TEXT:JUDGES 14 : 1 – 15 : 1.
PREACHER: REV. DR. WILLY MUTISO.
INTRODUCTION:
One of the sweetest couples in the Bible is Mr. and Mrs. Manoah. But their child was more than ten children! Their child was a special gift and a miracle child. The couple had been childless. From day one, they knew that their responsibility was to raise Samson and that God had other plans for him. This ought to be the understanding of every parent. The emerging adult Samson had supernatural, superhuman strength. He drew national attention. He was destined for great things. He was set apart to God from birth to begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines (Judges 13:5). How did Manoah and his wife prepare for the greatest undertaking in the world – parenting? Let us learn:
Parenting is a privileged responsibility (Judges 13:12-14).
Manoah and his wife took the privilege of marriage and parenting very seriously.
They asked God for advice on how to raise their child.
Mr. Manoah asked for a special appointment with God.
God had told Mrs. Manoah that the son to be born was going to be a champion, a warrior, a deliverer, a leader (13:5).
Manoah defied the role of a traditional father in raising a child.
The couple’s model of parenting was a two-parent family.
Manoah told the Angel of the Lord, “Yes, you came to my wife, but what about me?”
Manoah refused to be an absent father, a couch potato, a loafer. He chose to be a diaper-changing and milk-feeding babysitter!
God told them enough but not everything about parenting.
The couple stood to the task, kept the Nazarite vow, and soon Samson was a sight to behold.
Mr. and Mrs. Manoah were proud parents. However, they wished they could hold him back, keep him at home, and chase girls away. But they also knew that they could not lengthen his youth.
They knew they could not delay his growth, control his thoughts or steps, or shelter him from the pain of life.
Parenting is a personal restraint (Judges 14:1-4).
Samson was the fiercest, most feared Judge in Israel.
But he lived a life of total disregard and indifference for the opportunities and advantages he had received in life.
Samson used God’s gift of the Holy Spirit for his own pleasures.
Worse still, Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman, the enemy of Israel (Judges 14:4). Marrying a non-believer was against God’s Law (Deut. 7:3-5). Idol worship.
Marriage changes people forever. Wives are influential people.
Samson was so opinionated, vocal, dogmatic, sure about everything. He felt he could always win her to the Lord!
Manoah and his wife gave their opinion but it was brushed aside by Samson. Their hands were tied, tongues bitten.
They could not understand how their son had changed overnight, over a trip, over a girl.
Samson turned a blind eye to his God-given destiny.
Manoah saw in Samson what every parent sees in a child.
True, he was educated, big-sized, brave in heart, but he let his heart rule his head and his muscles did the talking. His testosterone was working overtime.
Stubborn, Samson did not listen. He wrecked his marriage. He let down his parents, friends, and country.
He finally brought others down with him.
Parenting is a permanent relationship (Judges 14:19-20).
The transition of young people to responsible adulthood is the last stage of parenthood.
18-25 years is the threshold – “legally adults” – but on the doorway of adulthood. In Israel, 30 was the age of adulthood (financial independence, with a family and a home).
Samson, after a whole week of a wedding ceremony and honeymoon, was full of wrath and destruction.
How Manoah and his wife wished their son would grow up as an adult!
He left his wife without a note or a trace. He did not find out how she was doing.
He made his wife cry for 7 days straight! (v.17).
Samson refused to grow up to adulthood; how about you?
CONCLUSION:
Parenting is increasingly becoming an endless task.
Parents will have to stick to their children through thick and thin.
Traditional parents who raise their kids to take care of them in old age have come to realize that they are taking care of their children longer.
The wife parent is the one who thanks God that their child has the ability to take care of himself, his wife and kids.
Parenting is the world’s greatest undertaking. Your child is always your child.
Latest posts by Rev, DR. Willy Mutiso (see all)
- DAMU YA UTAKASO. - October 26, 2025
- KEY TO DIVINE SPEED. - October 26, 2025
- LEVELS OF THE ANOINTING. - October 22, 2025