Samson: The Lion and the Riddle

Baby Samson grew up. Now he was a young man, and his hair was still long.

His parents remembered the promise they had received before he was born.

God had a mission for him: to begin freeing Israel from the Philistines.

One day, Samson went to a city called Timnah. There he met a young Philistine woman whom he liked very much.

When he returned home, he told his parents that he wanted to marry her.

His parents were worried. They wanted him to think carefully about that decision.

But Samson insisted.

Some time later, Samson and his parents walked toward Timnah.

The path went past vineyards, where grapes grew.

The leaves moved gently in the breeze.

Along the way, something surprised Samson.

A young lion came toward him and roared!

Samson had no sword or any other weapon.

Then the Spirit of God gave him extraordinary strength.

Samson grabbed the lion and defeated it with his bare hands.

The lion died. Samson was able to continue on his way.

That strength did not come from his hair. It was a gift from God.

But Samson did not tell his parents what had happened.

Later, he traveled along that path again on his way to his wedding.

He went over to the place where the lion's body lay.

There he found something very strange.

Bees had made a honeycomb inside the lion's body!

The bees buzzed around the honey.

Samson took some honey and ate it.

He also brought honey to his parents. They tasted it, but he did not tell them where he had found it.

Samson was keeping another secret.

In Timnah, Samson prepared a wedding feast.

The celebration would last seven days.

Thirty men from that place joined him as guests.

The guests gathered around the table.

Samson thought about the lion and the honey. Then he decided to tell a riddle.

A riddle is a question you answer by thinking carefully.

Samson said:

“Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.”

What mysterious words!

Who was the eater? What was strong? Where had something sweet come from?

You already know the secret: the lion was strong, and the honey was sweet.

But the guests had not been with Samson on the path.

They did not know what had happened.

Samson and the guests made an agreement: if they found the answer before the feast ended, he would give them thirty sets of clothes. If not, they would have to give them to him.

Several days passed, and the men could not find the answer.

Then they went to speak with Samson's wife.

They pressured and threatened her so she would find out the secret.

That was wrong. No one should frighten her to get what they wanted.

She felt afraid and began to cry.

She asked Samson to tell her the answer.

“Please, tell me what your riddle means.”

At first, Samson did not want to tell her.

But she kept asking. Finally, he told her the secret of the lion and the honey.

Then she gave the answer to the men.

Before the last day ended, the guests answered the riddle.

They said that nothing was sweeter than honey, and nothing was stronger than a lion.

Samson realized that they had learned his secret through his wife.

He felt hurt and became very angry.

The feast had not ended as he had hoped.

Samson had extraordinary strength. But being strong did not mean he always knew how to choose wisely.

He still needed to listen to God and learn to act with wisdom.

His story would continue.