fallen in the wilderness, and their
successors are now in possession of the promised land. Moses, and
Joshua, and Caleb, have gone to their rest, and Israel, bereft of their
counsel, follow wise or evil advices as a wayward fancy may dictate, and
receive a corresponding recompense at the hands of their God. The
children proved in no respect wiser or more obedient than their fathers.
Again and again "they forsook the Lord and served the idols of the
Canaanites, and in wrath He gave them up to their enemies." Often in
pity he raised up for them deliverers who would lead them for a time in
better paths, "but when the judge was dead, they returned, and corrupted
themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve
them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings
nor from their stubborn way," and therefore were they often for long
tedious years in bondage to the various nations which God had left in
the land "to prove them whether they would walk in his ways." It was
during one of these seasons of trouble that the subject of our study is
mentioned. She was the wife of Manoah, a citizen of Zorah, of the tribe
of Dan. Of her previous history, and the events of her after life, we
know nothing. He who sitteth on the circle of the heavens, and beholdeth
all things that are done under the sun, and readeth all hearts, had
marked her out as the instrument, wherewith he would work to get glory
to himself, and however little known to others, He deemed her worthy of
this distinguished honor, and to receive a direct communication from
himself. Of her character nothing is said, but we gather with unerring
certainty that she was a self-denying, obedient child of God, for He
would not have chosen one who would not adhere strictly to his every
injunction.

It is not necessary that we should detail every incident of those
interviews with the angel Jehovah, which the mother of Samson was
permitted to enjoy. Take your Bible, friend, and read for yourself in
words more befitting than we can use, and as you rise from the perusal,
if the true spirit of a Christian reigns in your heart, you will perhaps
exclaim, "Oh, that the Lord would come to me also and tell me how I
shall order my children that so they may be the subjects of his grace
and instruments of his will!" If you meditate deeply while you read,
perhaps you will conclude that in His directions to this mother, our
Heavenly Father has revealed to us