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Samson's Riddle: "“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.” (Judges 14:14)
Samson was from a Jewish family chosen by God, to lead Israel to fight against the Philistines. An angel of God visited his parents who did not have a child for a long time and promised that they would have a son and he would become a very strong man. He should not cut his hair forever because his hair will be the source of his strength. Samson grew up to be a man of super-human strength (Judges 13, 14). He killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. At times, he was a mad man. He tied up three hundred foxes tail to tail and set them with fire torches and burned up the enemy’s wheat fields. He murdered thirty men for their clothes. Philistines were very afraid of him. But he sadly fell for a woman’s seduction for a haircut (Judges 16) and lost his superhuman strength. In spite of his weakness and madness, God chose him to fulfill His divine plans.
Samson loved riddles. A 'riddle' is where an uncertain and unexpected answer is key to the riddle. Choosing the appopriate answer is the key to solving a riddle. Samson took a journey to a distant country to find a wife for him. On his route through a rugged place, he encountered a fierce lion. He tore apart that lion by his hands. Indeed he was a strong man! Some time later while he was traveling the same road,he decided to go and take a look at his old victim. A swarm of bees had taken home there in the dry remains with full of honey. He swooped out the honey, ate some and gave some to his friends but didn’t tell them the source. Then he coined his riddle 'out of the eater came something to eat’ for his friends and they could not figure it out (Judges 14:14).
Life is full of riddles, full of twists and turns where we may face roaring lions. The Christian minister and author J E Kalas writes, “blessed are those who learn that there is honey in the lion”. Some lions in the journey of life are not wild beasts. We may not be able to run or kill them, or hide from them. Violence, poverty, racism, injustice, discrimination, exploitation, child abuse and greed are lions we face daily in our socieity. Nations fight each other to establish control and power over each other. They can hurt us leaving us marked for the rest of our lives. We dont like war. But scientists agree that we made greater progress in the development of medicine during the time of Wordl War II that would have happened in a whole generation of peace, especially in the development of antibiotics. Some may argue we could have possibly achieved these without the war. But the war made it essential and quicker.
We may face lion in personal situations like broken relationships, sickness, bereavement, disappointments, financial difficulties, job loss and many others that can come to us with fierceness. Many people become bitter and revengeful. Then others like Samson simply find a riddle in it. Then they discover the secret of the riddle, they find something to eat from the eater. If we look for it, we will be able to find something useful out of the bad situations. We need to learn to demand it, and learn to contend for it.
Samson did something many of us won't dare to do. He went back to that place to look at his victim again. "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith". Shiphrah and Puah were two midwives during the time of the birth of Moses. The Pharaoh had ordered them to kill all the Hebrew baby boys ( Exodus 1:15-21). But scripture says that these brave women feared God more than they feared the King and did not follow the Kings orders. Similarly in Acts Chapter 4 the Jewish leaders instructed Peter and John “Not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus”. They replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God” (Acts 4:18,19). Jesus said, "I tell you friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell." (Luke 12:4,5).
The honey in the lions tastes the sweetest. John Milton wrote his great books, ‘Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained’ in the darkness of his blindness. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress in the dark corner of a prison cell and Beethoven was partially deaf when he composed many of his great music. Our sweetest songs are those that tell of our saddest thoughts. When I look back at my personal experiences of difficulties of life, in the pains of sickness and brokenness of sadness, the honey God provided tasted the sweetest to my tongue ever. Sometimes we may have to pass our way of lions again. Then your past lion will become your source of strength for future. You may encounter a second or third recurrence of a disease or a grief or a broken relationship. Then you can say, "Oh yes, I have passed through this place before or I may pass by this place again and I will find honey in the lion."
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