| “Out of the eater came forth meat [food], and out of the strong came forth sweetness” (Judges 14:14). |
| Have you ever had someone give you a riddle, to see if you could figure it out? It can be fun to think and try to figure out what a riddle means. Here in our verse for today we find a riddle that Samson gave to some young men who were invited to his wedding. |
| Earlier, when Samson had first come down to Timnath, a city of the Philistines, a lion had attacked him, and he had killed it without having any weapon in his hands. Later, when he came back to the carcass of the lion, he found that some bees had made a home there, and had made some honey. This was the basis of Samson’s riddle that he proposed to those young men. They made an arrangement that if they could figure it out, he would have to give them some new clothes, but if they could not figure it out, they would have to give Samson some new clothes. |
| The men could not figure it out, and finally persuaded Samson’s wife to ask him the answer, and then she told the young men. Samson was angry, as then he had to give some new clothes to the other young men. |
| But did you know that there was an important meaning to Samson’s riddle? In the Bible a lion speaks of Satan and his power. He is strong, and we read in 1 Peter 5:8 that “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” He is definitely strong, and he is certainly an “eater.” But we know what happened at Calvary’s cross. The Lord Jesus met Satan and defeated him there. Just as Samson killed the lion, so the Lord Jesus defeated Satan at the cross. What is the result of that victory? Instead of Satan “eating up” those whom he attacks, there is food for us, and sweetness, from the victory the Lord Jesus has won. All the evil that Satan has introduced into the world has only resulted in blessing for man, for the grace of God, and the work of our Lord Jesus on the cross, has turned it into something good. |
| Of course, we must be willing to come to the Lord Jesus and accept Him as Savior. But then we find that instead of being attacked by Satan, we find food and sweetness. |
