Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”
Judges 13:2
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.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, but he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 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. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”
leviticus 9:24
And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
1 Chronicles 21:16
And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
Ezekiel 1:28
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Exodus 3:6
At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Deuteronomy 5:26
For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?
The story of Samson. The angel of the Lord visited the woman (his future mom) and spoke. She went and told her husband and he asked God for confirmation. God Listened and the angel of the Lord came and spoke again. When they offered up a sacrifice and saw the angel of the Lord go up in the flames, to be seen no more, they fell on their face and thought they would die because they thought they saw God. I am intrigued by this and as well other scripture that speaks of the same response. Falling on their face and thinking they would die. They had just been witness to an act of God. They fell on their face to worship Him and then because they thought it was God they thought they would die. Two things come to mind. Do we have the same reverence for God? When we see His holy power and strength in acts around us do we fall on our face in reverence? Do we reverence His holiness to the point where we would think we would die if we saw Him? Are we looking for His intervention in our lives? Do we acknowledge Him when these happen? Do we fall on our face with awe, wonder, and reverence? Do we understand our sinful nature in light of His holiness? I think this is something we need to be mindful of everyday. Know God lives. Look for and expect to see His hand at work in our lives. Give reverence to this work when we see it. God becomes more and more alive in our lives when we stay in His word. Our faith grows as we stay in His word. Our lives change for the better when we stay in His word. Purpose to stay in His word! Live in such a way that all you think, say, and do brings honor and glory to Him!
