by Rev. S. Fraser Tallach M.A.
“Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” Judges 14: 14.
Samson was one of the mighty men of old, men of renown, who commonly gained the upper hand of his enemies, the Philistines, by sheer physical strength. The putting forth of the above riddle was one occasion when he resorted to more subtle means. He had slain a lion. When he returned, he found that right in that very place, a swarm of bees had been busy producing honey. As he “took thereof in his hands and went on eating,” a plan formed in his mind. The curiosity of finding honey in the carcase of a lion would be formed into a riddle to confound the Philistines.
Wherein did the puzzle of this riddle lie? It plainly lay in the seeming contradiction between the nature of the eater and the production of meat. There are certain creatures whose very nature makes them like the daughter of the horse-leach of Proverbs 30 who know only to cry, “Give, Give”. Even if the young men guessed rightly that the eater was a lion, whatever line of logical thought would lead them to guess further that such a rapacious animal could be a producer of food. When a lion, particularly a man-eating lion, which this lion apparently was, terrorises a neighbourhood, then it acts like the seven lean ears of corn in Pharoah’s dream; it takes but gives nothing in return. It would be dangerous to surmise that Samson thought of any deeper application his riddle might have. Scripture is silent on this matter. Nevertheless, the riddle may be used as an illustration of the ravages which sin makes. Think of the first entrance of sin. It destroyed our original righteousness. It consumed our peace of mind. It made ravages on our innocence. The harmony between God and man, and between man and man, fell pray to its venom. And what benefits were gained by yielding to its enticements? Sorrow and misery were its lasting fruits. Of the fuller satisfaction which Satan said man would gain he experienced nothing.
Since the time of the fall, sin continues, as Scripture reminds us, to act in the same way. A sinful tongue is set on fire of hell and burns all within reach. Its words are like a canker which consumes. It can be tamed of no man.
The second part of the riddle is of a piece with the first. The word “strong” means, clearly, strong to dominate. As each succeeding account of the depredations carried out by a man-eating lion passed from
mouth to mouth, one can imagine the fear which would grip the hearts of all who heard. Whence, then, could sweetness arise? What, in turn, can equal the bitterness caused by sin — remorse or the memory of lost opportunities, a conscience laden with guilt, and in the future, the expectation of judgment. The strength of sin, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 derives from the law of God Himself. How can one expect that from the very place where God condemns there will arise the sweetness of love and consolation.
The hidden solution to the riddle, of course, lies in what Samson concealed. He did not tell the Philistines that the eater had been slain and the oppressor subdued. He did not say that on the death of the old vindictive power, a new power, the power of the industrious bees, began to work. They produced, they did not rob. They gave sweetness not bitterness. It is these two actions, the death of the old and the introduction of the new which Samson is sure the Philistines will never understand and will therefore render his riddle insoluble. For us, too, the riddle of sin would have forever been insoluble had not Christ done to sin what Samson did to the lion. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Who can bring blessing out of cursing? Christ first made an end of sin. He not only bore the curse of sin’s condemnation. He took the active principle of sin, what Paul calls “the old man”, and robbed it of its power. All the blessing that now flows out to us from the cross, flows out because of how Christ saved us from sin’s guilt and power. Do those chosen in Christ have atonement? It is because satisfaction has been made for sin. Do they have reconciliation? It is because Christ has the keys of hell and of death and He opens to all for whom He was made a curse. Do they have victory over Satan? It is because clothed in the robe of salvation and the garments of Christ’s righteousness, Satan has no ground of accusation. A new principle now operates. Where sin reigned to death, grace reigns to eternal life. At this place where death was swallowed up in victory, the Lord of Hosts now prepares a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow. Where a sinner had been consigned to death, God now fills his mouth with good things, and crowns him with loving-kindness and tender mercies.
We must always remember the place of this perpetual victory. It is the cross of Christ. Because it is the sad experience of believers that iniquities prevail against them, various expedients have been devised to continue the power of the victory of Christ’s death on earth. The Mass is one such expedient in which, it is claimed, the sacrifice of Christ is re-enacted for the benefit of those labouring under a sense of guilt. Others stress the
power of some subjective experience, like a second blessing, which elevates the believer above the power of temptation. The Mass exalts the power of the Church. The emphasis on the second blessing pretends to exalt the Holy Spirit. Both forget that the function of the Church and of the Holy Spirit is to take of the things of Christ and show them to sinners. We must always return to the site of this victory and say with Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. “In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.”
Having given the foregoing solution to the riddle, all now becomes clear. There was, in fact, no direct connection between the eater and the honey found in the carcass. Likewise, there is no direct connection between the ruinous power of sin and the gracious power of the gospel. Yet, to say that there was no connection at all would rob the riddle of any point. The fact remains that there is a very strong conjunction here, a strong conjunction that would be lost if one merely said, “Out of the hive came forth meat and sweetness”. That is just where one would expect honey to come from whereas one does not expect it to come from a lion. Hence the honey that comes from the lion is set apart from the honey that comes from the forest or the hive or the hedgerow. Likewise, God reveals His goodness in a great variety of ways in nature and in His providential dealings. Nevertheless, the revelation of His goodness in Christ is unique, just because of the fact that sin is the occasion for this revelation. Had there been no carcass of the lion, there would have been no comb of honey there. Had there been no sin, we would have never known the meaning of the word “mercy”. How wonderful it is that God should take that which is the author of confusion and every evil work and make it the means to display these tender mercies that are over all His other works.
There is another connection. Not only is the carcass of the lion the occasion for the honey being there at all. That honey is found in exactly the same place where the power of the lion formerly was displayed. That is also true of the display of God’s grace in Christ. It is a wonderful truth that Christ goes to prepare a place for His people. It is an equal truth that the angels sang, that there is peace on earth itself. Never was this revealed more clearly than on the day of Pentecost. The very streets that rang with the cries, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”, are the streets that now witness a total transformation. The Spirit of grace and supplication is poured out. Christ as Prince and Saviour is seen, not on a throne of judgment but on a throne of grace. Where sin abounded grace now much more
abounds. Where sin reigned unto death, grace now reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. Instead of hate, the love wherewith the Father loved Christ is found in them.
If there is one scene rather than another that should draw out the spirit of worship it is this. We wonder at the power of God in springtime when the decayed face of the earth is renewed. We know that sap lay within the bark of the trees and given favourable conditions the sap will rise and feed the branches, fill out the leaves and cover the foliage with blossom. Even so, we cannot but wonder at the creative and providential wisdom and power of God. But, in the work of redemption, God comes to thorns and briars where nature at its fullest expression is productive of evil, not good. These He turns into fir trees and myrtle trees. In these very imaginations that thought evil continually He creates a new heart and a right spirit. This can only be the doing of the Lord and wondrous in our eyes.