And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
When the promised deliverer was announced a second time to the childless family at Zorah, Manoah asked in anxiety how the child was to be raised and cared for so no mistake would be made in fulfilling God's will for him. The One who answered was Christ, and He repeated to the father the instruction already given to the mother, the double repetition showing how solemnly God regards this matter. That instruction centered first on the mother before birth, that she must avoid wine and strong drink and all unclean food and live in temperance and self-control. This was because the child had a great work requiring physical strength, intellectual vigor and moral purity, and because both parents transmit their appetites, dispositions and mental and physical traits to their children, so the after-birth training must also deliberately guide body, mind and morals without harshness or anger. Manoah's question is therefore the prayer every father and mother should offer, seeking wisdom to teach, restrain and form character after the divine pattern so children will follow good and bless the world, a prayer God answers with further light as parents obey the instruction already given in Scripture.
Context and Question
The question was put by Manoah when the Angel appeared the second time to a childless family of the tribe of Dan at Zorah. He and his wife feared making a mistake in the important work of raising the promised son through whom God would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. He therefore asked anxiously how the child should be trained and what should be done for him.
The Speaker who answered was Christ, who had before spoken to Israel enshrouded in the cloudy pillar for their good. God employs angels to communicate with human beings and to assist His chosen messengers. He sent a messenger on this occasion to give instruction concerning the education of the promised child.
The angel had returned in answer to prayer, and Manoah then asked how the promised child was to be ordered and treated, how he and his wife should raise and care for him, and what should be done for him. His inquiry sought the mind and will of God and clear guidance. He desired to know so that he and his wife might fulfill God's instructions concerning the child.
The answer repeated to the father what had already been told to the mother. The instruction sent from heaven was twice repeated in the most explicit and solemn manner. That twofold repetition shows how the matter is regarded by the Creator.
Instruction for Raising Child
The instruction given in answer centers on the mother before the birth of the child, requiring her to beware and observe all that was commanded. She was to avoid anything that comes from the vine, wine and strong drink, and any unclean food. The answer to the father simply repeated what had already been told to the mother.
God had an important and great work for the child to do, requiring careful thought and vigorous action, so all his habits were to be carefully regulated to secure the qualities necessary for that work. His early life was therefore surrounded with favorable conditions for physical strength, intellectual vigor, and moral purity. The qualifications necessary for that work were to be secured by carefully regulating the habits of both the mother and the child.
A mother's habits influence her child's appetites and passions, so prenatal care is part of preparing a child for God. Both parents transmit their own mental and physical characteristics, dispositions and appetites to their children for good or evil, so fathers as well as mothers share the responsibility. The mother is to be controlled by principle, practicing temperance, self-denial and self-control for the welfare of the child.
The parents' responsibility included the child's upbringing after birth and not merely care before birth. It calls for deliberate parental care and obedience to God's directions and for preparation for the sacred responsibility of guiding physical, mental and moral development. Parents stand in God's place as teachers and must bring up their children in habits of strict temperance, without scolding and fretting, harshness, or punishing in anger.
Ennobling and uplifting the race requires God's power combined with human effort. Simplicity in all habits by restricting the appetite and controlling the passions preserves the mental powers strong, active and vigorous, quick to perceive what demands thought or action, keen to discriminate between the holy and the unholy, and ready for every enterprise for God's glory and humanity's benefit. Failure to heed God's lessons brings deterioration in physical, mental and moral power.
Model Prayer for Parents
Manoah's inquiry is the question every father and mother should ask about a child to be born. It supplies a model prayer for parents, and especially for mothers, to seek God's guidance and wisdom for ordering a child's life and training the child for the Lord. In that prayer the parent asks how to raise and guide the child, how to order him and what to do for him and how to act toward him. It means seeking divine guidance about even prenatal influence, with the mother controlled by principle and practicing temperance, self-denial and self-control for the welfare of the child, while fathers as well as mothers share the responsibility.
The prayer seeks help to instruct, guide and restrain children according to God's instruction. Its aim is to make a straight way for their feet to heaven and to form character after the divine pattern. Thus taught and guided, they may turn from evil and follow what is good, and bless the world by godly influence. The prayer is needed because corrupting influences, fashion and custom press strongly on the young, and without faithful teaching, and without a mother's faithful teaching, children will accept evil and turn from good.
The sincere request reaches God. It is answered as the mother carefully follows the instructions already given in Scripture and follows Christ's teachings in her own life and heeds the instruction God has given in His word. Then further light, knowledge and wisdom will be given as needed for her grand and noble work.
When the promised deliverer was announced a second time to the childless family at Zorah, Manoah asked in anxiety how the child was to be raised and cared for so no mistake would be made in fulfilling God's will for him. The One who answered was Christ, and He repeated to the father the instruction already given to the mother, the double repetition showing how solemnly God regards this matter. That instruction centered first on the mother before birth, that she must avoid wine and strong drink and all unclean food and live in temperance and self-control. This was because the child had a great work requiring physical strength, intellectual vigor and moral purity, and because both parents transmit their appetites, dispositions and mental and physical traits to their children, so the after-birth training must also deliberately guide body, mind and morals without harshness or anger. Manoah's question is therefore the prayer every father and mother should offer, seeking wisdom to teach, restrain and form character after the divine pattern so children will follow good and bless the world, a prayer God answers with further light as parents obey the instruction already given in Scripture.
Context and Question
The question was put by Manoah when the Angel appeared the second time to a childless family of the tribe of Dan at Zorah. He and his wife feared making a mistake in the important work of raising the promised son through whom God would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. He therefore asked anxiously how the child should be trained and what should be done for him.
The Speaker who answered was Christ, who had before spoken to Israel enshrouded in the cloudy pillar for their good. God employs angels to communicate with human beings and to assist His chosen messengers. He sent a messenger on this occasion to give instruction concerning the education of the promised child.
The angel had returned in answer to prayer, and Manoah then asked how the promised child was to be ordered and treated, how he and his wife should raise and care for him, and what should be done for him. His inquiry sought the mind and will of God and clear guidance. He desired to know so that he and his wife might fulfill God's instructions concerning the child.
The answer repeated to the father what had already been told to the mother. The instruction sent from heaven was twice repeated in the most explicit and solemn manner. That twofold repetition shows how the matter is regarded by the Creator.
Instruction for Raising Child
The instruction given in answer centers on the mother before the birth of the child, requiring her to beware and observe all that was commanded. She was to avoid anything that comes from the vine, wine and strong drink, and any unclean food. The answer to the father simply repeated what had already been told to the mother.
God had an important and great work for the child to do, requiring careful thought and vigorous action, so all his habits were to be carefully regulated to secure the qualities necessary for that work. His early life was therefore surrounded with favorable conditions for physical strength, intellectual vigor, and moral purity. The qualifications necessary for that work were to be secured by carefully regulating the habits of both the mother and the child.
A mother's habits influence her child's appetites and passions, so prenatal care is part of preparing a child for God. Both parents transmit their own mental and physical characteristics, dispositions and appetites to their children for good or evil, so fathers as well as mothers share the responsibility. The mother is to be controlled by principle, practicing temperance, self-denial and self-control for the welfare of the child.
The parents' responsibility included the child's upbringing after birth and not merely care before birth. It calls for deliberate parental care and obedience to God's directions and for preparation for the sacred responsibility of guiding physical, mental and moral development. Parents stand in God's place as teachers and must bring up their children in habits of strict temperance, without scolding and fretting, harshness, or punishing in anger.
Ennobling and uplifting the race requires God's power combined with human effort. Simplicity in all habits by restricting the appetite and controlling the passions preserves the mental powers strong, active and vigorous, quick to perceive what demands thought or action, keen to discriminate between the holy and the unholy, and ready for every enterprise for God's glory and humanity's benefit. Failure to heed God's lessons brings deterioration in physical, mental and moral power.
Model Prayer for Parents
Manoah's inquiry is the question every father and mother should ask about a child to be born. It supplies a model prayer for parents, and especially for mothers, to seek God's guidance and wisdom for ordering a child's life and training the child for the Lord. In that prayer the parent asks how to raise and guide the child, how to order him and what to do for him and how to act toward him. It means seeking divine guidance about even prenatal influence, with the mother controlled by principle and practicing temperance, self-denial and self-control for the welfare of the child, while fathers as well as mothers share the responsibility.
The prayer seeks help to instruct, guide and restrain children according to God's instruction. Its aim is to make a straight way for their feet to heaven and to form character after the divine pattern. Thus taught and guided, they may turn from evil and follow what is good, and bless the world by godly influence. The prayer is needed because corrupting influences, fashion and custom press strongly on the young, and without faithful teaching, and without a mother's faithful teaching, children will accept evil and turn from good.
The sincere request reaches God. It is answered as the mother carefully follows the instructions already given in Scripture and follows Christ's teachings in her own life and heeds the instruction God has given in His word. Then further light, knowledge and wisdom will be given as needed for her grand and noble work.