John’s gospel records seven irrefutable signs of Jesus’ deity, then ends with a man saved by grace, believing apart from signs. He records Jesus announcing the blessing of salvation by faith (Jn 20:29-31). The Bible, not signs, is God’s means of faith in Christ!
Manoah and his wife didn’t have a Bible, yet they believed by faith the word spoken by the Angel of the Lord apart from miracles or signs (Judg 13:12, 17). They were people of genuine faith given to them as a gift by God (Eph 2:5, 8-9).

I. His Name (Judg 13:15-18). A middle eastern host feeds his guest. It was the custom in Abraham’s day (Gen 18:1-8) and still is so. Not knowing the identity of his Guest, Manoah offered Him a secular meal of hospitality when He was worthy of a sacred meal of worship. Spiritual things are discerned spiritually (1 Cor 2:14; Eph 2:1, 4-5).
The Angel of the Lord refused to eat but waited as an offering was prepared to the Lord. Since God was giving Manoah and his wife the gift of a son, they would make a thank offering to Him.
Manoah asked the Visitor’s name so when the baby came they could thank him. In Jewish culture, a name was more than a label, it identified one’s attributes, nature, and character. The Visitor refused to answer, saying His name was wonderful, meaning exceedingly great, more than one can handle, beyond understanding.
God is greater than we can take in! He’s not unknown or unknowable, but more than we can ever fully know. Today, as in eternity, we will be finite creatures and He the infinite Creator. If His wisdom and knowledge are deep, His judgments unsearchable, and His ways past finding out (Rom 11:33) — so is He! Imagine: the wonderful God was face to face with an ordinary man and woman. What amazing grace!

II. His Wonder (Judg 13:19-20). Manoah prepared a young goat and a grain offering (Lev 2), reminding the worshiper that God was Provider. It was as easy for Jews as it is for us to forget to thank Him for our daily bread (Mt 6:11).
The grain offering was fine flour mixed with oil, salt, and frankincense. It was offered as raw dough or a baked loaf. The flour symbolized God's provision for needs, the oil His holiness and caused the offering to burn. Salt pictured God’s preservation and faithfulness to His promises and His people (Num 18:19; 2 Chron 13:5), and the frankincense created a sweet-smell as the offering burned. Rather than grain offerings, believers today thank Him in prayer before we eat.
Then Wonderful did something wondrous: He touched the offering and fire erupted out of the rock, consuming the offering, and the Angel rose in the flame and disappeared! We would expect the all-consuming fire to fall from Heaven upon the offering, but just as with Gideon, the flame came out of the rock and shot upward (Judg 6:21). The flame went up, the Angel went up, but Manoah and his wife went down on their faces in humble worship. The Lord Jesus, the Rock of Israel (Ps 19:15), wasn’t in Heaven to send fire down; He was standing there to receive the offering.

III. His Deity (23" class="scriptRef">Judg 13:21-23). What Manoah didn’t know moments earlier, he knew then! The Messenger was Jehovah Himself! He’d seen God, literally, been face to face with Elohim, a figure of speech describing intimate interaction (Ex 33:11, 20, 23).
Jews believed seeing the invisible God resulted in death (Ex 33:20; Judg 6:19-23; 1 Tim 6:16). Because sinful man cannot see - nor ever has seen - the transcendent and holy God, Jesus became Man to reveal the Father (Jn 1:18; 5:37; 14:8-9; 1 Jn 1:1-2).
Manoah believed he and his wife were about to die, but his wife reasoned that God couldn’t give them a son to raise if they were dead. She was more reasoned and faith-full in her understanding of God than her husband.