by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
“For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Samson’s story begins before his birth. Yahweh chooses him and sets him apart as a Nazirite. The phrase “begin to deliver Israel” is important. Samson’s role is part of a larger process. He isn’t the complete solution; he’s a starting point.<\/p>\n
The Judges 13 highlights God’s initiative. Israel didn’t cry out this time. God acted anyway. He stepped in because He is committed to His people even when they aren’t seeking Him. Samson’s parents respond with humility. Manoah asks for guidance, not out of doubt but out of a desire to raise Samson faithfully.<\/p>\n
The practical takeaway is clear. Yahweh often begins His work long before we see results. Samson’s calling reminds us that God prepares solutions in advance. Our role is to respond with obedience and attentiveness, as Samson’s parents did.<\/p>\n
You may not see the full picture of what God is doing, but you can be faithful with the part He’s given you. Samson’s story starts with God’s initiative and human obedience. That combination still matters.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). Samson’s story begins before his birth.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[90,187],"class_list":["post-99162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-god","tag-providence"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39338,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-good-works-the-result-of-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":99162,"position":0},"title":"Are good works the result of salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are good works the result of salvation? I was in a discussion earlier with someone of the Baptist faith who used Ephesians 2:10 to say that good works are the result of salvation and not required for salvation, since Paul is referring to us being saved in Ephesians 2:8-9,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15168,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-colossians-212-clearly-show-that-baptism-is-a-work-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":99162,"position":1},"title":"Doesn’t Colossians 2:12 clearly show that baptism is a work of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Doesn't the following verse very plainly show that baptism is not a work of man, but rendering obedience to God's will? \"buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead\" (Colossians 2:12).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28249,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-exactly-meant-by-works\/","url_meta":{"origin":99162,"position":2},"title":"What is exactly meant by works?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the Missouri Synod denomination, although I really don't like to see the denominations as \"separations.\" I like to see us all as Christians -- just Christians with different ideas. Anyway, I had read that faith without works is dead. Which I do agree with.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33579,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-explain-god-being-omnipresent\/","url_meta":{"origin":99162,"position":3},"title":"Can you explain God being omnipresent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering if you could go over the omnipresent power of God. Answer: Omnipresent is a word that means being everywhere at the same time. It is not a word found in the Bible, but it apply describes one of the characteristics of God. \"Where can I go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10528,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-woman-at-the-well-change-her-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":99162,"position":4},"title":"Did the woman at the well change her life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did the woman at the well make a change in her life, and if so what kind of change did she make? Answer: After the incidence at the well, we are told, \"From that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/arent-there-passages-that-say-we-are-saved-by-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":99162,"position":5},"title":"Aren’t there passages that say we are saved by faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You say\u00a0that \"You will never find where the Bible says that baptism is a symbol, or that one is saved at the point of faith.\" What about Luke 7:50? Jesus said to the woman, \"Your faith has saved you; go in peace.\" Ephesians 2:8\u00a0\"For it is by\u00a0grace you have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99162"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99165,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99162\/revisions\/99165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}