(Please read the scripture that accompanies this study.  In this on-line Bible study, we cover bits and pieces of information contained in the scripture, but there are so many topics that are not covered.  Don’t miss a blessing, read God’s word! )
 

In Judges 13:1, we see where the Israelites returned to evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. 

Unfortunately there is no difference between the Israelites and you or me today. How many times have we done evil in the eyes of the LORD after He has saved us from ourselves and or the idol(s) we have worshiped? Remember an idol does not necessarily have to be something that you have erected in your house, although it can be, but it is what you have erected in your heart, your life and lifestyle. Idols are anything that controls more of your time, heart and attention than God does. If we are not careful, we can allow our storms, the things we go through, whether it is ‘self-inflicted’ or ‘God-designed’ to take up more of our time (such as your thought process, or worry process) than the praising and exaltation of God. Yet, how many times has the LORD brought us out of self, out of our mess, out of the hands of the Philistines (whether spiritual or physical enemy), once we have repented and turned back to Him again. 

God left the Children of Israel in the hands of the Philistines for forty-years.  God did several things in relation to ‘forty-years’: 
Isaac was forty-years when he married Rebekah (Gen. 25:20)
The Israelites ate manna for forty-years (Ex. 16:35)
The LORD’s anger was burned against the children of Israel and made them wander for forty-years in the desert (Num. 32:13)
God for forty-years took care of the children of Israel (Dt. 2:7)
Joshua was forty-years old when Moses sent him to explore the land (Jos. 14:7)
Saul was forty-years old when he became king over Israel (2 Sam. 2:10)
David reigned king for forty-years (2 Sam. 5:4)
Solomon reigned forty-years (1 Kings 11:42)
God made the land Egypt desolate for forty-years (Ezek. 29:11)
When Moses was forty-years he called himself as the deliver and tried to deliver his people by flesh and not by spirit (Acts 7:23)
After forty-years, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the flames of the burning bush and told him that He would use him to deliver His people, by spirit not flesh (Acts 7:30). 
God used ‘forty-years’ not only to punish His children, but also to mature them for His work and perform His work for that season of time. 

Judges 13:2 speaks of the infertile nature of the wife of Manoah.  Manoah means ‘rest’. The Angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, (Easton’s Bible Dictionary—the word denotes generally one who is separated from others and consecrated to God.) set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” 

God is still desiring a people that will allow Him to set them apart for His use, for His glory, a people that will sanctify themselves - unto God. 

The woman then went to her husband and told him what she had seen and heard from the angel of God (vs. 6-7). Instead of rebuking the Word of God that came to them, they prayed unto the LORD (vs. 8) for wisdom on how to raise the child that was to be born. “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6, KJV). 

God heard the prayer of Manoah and his wife, and the angel of God came again unto the woman while she was out in the field (vs. 9) and her husband was not with her.  The woman hurried back to tell her husband. When Manoah followed his wife and came to the man, (vs. 10-11) Manoah asked, “Are you the one who talked to my wife?” and the angel said, “I am.” 

Anytime we receive a Word from God, whether it is in our spirit, a pastor or a prophet, we need to seek God for His wisdom and guidance in the matter. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, KJV). 

After Manoah and his wife prayed for knowledge and wisdom in what was spoken in their life, they then asked God, “What is your will for our child’s life?  What have you called him to be (vs. 12)!” They did not plan the future of their child using their wisdom—they sought God’s wisdom. They asked the LORD what His will was for their child’s life, they recognized the gift and favor not only on their lives, but their son’s life as well, and they wanted to stay in the will of God. 

Too many times when God bestows supernatural favor in our life, whether it is a conception and birth of a child, job, ministry, or healing, etc., instead of seeking God for His will in the matter, what He wants done, we want to run with ‘our’ vision and say it is ‘His’ vision. In other words, instead of letting God get the glory and/or FULL-GLORY in that situation, we tend to take part or all of the glory. It cannot be God’s vision if we have not sought His will in the matter and/or if we sought His will, but have not followed through with ALL He has said. God did not put you or me on that job just to earn wages, but to be a witness for Him—to be a light in a ‘Philistine’ village. It’s our responsibility and privilege to be that voice for God, that light for God, and the only way to be that voice, that light, is to seek Him in ALL things. God did not hook you up with that mate, just so you could say ‘I’ve got a man/woman’—but so you two would go out into the world and bring souls into His kingdom, so that you would have something to lay at the Master’s feet.   Our goal should ALWAYS be ‘what can we do for the Kingdom of God’, not ‘what God or the Kingdom of God can do for me’. When we only seek to fulfill our needs, wants and desires, we are ‘self-consumed’. But when we seek to fulfill His will, then we are ‘God-consumed’.  “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42, KJV  It should be what you two as man and wife can do for the Kingdom of God. “How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up” (Deuteronomy 32:30,NIV)? 

Then the angel of the LORD told Manoah that he and his wife must obey all that was spoken unto them (vs. 13). Notice the word ‘all’ here.  When God is making an emphasis on what must be done in order to receive the full benefit of what He has, He states ‘all’ must be done or obeyed, included, etc. Too many times we cut off our own hand to spite our face or, in other words, we stop short of our blessings and or the manifestation of it, by not doing ALL that God has required of and from us. If Manoah’s wife had not followed ‘all’ that the angel of the Lord had told her, the outcome would have been much different. 

When we seek God for a healing, deliverance, financial breakthrough, a mate, etc., and we do not have the manifestation of whatever we are seeking God for, 99% of the time it is because we have not done ALL that God has required of and from us. Too many times we read a portion of the scripture and not the scriptures before and after that one—not ALL of the context of that scripture. The Word of God says, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me, John 5:39, KJV.”  

We have to not only get the breakthrough, but we also have to have the breakout! Let me define the difference between a breakthrough and a breakout. A breakthrough is—offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line in warfare; an act or instance of breaking through an obstruction. Notice the key words here, ‘in warfare’, for we are in a battle, not just for our lives, but also for the lives of those who have yet to give themselves to Christ. Let me clear up a misconception—this war, this battle that we are in, has nothing to do with ‘our’ stuff, ‘our’ dreams, desires and or needs. But it has ALL to do with a soul, a life, for the Kingdom of God. The next set of words, says ‘through an obstruction’. We may breakthrough whatever ‘we’ are warring for in us. Where is the battle fought?  In our minds. How do we win the battle in our minds? Through prayer, praise and fasting, accompanied by our obedience to the Word of God. But the key word is THROUGH.  We first have to breakthrough the battle in ‘our mind’,  and until then, we still have a war going on and a battle to win. When God breaks us out, by you and me initiating the breakthrough with prayer, praise, fasting and the obedience to His Word, God then turns around and tells us, now it’s time for you to perform a breakout for another. 

Breakout means ‘a violent or forceful break from a restraining condition or situation; especially: a military attack to break from encirclement.’  There are several key words I want to address here.  First it says, ‘violent or forceful break’. We have to take the kingdom of darkness by violence, by force, and break its’ stronghold.  “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”  Matthew 11:12, KJV. 

You and I are the violent, the spiritual militants and only by force can we take what was stolen back. The next set of words is ‘restraining condition or situation’—that means the devil has been restraining a soul, a life, with strongholds (sin, lies, deception) and only by a force will we take back what RIGHTFULLY belongs to the Kingdom of God. The next set of words states, a ‘military attack’.  Child of God, we are in a battle, a war, and God is trying to prepare us to be fierce and forceful soldiers—spiritual militants if you will (aggressively active (as in a cause)). 

If you are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, the battle is then not for your soul, because you have already given it to God, but it is for the soul of someone who is not saved. And we have to use ‘spiritual’ military tactics to get back that life—that soul which belongs to God. The last word is ‘encirclement’, which means we have to surround the enemy with the presence of God that is in us, and use the ‘spiritual’ military tactics that His Word has given and trained us, and by force, breakout those that are still yet held captive. 

See, it’s not just important to get a breakthrough for yourself, but you have to perform a breakout for someone else. When we consume ourselves with what God is consumed with, He gives us our breakthrough, but then He will empower us to breakout someone that is still held captive by the enemy. And if we are only self-consumed we will never get our breakthrough, nor be able to provide the breakout for another.

 Once Manoah and his wife got their breakthrough (the conception and delivery of their child, Samson), God used their son to bring about the breakout for the Israelites. But we have to be FAITH-FULL, and we do this when we follow through with ALL that He has said and asked of us. Full of faith - FULL=ALL.  But when we do not follow through and only do just a portion of what God has said, we are FAITH-LESS, HALF=LESS. The one percent of the time that we have not received the manifestation of whatever we are FAITH-FULLY anticipating, is that the fruit is not ripe for picking and God will never give us anything that is not complete or matured. 

How do we show that we are FAITH-FULL and not FAITH-LESS? When we do not murmur and complain, when God says to tithe a tenth of ALL (there’s that word ALL again). “Bring ye ALL the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10, KJV.  When we praise God in the midst of our bareness, whatever and wherever that bareness lies. When we seek God for who He is, when we let the light of God in us be a witness and a light to someone engulfed in utter darkness. When we continue to do what God has instructed us to do. When we continue to read the Word of God and fellowship with believers.  One of the most important parts, and maybe the hardest, is when we take our focus off ourselves, our problems, and ask the Holy Spirit, ‘Today, who do you desire for me to bless or be a blessing to?” You see when we choose not to be ‘SELF-CONSUMED’ and choose instead to be ‘GOD-CONSUMED,’ God is able to handle ALL (there’s that three-letter word again) that concerns you and me. 

Manoah and his wife were not ‘SELF-CONSUMED’.  How do I know that, when the scripture does not state either way?  All we have to do is look at the outcome of this. If they had not been a people that worshiped and praised God, then God would not have heard their cries, because the Word of God says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,” 1 Peter 3:12, NIV. 

After the word came from the Lord, Manoah and his wife tried the spirit, by the spirit of God, not ‘1-900 ask Cleo’, not your spirit, but by the Spirit of God, the Word of God. When the Word of God came and confirmed His own word, they did not reject it. They did not question God saying, “well, how are you going to make me conceive, when I have been barren for all these many years?”  They  did not reject the word, but they offered up an offering for the word and to the Word. The next thing they did was to obey all that the LORD had commanded them to do, they were GOD-CONSUMED and not SELF-CONSUMED. 

What does GOD-CONSUMED and SELF-CONSUMED mean? When you are self-consumed, you think everything is all about you, your problems, your solutions and your deliverance, ‘it’s my world’ type of mentality.  When you are God-consumed, you have the problem, but you know that God has the solution and He is not only the deliverer but will bring about the deliverance. You don’t need to stay up all night trying to figure it out; you can go to bed and rest in His peace, knowing it’s HIS responsibility to bring about HIS Word.  When you are SELF-CONSUMED, you stay up at night, you worry throughout the day, trying to bring forth ‘your’ word or ‘man’s’ word. But God-consumed people know that it is not their responsibility, they know the burden of proof rests in the hands of God. 

Manoah and his wife were GOD-CONSUMER’S; they were consumed by His presence, His power and His will. They followed through with ALL of His commands and brought forth a mighty seed, a mighty-son, Samson. Manoah then asked the angel of the LORD to stay as they prepared a young goat for him, but the angel of the LORD replied back, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (vs. 15-16) (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD—Jesus). 

Manoah then inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” (vs. 17). The angel of the LORD replied back to Manoah, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” Because God is too big to contain just one name, for He told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). As Manoah took a young goat, together with grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD, the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flames blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground, realizing that it was the angel of the LORD (vs. 18-21). 

Manoah and his wife gave honor and praise to the LORD for turning their infertile bodies to fertile bodies, they did not give the honor to man (doctors, medicine, surgery, etc.). But they gave praise unto God, from whom all blessings flow. They offered unto the Lord an offering—to seal the word that was spoken over their lives—a covenant between the Lord and them. 

Manoah and his wife sought the LORD in everything concerning their blessing but also how to be a blessing to others. They knew it was not just about them or their child, but what God would accomplish through their child to save a nation and a people. God received the offering and within the offering showed Himself to them in a mighty way (vs. 19). 

After the LORD had ascended up in the flames, Manoah stated, “We are doomed to die, we have seen God.” (vs. 22). Too often after God has shown Himself to us in a mighty way, we allow the spirit of fear to enter in. If God were going to kill Manoah for seeing Him, He would have surely done it before accepting the offering—the covenant between Him and his seed. If God were going to kill them, how then would the child be born that was the promise to them, for their life of obedience? This was God’s way of not only answering Manoah and his wife’s prayer, but the prayer of Israel in regards to the bondage by the Philistines. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8, NIV). 

Manoah’s wife gave birth to a son and his name was Samson—International Standard Bible Encyclopedia—Derived probably from shemesh, “sun’ with the diminutive ending-on, meaning “little sun” or “sunny,” or perhaps “sun-man.” Samson grew and the LORD blessed him and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mananeh Dan (vs. 24-25). 

Because Manoah’s wife was God-consumed while she was carrying Samson, that God- consumption was implanted in him. Samson grew up God-Consumed. What made the difference in a miraculous birth taking place for Manoah and his wife? What made the difference is that they led a life (not perfect-without sin or fault) of serving God, in the midst of being persecuted by the Philistines (the enemy), they continued to praise, pray and worship God. They passed from their original state of fear to faith. 

Let me define what F.E.A.R. is, accordingly to what the Holy Spirit told me. Many of us have been told that F.E.A.R. is False-Evidence-Appearing-Real. But Evidence is something that you have solid proof of.  For example, if there is a murder, you have a body (sooner of later). If there is robbery, you have something missing. Let me interject -FEAR is always generated from the ‘OLD-HEART’, the old Adamic–unpurged nature. Fear stems from the mind (which is the spiritual heart), it comes from the part of the brain part called Amygdala, this is where our emotions are birthed and kept. So FEAR is really FALSE-EMOTIONS-APPEARING-REAL. 

When we feel fear, it comes from our old heart and not the NEW HEART, which has been replaced with the heart of God. In that NEW HEART contains only Truth—the Word of God. For Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6, NIV. The only thing that can reside in the NEW HEART is Truth, so when a situation comes before your eyes or ears, the NEW HEART responds, and what does it respond with? TRUTH, because that is the only thing that lives in the NEW HEART. 

So when Manoah experienced fear after realizing that he had just met the angel of the LORD face to face and assumed he would die, those emotions were coming from the natural part of his brain—Amygdala, the old spiritual heart. For if he had the new heart, the new heart would have addressed the spirit of fear with, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7, KJV. 

Manoah and his wife did ALL that was commanded of them—they obeyed the LORD and trained Samson up in the way that he should walk.  “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs, KJV. 

When you are God-consumed and you receive a word, when God uses someone, or Himself to reveal your divine destiny to you, or it could be just that whatever you sought Him for and He said He would do, you rest from your labor.  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” Revelations 14:13, NIV. 
We know that it is He that will perfect and perform the work, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12, KJV. 

The moment you and I choose to be God-Consumed, God will be consumed about what concerns us. For our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29, NIV. When we make the decision to be God-Consumed and not Self-Consumed, we not only get our breakthrough’s but we are then equipped to provide a breakout for someone else; we become that ‘spiritual militant’ that says, ‘by any means necessary, by force, by violent force, shall we surround the enemies camp until every captive has been set free,.  “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36, KJV.  And only when we are consumed by and with God will we get our breakthrough, and then it is God that empowers us to be that ‘spiritual militant’ to provide a breakout for someone else. 

Created by Lynn Lillard