Wonderful Angel manifeſted his Name to Manoah after in his wonderful Actings: Then Manoah took a Kid, &c. though he was no Prieſt, nor had he nigh him the Altar of God's appointing to offer his Sacrifice upon, Deut. 12, 13, 14, &c.
N. B. Yet Chriſt ſtanding by him, gives a ſufficient Warrant to him, ver. 16. ſo that he diſpenſed with his own Law, and made both this extraordinary Sacrificer, and the extraordinary Altar to be both Lawful and Acceptable, ver. 19. This Acceptance more. plainly appeared in the wonderful Actings of this Angel, for no ſooner was Manoah's Kid laid upon the Rock as a Sacrifice, but preſently fire is fetched out of the Rock, in a miraculous manner, and conſumed the Kid-fleſh, and the Angel aſcended up to Heaven in the Flame thereof, while Manoah and his Wife looked on, ver. 20 whereby they knew he was more than a Man of God, even the Angel of the Lord, yea, the Lord of Angels: All this could not but be a ſtrong Confirmation of their Faith, in having their promiſed Son, and that their Prayers and Oblations were aſſuredly accepted of God, ſeeing Chriſt himſelf had carried them up along with him to preſent them to the Father.
N. B. And this is Christ's Work ſtill, for his Praying Servants; he is our High-Prieſt that both brings and Burns our Sacrifices to God, and perfumes our Prayers ſo with the ſweet Odours of his Merits and Mediation, Revel. 5.8. and 8.3. Pſal. 14.12. that they cannot fail or fall ſhort of going up with Acceptance upon God's Altar; the Flame of this Altar doth ſweetly repreſent the Office of Chriſt in his procuring Acceptance with God both for our Prayers and Perſons, &c.
N. B. However, the Effect of this Wonderful Aſcenſion, became a dreadful Conſternation in both the Beholders, ſo that they both fell upon their Faces to the ground, ver. 20. poſſibly the fire flaming forth out of the Rock, and turning their Sacrifice into Aſhes, as Pſal. 20.3. might fright them at the firſt into this proſtrate poſture, and both of them were ſtruck with a Religious fear of Death, (as is expreſſed, ver. 22.) and out of a Reverence to that glorious preſence manifeſted in ſuch a wonderful manner, they humble themſelves to the Earth in Supplication to God for the prevention of Death.
N. B. The Sign of this Malady was more manifeſt in Manoah, who was in the deeper Conſternation than the Woman, as appeareth by his lamentable Out-cry, [We ſhall ſurely die, becauſe we have ſeen God,] ver. 22. and no wonder, he cryed ſo to his Wife, when Gideon (a Man of a more Martial and Magnanimous a Spirit) ſaid as much in effect, Judg. 6.22.
N. B. This General Notion was grounded (as 'tis ſuppoſed) from the miſtaking of that Text, [There ſhall no Man ſee God and live,] Exod. 33.20. for though no Mortal Man can behold God in his Majeſty, yet Jacob, Moſes, and others, ſaw God in ſuch Simulachra's whereby he made himſelf viſible to them, yet their Lives were preſerved: The Rabbins ſay of them, they ſaw [Merchabab, velo Rochab,] only the Chariot God Rode in, but not the Rider.
N. B. But Manoah's Wife recover'd her ſelf firſt out of the Conſternation, and having got her Faith above her Fear, labours to recover her Husband, by applying a fit Remedy to his Malady: It ſeemeth here, that the weaker Veſſel had the stronger Faith, ver. 23. where ſhe brings forth pregnant Arguments to ſhore up her Husband's fainting Faith, which be, Firſt, From God's receiving their Oblation. And the Second is, From God's Revealing ſuch Secrets to them about having a Son, &c. And her Third was, And both theſe in a time of Grievous Common Calamities, when open Viſion was not: Therefore ſhe concludes, We ſhall not Die.
The laſt Remark is upon the ſecond part of this Thirteenth Chapter, namely the Conſequents of this Wonderful Apparition. As,
Firſt, Manoah's Wife, (notwithſtanding her Fright) both asked and bears a Son, by the force of her Faith, and calls his Name Samſon, Hebr. Shimſhon, which ſignifies Solilus.
N. B. A Little Son, for Shemeſh, Hebr. ſignifies a Son; thus he was a Type of Chriſt (who had promiſed him to his Parents) even that Sun of Righteouſneſs, Mal. 4.2.
N. B. Joſephus Interprets this Name Robuſtus, Strong, becauſe Samſon was ſtrong even to a Proverb, [As ſtrong as Samſon,] and as the Sun in its ſtrength, Judg. 5.31. is irreſiſtible, even ſo was Samſon, whom the Lord bleſſed with growth, ver. 24. both in Invincible Valour of Mind, and in Impregnable Strength of Body.
N. B. So that like a little Sun, he began to ſhine forth toward Iſrael's Deliverance.
N. B. Or Shemeſh, Hebr. ſignifies a Servant, for the Sun is the grand Servant of the World, lending light to Man in all his Labours, who is ſaid to go forth to his Work, and to his Labour until the Evening, or Sun-ſetting, Pſal. 104.23. So Samſon was a great Servant of God for Iſrael's good: [The Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times,] ver. 25. that is, to inſpire him with all Gifts and Graces needful for that high employ of Iſrael's Judge and Deliverer.
N. B. What God call'd him to, he qualified him for; ſo that while he was yet but a Stripling, he manifeſted ſome Mighty Marks of a moſt Military Martial Mind in ſome Matchleſs Exploits (as is ſuppoſed) againſt the Philiſtines, which the next Chapter maketh apparent, God making uſe of thoſe his Youthful Eſſays, as Praeludes of Samſon's future Valour and Victory over thoſe Philiſtines, whom he hereby provoked, and made a Challenge to a Duel, &c.
N. B. Thoſe early Attempts of his were [in the Camp of Dan,] ſo call'd, Judg. 18.11, 12. which Story, though placed after this, was done before it as above: In this very place (near Hebron) the Danites had formed another Camp, to give ſome check to the Incurſions of the Philiſtines, which might occaſion this Youth to exert his Valour in ſight of the Danites.
N. B. Oh Happy Youth, that has the Spirit of God moving them betimes while Young, &c.