What is the meaning of Judges 13:25? And the Spirit of the Lord • Scripture reports, “The Spirit of the LORD came upon” earlier judges like Othniel (Judges 3:10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), and Jephthah (Judges 11:29). Samson stands in that same line of Spirit-empowered deliverers. • Before Pentecost the Holy Spirit selectively empowered individuals for specific tasks (1 Samuel 16:13). His coming on Samson shows divine initiative—Israel’s rescue will be God’s work, not human ingenuity (Zechariah 4:6). • For believers today the passage foreshadows the permanent indwelling promised in John 14:16-17. began to stir him • “Stir” pictures an inner prompting, an irresistible urge to act. God was awakening Samson’s calling long before his public exploits (compare Jeremiah 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:6). • Like Bezalel, whom God “filled with the Spirit…to craft” (Exodus 31:2-3), Samson is equipped for his unique mission—deliverance through physical strength (Judges 14:6). • Philippians 2:13 reminds believers that “it is God who works in you to will and to act,” echoing this divine stirring. at Mahaneh-dan • Mahaneh-dan means “camp of Dan” and was already known from the migration of the Danites (Judges 18:11-12). God meets Samson where his tribe is encamped, underscoring: – Ministry begins in one’s own community (Acts 1:8 starts with Jerusalem). – Even a spiritually struggling tribe (Judges 18 shows Dan’s idolatry) can become the setting for God’s work. • The camp context hints at warfare; the Judge will function as Israel’s champion (1 Samuel 17:47). between Zorah and Eshtaol • These neighboring towns lay on Judah’s border (Joshua 15:33). Samson grows up in a borderland—fitting for someone called to confront the Philistines who occupied nearby territory (Judges 13:5). • God often raises deliverers from seemingly insignificant places: Bethlehem for David (1 Samuel 17:15) and Jesus (Micah 5:2). • The phrase roots the event in real geography, reminding us that biblical history unfolds in verifiable locations. summary Judges 13:25 records the first movement of the Holy Spirit in Samson’s life. The verse teaches that God Himself initiates deliverance, gradually prepares His chosen servant, and does so within ordinary settings and flawed communities. Samson’s upcoming feats are therefore to be read not as mere tales of human strength but as demonstrations of God’s power working through a stirred, Spirit-empowered life. |
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