Judges 14:5-9
5 Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, so that he tore it apart as one tears apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
7 So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked pleasing to Samson.
8 When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.
9 So he took out the honey on his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
Lion and Bees
A roaring lion
Samson is truly a complex figure. Even in today’s passage, we can see that both heroic and law-breaking aspects coexisting within him. This also reflects our own nature. It appears that Samson and his parents acted as follows: (1) Samson came with his parents to meet the woman from Timnah. (2) There was a vineyard, but because the Nazirites were prohibited from entering vineyards, Samson took a detour and walked along the path beside it. (3) After parting from his parents, a lion came attacking him, so he tore the lion apart. (4) Later, he rejoined his parents and went to meet the woman from Timnah. As a result of their conversation, he became fond of her.
Honey in the carcass
Sometime “later,” which is probably about a year later, Samson once again was with his parents, intending to marry the woman from Timnah. Similar to the previous occasion, when they approached the vineyards, they split into two groups. (1) Samson went to check on the lion’s carcass. Due to the hot weather, the lion’s body must have dried up, and within it, there were bees that had built a hive. (2) Samson scooped out some honey and ate it while walking. (3) He also gave some of the honey to his parents, but he kept secret the fact that he had taken it from the carcass. Samson teared the lion apart by the power of the Lord’s Spirit. Since he didn’t have any conventional weapons in his hand, this was clearly the work of God. He must have understood that he had been given such strength for he was a Nazirite. However, he committed actions that violated his Nazirite vow. Touching a corpse and eating impure food (honey gathered from the carcass) are precisely that. His spiritual state was indeed confused. This reminds us of the famous words of Paul: “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Rom. 7:19). Are you spiritually confused? The Holy Spirit is the only one who can deliver us from spiritual bondage and confusion. Let’s welcome the Holy Spirit into our hearts now and learn to live by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, please fill me with the Holy Spirit and deliver me from spiritual confusion. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.