Judges 13:1-8 “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 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 the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”

Text Judges 13:15 “And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.”

At a moment in time when the Lord had delivered His people into the hands of the enemy, He privileged a “family of the Danites” with a personal visitation. One family is drawn into the presence of God while an entire nation is turned away; oh what an awesome privilege! Others might squander theirs, but Manoah would make much of the privilege. While the first visit may have been spontaneous and unscripted, the second would be invoked and encouraged; “Manoah intreated the Lord . . . come again unto us.” Manoah would make much of the will of God; “Now let thy words come to pass” (vs.12). Manoah and his wife saw themselves as vessels to be used of the Lord. They would seek and submit to whatever God’s will was for both their present and future family. Manoah would make much of the wisdom of God; “How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him” (vs.12). If one will take the time to study the words of Manoah, he desires the wisdom of God concerning the child’s customs and the child’s conduct. Manoah and his wife desire for their son’s heart and habits to be right before the Lord and only wisdom that cometh from above can accomplish that task. Manoah would make much of the worship of God; “we may do thee honour” (vs.17). Manoah desired to exalt, elevate, to make weighty the name that “is secret.” “Secret” means wonderful or remarkable and comes from a word meaning distinguished, separated, by implication to be great or marvelous. Manoah would not squander the privilege of meeting with God! I wonder if you can honestly say that you are making much of your privilege; the privilege to daily meet with Him in the Scriptures, in supplication and in service. During those times; do you make much of the will of God, the wisdom of God, and the worship of God? Follow the example of Manoah in “Making Much of Your Privilege!”