So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy's life and work?" – Judges 13:12

Today's Scripture Reading (May 9, 2025): Judges 13

I played a game with myself back when I was in university. It usually happened when the stress was high and I was struggling with a paper or an exam. In those moments, I tried to picture my life on the other side of the stress. I imagined what I might be doing in a decade or so when all this had passed. What would I be doing when I received that coveted degree? I admit that my dreams changed over the years as my academic dreams changed from Physician to Psychiatrist to, eventually, Theology (which simply means "talking about God"). There were also dalliances with Philosophy and English at various times, but regardless of the matter of study, I hoped there would also be a future in the field.

Many of those self-imposed visions didn't pan out for me. I know many people who knew for sure what it was that they wanted to do at a much younger age than I did. It might have been nice to have a clearer view of my future, and maybe I could have accomplished more if I had a better prophetic view of my future. However, I probably wouldn't have taken some of the courses that have influenced my life, and I wouldn't have read and studied as widely as I have. As a result, I wouldn't have become the person I am. 

The unnamed wife of Manoah has a meeting with an angel. God comes to this woman with a promise; she and Manoah might have been unable to conceive in the past, but that time was coming to a close. The angel promises that she will conceive a son, and this son will live as a Nazirite, a life dedicated to God. The woman immediately tells her husband what this angel told her.

Manoah immediately prayed that the angel would come back and confirm the message. God grants him his request, and the angel returns to speak to Manoah. But Manoah has a second question: what exactly will my son do with his life? He will be a Nazirite, but is there more that Manoah should know? Maybe at the heart of the request is what kind of a career a man would be able to have who could not cut his hair or do anything that would make him ceremonially unclean.

God gives Manoah his request for confirmation but refuses to give him a look into the future. What his son would do would remain a mystery until history unfolded its answer. Sometimes, the path we take is supposed to have twists and turns rather than the direct path we might take if we knew what we were supposed to be doing from the very beginning. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 14