We all know the Christmas story!

The reason we celebrate Christmas is to remember the miraculous birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

In this particular post, I want to go further back in history, to yet another story of an Angel visiting an unlikely woman and telling her of the miraculous conception that she will experience…

Did I mention, Jesus is in this story too!

WAIT!

How could Jesus be in a story that occurred before His birth?

I’m fairly certain that you have

NEVER SEEN THIS STORY BEFORE!

You don’t want to go another year without reading this story.

Here it is!

The Old Testament Christmas Story that we Missed!

“Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family 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, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything 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 my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” So the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.” And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?””

‭‭Judges‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

We see a couple without children.

The woman’s womb is barren.

Then an Angel visits her and informs her of the miracle that will take place.

She will indeed have a child, but she will need to dedicate the child’s life to God and he must be set apart for all of his life.

I know what you’re thinking…

Where is Jesus?

The baby that the Angel is referring to, is Samson.

Jesus isn’t the miraculous infant in this Old Testament story…

There is another key person in this story.

An angel.

Except this Angel is not just an angel…

He is “the Angel of the LORD.”

When Angel is capitalized in the Bible, the angel is actually God in the form of an angel.

The manifest form of God is Jesus!

Is this Angel actually Jesus?

The confirmation is found when Samson’s parents ask the Angel what His name is…

“What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”

There was no need to ask what His name was; it was quite clear…

The Angel’s name is WONDERFUL!

There is only One Whose name is Wonderful.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

“His name will be called WONDERFUL, …”

So, there you have it.

A Christmas story 1000 years before the Messiah came to the world as a baby.

Think about it!

Jesus foretelling Samson’s mother of a miraculous birth that will take place through her, knowing that it only foreshadows the moment when He makes His arrival.

Him knowing that 1000 years later, He will be the Child born in the most miraculous birth.

Photo by Vika Kirillova

Would you like to know how to keep

Jesus

the reason for the season?

I encourage you to check out the post:

HOW TO CELEBRATE JESUS ON CHRISTMAS