Judg 13:16 | KingComments | STEP | From everything Manoach has heard and experienced, it has become clear to him that a special Guest is visiting him. He must have had the impression that he is dealing with a Divine Person. This is evident from the fact that he wants to offer his Guest an offering, something that can only be done to God. The offering he wants to bring is the same as the offering Gideon brought to his heavenly Guest ( ). Yet Manoah doesn’t know Who he really has before him. Only in does he come to the acknowledgment he stood face to face with the Angel of the LORD. That Manoah knows not yet Whom he has before him, also becomes clear from what the Angel of the LORD says to him in , that he must bring his offering to the LORD, and not to Someone Who is unknown unto him. This shows us that God wants to be honored by people who know Him and have a relationship with Him through faith. He cannot accept an offering that comes from vague feelings about Him. It is like with the rich young man, who calls the Lord Jesus “good Teacher”, even without realizing to Whom he speaks ( ). Only if Manoah acknowledges Him as the LORD, as God, He will accept the offering, or courtesy, but then the bringing of it must be done according to the directions He gives. This brings Manoah to the question his wife did not ask. He asks for His Name. He would like to know more about Him. The name, which we have seen before, often indicates what kind of person we are dealing with. The Name of God expresses His Being. The name by which He reveals Himself to Manoah is “Wonderful”. This name is also found in Isaiah 9. There it is clearly about the Lord Jesus. It says of Him: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; … And His name will be called Wonderful ( ). The name “Wonderful” indicates the Being of the Lord Jesus. He is truly God and truly Man and yet one Person. That wonder is too great for the comprehension of the human mind. Hence the name “Wonderful”. When Manoah then brings his offering, something wonderful happens. His Visitor goes to heaven in the flame that ascends from the altar. This is a picture of what happened to the Lord Jesus on the cross. When He suffered there and died under the fire of God’s judgment on sin, at the same time a pleasant scent ascended from the cross to God. God was glorified by the work of His Son. On this basis God has given Him the place of glory in heaven at His right hand. We may now know there is a glorified Man in heaven. The church is inextricably connected with the glorified Man in heaven. God shows this “wonderful action” precisely in a time when decay is on the increase to encourage those who wish to serve Him faithfully as a Nazirite. This will direct the eye upward. To look upward “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” ( ) is the necessary attitude to stand firm as a Nazirite. After it has been indicated what does not belong in the house where the Nazirite is born and raised (wine and impurity), the positive is now coming forward. The house is as it were filled with the scent of the offering, in which the glory of Christ is represented. The Gospel according to Mark, in which the Lord Jesus is presented as the true Servant of God, ends with a look into heaven: “The Lord Jesus … was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” ( ). This look into heaven is an encouragement to anyone who wants to serve as a Nazirite to the Lord.

‏ Judges 13:16

The Offering of Manoah

From everything Manoach has heard and experienced, it has become clear to him that a special Guest is visiting him. He must have had the impression that he is dealing with a Divine Person. This is evident from the fact that he wants to offer his Guest an offering, something that can only be done to God. The offering he wants to bring is the same as the offering Gideon brought to his heavenly Guest (Jdg 6:19). Yet Manoah doesn’t know Who he really has before him. Only in Jdg 13:21 does he come to the acknowledgment he stood face to face with the Angel of the LORD.

That Manoah knows not yet Whom he has before him, also becomes clear from what the Angel of the LORD says to him in Jdg 13:16, that he must bring his offering to the LORD, and not to Someone Who is unknown unto him. This shows us that God wants to be honored by people who know Him and have a relationship with Him through faith. He cannot accept an offering that comes from vague feelings about Him. It is like with the rich young man, who calls the Lord Jesus “good Teacher”, even without realizing to Whom he speaks (Mk 10:17-18).

Only if Manoah acknowledges Him as the LORD, as God, He will accept the offering, or courtesy, but then the bringing of it must be done according to the directions He gives. This brings Manoah to the question his wife did not ask. He asks for His Name. He would like to know more about Him. The name, which we have seen before, often indicates what kind of person we are dealing with. The Name of God expresses His Being.

The name by which He reveals Himself to Manoah is “Wonderful”. This name is also found in Isaiah 9. There it is clearly about the Lord Jesus. It says of Him: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; … And His name will be called Wonderful (Isa 9:5). The name “Wonderful” indicates the Being of the Lord Jesus. He is truly God and truly Man and yet one Person. That wonder is too great for the comprehension of the human mind. Hence the name “Wonderful”.

When Manoah then brings his offering, something wonderful happens. His Visitor goes to heaven in the flame that ascends from the altar. This is a picture of what happened to the Lord Jesus on the cross. When He suffered there and died under the fire of God’s judgment on sin, at the same time a pleasant scent ascended from the cross to God. God was glorified by the work of His Son. On this basis God has given Him the place of glory in heaven at His right hand.

We may now know there is a glorified Man in heaven. The church is inextricably connected with the glorified Man in heaven. God shows this “wonderful action” precisely in a time when decay is on the increase to encourage those who wish to serve Him faithfully as a Nazirite. This will direct the eye upward. To look upward “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1) is the necessary attitude to stand firm as a Nazirite.

After it has been indicated what does not belong in the house where the Nazirite is born and raised (wine and impurity), the positive is now coming forward. The house is as it were filled with the scent of the offering, in which the glory of Christ is represented. The Gospel according to Mark, in which the Lord Jesus is presented as the true Servant of God, ends with a look into heaven: “The Lord Jesus … was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mk 16:19). This look into heaven is an encouragement to anyone who wants to serve as a Nazirite to the Lord.