A Defeated Foe
ONE DAY when Samson went down to Timnath, he came to the vineyards, “and behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand.” Judg. 14:5,65Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. (Judges 14:5‑6).
Samson pictures to us the Lord Jesus down in this world and the young lion is a type of Satan.
How terrible and frightening is the roar of a lion, the king of beasts! Satan sought to frighten and turn the Lord aside from His path of faithfulness, but the Lord withstood him. Then on the cross He withstood him again as the “ravening and roaring lion.” And from the terrible conflict He came forth in resurrection as the mighty Victor over death and Satan’s power.
To faith, Satan is a defeated foe, but he still goes about, Peter tells us, “as a ravening and a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” However, those who have Christ as their Saviour can withstand him in the power of God. We are told to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:77Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).
A little later when Samson again went down to Timnath, “he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.” Samson took some of the honey and ate it as he went on his way. How sweet it must have tasted! It strengthened him too. When he came to his father and mother he gave them some also. But he did not tell them where it came from.
The carcass of the dead lion with the swarm of bees and the honey inside, is a picture of the power of Satan overcome in the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. The sweetest blessings have come to us now from that very place where the Lord defeated the great enemy of God and man. Like Samson eating the honey, we too can taste the sweetness of knowing Satan is a defeated foe, and we will have some to share with others too.
ML-04/01/1973