“So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord. To the one who works wonders. And Manoah and his wife were watching.”
– Judges 13:19
I love that phrase describing the Lord. So this chapter is describing the birth of Samson and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Sampson’s birth and how God came to visit Manoah and his wife, who would be the parents of Samson.
This chapter is describing the birth of Samson and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Sampson’s birth and how God came to visit Manoah and his wife, who would be the parents of Samson.
Judges 13:19 Teaches Us about an Encounter with the Lord
And as they had this encounter with the angel of the Lord, they offer a sacrifice as a picture of worship to God. And that’s where Judges 13:19 comes in and says, “Manoah took a young goat with a grain offering, offered it on the rock to the Lord. To the one who works wonders.” Can you just soak that in as you think about that phrase, and you think about God? The God you know, the God you worship, the God you follow.
He is the one who works wonders. And you think about all the wonders he has worked in the world, starting from the very beginning, how he’s spoke and creation came into being at his bidding. He said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. He said, “Let there be.” And just fill in the blank. Everything we see in all of creation came at his bidding, at his word.
Judges 13:19 Shows Us God Works Wonders
He works wonders. And then, I was reflecting last night on someone who just came to faith in Christ. A man who, for this last year, he has been atheist agnostic all of his life, and he has been listening to not by his own choice, but because others have come over to his house, he’s older, and have turned on our worship gatherings every single Sunday. And he’s listened to God’s word. He’s watched God’s people in worship.
And just over the last couple of weeks, he has come to faith in Jesus. That’s a wonder that God has worked. And everywhere in between wonders in creation, wonders in salvation, wonders in our lives. So as we pray today, I just want to remind you, we’re praying to the one who works wonders. That it’s entirely really right and good for us to ask God to work wonders on our behalf, to work wonders on other’s behalf, to work wonders for his glory, for the spread of the gospel. So let’s pray.
Praise the Lord for His Work
Oh God, we praise you as the one who works wonders. There is no one else like you. You are the only one who can speak, and creation come into being. You’re the only one who can speak and sin be forgiven, and internal life be granted. And I praise you especially for your salvation in this older man’s life, who has cancer. And unless something changes, may not have much longer to live.
We praise you for the wonder you’ve worked in his heart. And God, we pray, we pray for those kind of wonders to be worked in more hearts this week. God, we pray that you would work the wonder of salvation. And some of our friends and family members who we’ve been praying for, neighbors, coworkers, we have been praying for, for a long time. God, would you do it? Would you work those wonders?
Would You Bring Salvation in Our Churches?
When we gather together in our churches this Sunday, would you work wonders and bring salvation? We pray. God, we pray for all kinds of things that are going on in our lives and others’ lives around us. God, we pray with faith, that you are the one who works wonders, and we ask you to continue to work orders for our good. For others good. For the good of your people, for the spread of the gospel. God, we pray that you would work wonders among the Parsee of Iran. This isolated, secretive, small people group in Iran, that is often persecuted in Iran.
God, we pray that you would work wonders that they might be saved, that they might know your salvation. We pray that you would work wonders, that thousands of people groups would be reached with the gospel. We pray you’d help us to live daily, aware that you are the one who works wonders. And to pray and to worship and to walk in faith accordingly. We love you, God, we praise you as the one who works wonders. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Judges 13, 19. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
