Judges 13:2-5 (ESV)
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
God has first say on our children. We don’t think this way, of course, but that does not diminish the truth that He does. When we have children we claim them as our own. The world does not think about the imprint of God on their children. They are made in the image of God and He is their God and their creator. He owns them as well as us. When Manoah had no children she turned to God and He gave her the desire of her heart. But, God also made sure that the boy would be used for God’s glory. Her son, eventually named Samson, would be another judge who would deliver Israel from the Philistine oppression. In the Law, the first-born was always dedicated to God. In a few chapters we will read about Samuel being giving to God for service. In our modern society we make claim that children are our own, but we fail to recognize that, as parents, we are simply stewards of these little gifts that we call sons and daughters. God gives them to use so that we can influence them to live for Him. When we fail to think that way we will end up raising children for our satisfaction and for their well being. When we recognize that we are stewards of God’s gifts to us, we will have a desire to raise them to know Him and live for Him and not for us.
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