26 November 2025
BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
Daily Bible Reading
Judges 13 – A Child of Promise
The Birth of Samson – How God Plants Hope in Hopeless Times
Read online here
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Introduction
Judges 13 opens in a dark time.
Israel is living under the rule of the Philistines.
There is oppression, spiritual weakness, and deep hopelessness.
And right there, God begins to move—
not through a king,
not through an army,
but through a family no one was paying attention to:
An infertile couple.
Where human possibility ends, God’s beginnings often break forth.
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Commentary
Israel had once again fallen into the old pattern that shaped their history:
unbelief, turning away from God, and oppression by their enemies.
Forty years under the Philistines—a heavy cloud of helplessness lay over the people.
In these difficult days lived Manoah and his wife in the town of Zorah.
Their life was quiet, simple… and overshadowed by one deep pain:
they had no children.
In their culture, infertility meant not only longing but shame—
a life that felt like a closed future.
And right here, something extraordinary happens.
One day, the angel of the Lord appears to Manoah’s wife.
Not in a temple.
Not to a prophet.
But to a woman who likely felt small, overlooked, and insignificant.
His words fall like sunlight into a locked heart:
“You will conceive and bear a son.”
But this child would not be an ordinary child.
He would be a Nazirite, consecrated to God from the womb—
set apart for divine purpose.
No razor was to touch his head.
He would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
The woman runs to Manoah and tells him everything.
Overwhelmed, Manoah prays:
“Lord, let the man of God come again, so we may learn what to do with the child.”
God listens.
The angel appears again—first to the woman, then to Manoah.
Manoah asks:
“What shall the boy’s rule of life and mission be?”
The answer is striking:
The angel does not repeat the child’s mission.
He repeats the parents’ responsibility:
purity, obedience, preparation.
Samson’s calling begins with his parents’ surrender.
Manoah wants to prepare a meal for the messenger, not knowing he is speaking with the angel of the Lord.
The angel refuses to eat and directs him instead to offer a burnt offering to God.
Then Manoah asks:
“What is your name?”
The angel replies:
“Why do you ask my name? It is wonderful.”
Manoah offers the goat and grain offering.
And then the miraculous happens:
As the flame rises from the rock altar,
the angel of the Lord ascends in the fire.
Manoah and his wife fall on their faces.
Manoah fears death, convinced they have seen God.
But his wife answers with calm, Spirit-given wisdom:
“If the Lord desired to kill us, He would not have accepted our offering.”
The story ends with a simple yet powerful conclusion:
The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.
And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.
Out of darkness rises hope.
Out of an infertile woman comes a deliverer.
With Samson, God’s quiet but unstoppable rescue begins.
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Summary
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Israel suffers under the Philistines for 40 years.
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An infertile couple receives a divine visitation.
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The angel announces Samson’s birth—a child consecrated to God.
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Manoah seeks guidance; God answers.
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A miraculous sign follows as the angel ascends in the flame.
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Samson is born, blessed, and stirred by the Spirit.
God begins salvation long before anyone sees change.
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Message for us Today
1. God often begins where we come to an end.
Whatever feels barren or hopeless in your life can become the soil for new beginnings.
2. God works in quiet places.
No stage, no spotlight—just an unknown couple.
God delights in small beginnings.
3. Calling begins with surrender.
Samson’s mission started with the obedience of his parents.
Holiness begins in the heart.
4. God’s plans exceed human understanding.
Manoah wanted details.
God said, “My name is wonderful.”
We don’t need full clarity to fully trust.
5. God sees your today and your tomorrow.
Samson’s task was known before his birth.
Your life also fits into a divine story—and God sees more than you do.
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Thought Prompt
Which “barren place” in your life might be the very place where God is planting the first seeds of new hope?
Perhaps where you expect the least,
the angel of the Lord is already whispering.
Stay open.
Stay obedient.
Stay ready.
God begins rescue stories with people who believe
that He is at work even in the unseen.
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23 – 26 November 2025
BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
Weekly Reading – Spirit of Prophecy
Ellen White | Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 43
The Death of Moses | Justice, grace, and hope beyond the grave
Read online here
BLOG 4 – The Death That Was Not the End
Moses’ Final Breath – and the Victory Over Death
The battle for a man beloved by Heaven
Introduction
At first glance, the death of Moses seems like a quiet ending.
Yet behind the scenes, a heavenly conflict ignites—
and Moses becomes the first witness of Christ’s resurrection authority.
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Commentary
Moses lies down like a weary traveler.
Death does not come as an enemy, but like a door that closes gently.
God Himself buries him—hidden from every human eye, guarded by angels.
But the silence of the grave does not last long.
Christ comes.
The Prince of Life steps to the place He Himself has watched over.
Satan appears as well—full of suspicion and pride.
He demands what he believes is rightfully his:
“Moses sinned! Death belongs to me!”
A moment of immense tension:
Heaven against hell, life against death.
But Christ does not argue.
He gives only one answer:
“The Lord rebuke you.”
And then something happens that the world has never seen:
A human being rises again.
Not on the last day,
not before all people—
but now, now through Christ Himself.
Moses steps out of the grave—transformed, radiant, free.
Death loses its claim.
He ascends with Christ,
not into a land of dust and stone,
but into the heavenly homeland.
Centuries later he will appear again—
not as a dead man,
but as a living one—
on the Mount of Transfiguration, standing beside Elijah, speaking with Jesus.
What he once longed for but could not enter,
is finally given to him:
the true, eternal Canaan.
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Summary
Moses dies—yet God buries him personally.
Christ resurrects him, breaks Satan’s claim,
and brings him home to eternity.
Moses’ death becomes a triumph of life.
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Message for Today
What looks like a “no” from God is often only the curtain before something far greater.
Moses did not receive the earthly land—
but the eternal one that will never perish.
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Reflection Question
Which “lost Canaan” in your life
might turn out to be the better thing
that God is preparing for you?
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LuxVerbi | The light of the Word. The clarity of faith.
