The Bottom Line
by Jimmy Tucker
A Mother with No Name
One of my clearest childhood memories is of my Mother reading Bible stories to me at bedtime. My favorite was the story of Samson because I loved hearing about his great strength and mighty deeds as a warrior for God. My Mother would get all of us in bed, then pull up a chair and read from a big thick children’s Bible storybook. Samson’s story, along with many others, inspired me to be strong in the Lord. I believed these true accounts and they helped me establish my faith in God at a young age. I’m thankful that my Mother’s faith was lived out in front of me and my brothers and sisters.
I want to focus on Samson’s mother mentioned in the book of Judges, chapter 13. I can’t give you her name because she was only referred to as Manoah’s wife. She was unable to become pregnant, so they had no children. She is one of the eight women mentioned in the Bible who was barren and later became pregnant with a miracle baby.
One day an angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines” (Judges 13:3-5 NLT).
This was the best news she’d ever heard, so she ran and told her husband. Since Manoah missed the appearance of the angel, he prayed that the angel would come back and give them more instructions about the son who was to be born to them. God answered Manoah’s prayer. When the angel of the Lord reappeared, Manoah asked him what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work. The angel then repeated the requirements he had given to Manoah’s wife. So we find that Samson’s success began with his mother’s obedience to God’s instructions. If his mother hadn’t taken her assignment seriously, her son would not have been the great deliverer God needed.
At the end of their meeting, when the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!“ But his wife said, “If the Lord were going to kill us, He wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles” (Judges 13:22,23 NLT).
Samson’s mother was filled with faith and wisdom, and God chose her as the one to give birth to Samson. There was no doubt in her heart that what the angel of the Lord said would come true. “So the woman bore a son, and she called him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. The Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him…” (Judges 13:24,25 MEV).
The Bottom Line: A mother who brings up a child to be strong in faith is well-known to God, even if she is “nameless” to the world.
Pastor Jimmy Tucker
(620) 223-1483
Diamond Community Church
10:45 a.m. Worship