Chapter Two — The Angel
"Manoah! Manoah!"
After her encounter with the angel, Lily ran home in a panic.
She had just received the news she had prayed years to hear—that she would finally bear a child. But that alone was enough to overwhelm her. She had also been told that her son would possess extraordinary strength and would one day rise against the Philistines to lead Israel towards freedom.
"Lily, slow down. What's the matter?" a middle-aged man asked calmly.
Manoah's brows furrowed as he looked at his exasperated wife. His olive skin grew a shade paler as he watched her struggle to catch her breath.
"What's the matter?" he repeated.
"I don't even know where to begin…"
Between hurried breaths, Lily managed to explain the series of events that had unfolded at the orchard.
She told him about the stranger dressed in white.
About the Lord answering their prayers.
About the commandments surrounding their unborn son.
And finally, about the name the Lord Himself had chosen for him.
Samson.
Manoah remained silent for several moments.
"So you're saying that a man in a white robe appeared before you, told you he was sent by the Lord, and said that after all these years we would bear a son?"
Lily nodded quickly.
"A son named Samson, who will possess great strength and stand against the Philistines?"
"Yes! I swear it!"
Manoah stared at his wife with a questioning gaze.
He had no reason to doubt Lily. In all their years together, she had never given him one.
But what he had just heard was honestly quite difficult to believe.
Lily could understand his expression. Even she felt as though she had gone mad.
If these events had happened to anyone else, she wasn't sure she would have believed them either.
"Relax," Manoah finally said. "I believe you. You've never lied to me before."
Lily's shoulders loosened slightly.
"What I don't understand…" Manoah continued, stroking his beard, "is the strength he spoke of."
His expression became thoughtful.
"Do you think our son will be an Awakener?"
Lily hesitated.
Neither of them had awakened.
Awakeners were rare enough that the possibility of their own child becoming one seemed almost ridiculous.
Manoah leaned back.
I'm sure the Lord has His plans. If He has chosen our child for something like this, then He must have a way.
Still, something bothered him.
It would be nice if I could speak to this man myself.
"Let us ask the Lord to send him once more," Manoah suggested. "If we are expected to raise this child according to His will, then I want to make sure we understand everything properly."
Lily nodded.
"Yes, I think that's the best course of ac—"
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Both of them froze.
"Who's that?" Lily asked.
After everything that had happened that day, even a knock at the door was enough to put her on edge.
"We aren't expecting anyone, are we?"
"No," Manoah replied slowly. "No, we aren't."
Manoah walked towards the door with Lily close behind him.
He cracked it open.
His eyes widened.
Standing outside was a man wearing the exact white robe Lily had described. The cloth hung low enough to obscure his eyes, and a small smile rested upon his face.
"It seems the Lord wanted me to come back," the man said gently.
Manoah stared.
Heavens.
Whatever doubts he had possessed disappeared almost immediately.
"I take it you're the man who appeared before my wife."
The stranger smiled.
"I am."
"Please, come in."
The man stepped past the pair and entered their home.
Without much ceremony, he took a seat at the dining table.
Manoah and Lily exchanged a glance before sitting opposite him.
An awkward silence followed.
The stranger looked between them.
They looked back.
Finally, he spoke.
"The instructions regarding your son remain the same."
His voice became noticeably more serious.
"You may consider them strict, but they are as important as they are strict. No… imperative."
Manoah straightened.
"During Lily's pregnancy, she must drink no wine and eat nothing unclean. When the boy is born, no razor is ever to touch his head. He must drink no wine, and he must remain away from anything the Lord has declared unclean."
The angel's expression hardened.
"These commands must be upheld."
Manoah nodded slowly.
"And the strength my wife spoke of?"
The stranger leaned back slightly.
"What about it?"
"Will Samson be an Awakener?"
A small smile appeared on the man's face.
"Not just any Awakener."
Manoah's expression changed.
The stranger continued.
"If raised properly, Samson will become the most outstanding Awakener to grace the land of Israel."
Silence.
Manoah sat back in his chair.
No matter how hard he tried to process everything, it all seemed ridiculous.
Yesterday, he had been a simple man living peacefully with his wife in Zorah.
Today, he had learned that his barren wife would somehow bear a son named Samson, chosen by God, destined to possess extraordinary power and fight against the Philistines.
What was he even supposed to say to that?
Eventually, Manoah released a long breath.
There was little point trying to understand everything at once.
He would trust in the Lord.
The rest would come when it came.
After gathering his thoughts, Manoah suddenly realised something else.
He had invited a stranger into his home and offered him absolutely nothing.
"So…" Manoah began awkwardly. "Would you like any food?"
The man looked at him.
"We have a few lambs on the farm. I was planning to slaughter one for dinner."
"No, thank you."
Manoah blinked.
The stranger continued.
"If you wish to slaughter a lamb, then you might as well burn it as an offering to the Lord."
"Mhm."
Manoah nodded slowly.
"I suppose you're right. Wait here for a moment."
He stood and left the house.
Lily remained at the table with the stranger.
Another silence followed.
The man smiled.
Lily smiled awkwardly back.
Outside, Manoah selected a lamb and carefully laid it upon a stone. With one clean movement, he slit its throat.
He clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and offered a short prayer to the Lord.
Lily and the strange man watched silently from nearby.
Once he had finished preparing the offering, Manoah carried the lamb towards the fire behind their home and placed it upon the altar.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
WHOOSH!
The flames erupted.
Manoah stumbled backwards.
What had been an ordinary fire suddenly burned a blinding white, shooting several metres into the air.
"Heavens!"
Lily covered her mouth.
The flames twisted unnaturally, rising higher and higher without consuming anything around them.
This was no ordinary fire.
It was supernatural.
Behind them, the man dressed in white chuckled.
"The Lord is pleased!"
Manoah and Lily turned towards him.
For the first time since arriving, the stranger seemed genuinely joyful.
"Manoah and Lily of Zorah—rejoice!"
White light suddenly erupted from his body.
Lily's eyes widened.
Manoah stumbled backwards once again.
The stranger's human form disappeared entirely, replaced by a brilliant mass of heavenly light.
Then, just as smoke rose from the offering, the angel ascended.
Higher.
And higher.
His laughter echoed across the fields as the white light disappeared into the heavens.
Silence returned.
Manoah stared into the sky.
Lily stood beside him, equally speechless.
This time, there were no questions.
No doubts.
No wondering whether the stranger had truly been sent by God.
The man who had entered their home had never been a man at all.
He was an angel of the Lord.
Manoah slowly fell to his knees.
Lily followed.
Together, they prostrated themselves before the blazing altar.
Tears ran down Lily's cheeks.
"The Lord truly heard us…"
Manoah looked towards the heavens.
For years they had asked for nothing more than a child.
Instead, the Lord had given them Samson.
And somewhere beyond the clouds, the angel returned to the One from whom all glory came.