THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE
January 21, 2001 am
MF Blume
Judges 13:24-14:14 And the woman
bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD
blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the
camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. And Samson went down to Timnath,
and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And
he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a
woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get
her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him,
Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all
my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he
sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines
had dominion over Israel. Then 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. 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: but he told not his father or his mother what
he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and
she pleased Samson well. And after a time he returned to take her,
and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there
was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he
took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and
mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he
had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion. So his father
went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the
young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they
brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said unto them,
I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it
me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give
you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: But if ye cannot declare
it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments.
And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may
hear it. And he said unto them, Out of
the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.
And they could not in three days expound
the riddle.
THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE
The Philistines were Israel’s enemies.
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God wanted His people victorious and often raised up men like Samson
and a woman named Deborah to be judges.
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We read that at times, God’s Spirit moved upon Samson.
Judges 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD
began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
The name Zorah means “hornet”.
Eshtaol means “Entreaty”, or “an asking for help.”
And DAN means “a judge”.
Isn’t it interesting that between a “hornet” and “the asking of God
for help,” stood someone who was of the tribe of Dan — someone who is a
“judge.”
Timnath, where this woman dwelt, means APPOINTED.
We will come into situations where we stand between two choices.
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We are on our way towards what is appointed by the Lord for us.
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God’s will is what is appointed for us.
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And this fork of decision confronts us and will determine if we get what
God has for us or not.
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And we will have to judge (DAN) which choice to make.
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Either get stung by the hornet, or reach out to God and ask for help.
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You’re the judge of your own situations.
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You must decide what to do when you are in such a fork in the road.
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Each of you will have many "Timnaths" where God has something appointed
for you too obtain.
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Whether you obtain what He appoints for you is up to your choice.
PHILISTINES literally means "IMMIGRANTS"
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The enemy, the devil, has moved into our territory and dwells there like
immigrants now.
God moved upon Samson when he was in the midst of these choices.
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Samson chose to lean upon God for help.
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It is just such a time that we are given in this story when Samson proceeded
to do the will of God, and He chose to reach out and depend upon God for
help.
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And in doing so, he marched fearlessly into a situation and overcame it.
Samson wanted a daughter of the Philistines for his wife, which was contrary
to custom to marry a fellow Hebrew, and was therefore discouraged by his
parents.
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But yet God willed this.
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Why would God will such a thing?
Judges 14:4 But his father and his mother
knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the
Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Samson looked for an occasion against the enemy!
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A chance to get inroads in the enemy’s camps.
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He had Israel’s deliverance in mind.
Samson saw the works of the enemy and wanted to do something about it.
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He was angry at the enemy.
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We need to lose the fear of the enemy and attack his works.
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We need to look at life’s troubles, knowing that there is a God above who
can help us get through them.
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This boldness goes hand in hand with faith.
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The reason so many never do anything for God is because they lack boldness.
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And they lack faith.
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Get angry at the devil and know that God will empower you to do something
about the devil’s works.
From a very young age, God moved upon him.
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Let God move upon you.
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Let Him use you.
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He wants to destroy the works of the devil.
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God doesn’t give pain and trouble — the devil does.
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Samson wanted to get into the midst of the enemy, the Philistines.
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And destroy them.
V. 5
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A roaring lion came in the way.
1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that
are in the world.
The Devil always come like roaring lion to confront you to scare you away.
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Satan is only as a roaring lion.
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"a young lion roared against him."
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All mouth.
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Too many believe those lies.
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Counts on you believing he has victory on you.
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Samson was empowered and tore the lion.
When Satan confronts you, and with nothing in your hand, you can defeat
him.
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Like David refused man’s weaponry to kill Goliath.
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He set aside the armour of Saul and ran with small stones from God’s creation.
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David was not afraid.
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Lose your fear of the devil.
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God can strengthen you.
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Man cannot help you in these instances.
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You will face situations where man’s help will not help.
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Only God can help.
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But you can reach out and experience His help.
David was angry at the enemy.
1 Samuel 17:26 And David spake
to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that
killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for
who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of
the living God?
Its not people who are your problems, but its the enemy, the devil.
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We fight not against flesh and blood.
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Get angry at the devil.
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Don’t miss the real battle when people or circumstances bring you trouble,
and you feel like getting angry at those people.
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Let God get hold of you until He moves on you and you do something for
God.
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The real enemy is the devil.
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You are supposed to go forth and do His will, and these things are sent
to distract you from your purpose in serving God and being a Christian
in this world
God has to find someone else if you disobey.
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What if Samson disobeyed?
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Disobedience is sin.
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Don’t grieve the Spirit.
Samson saw the lion and refused to let it tear him down.
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The lion came to distract Samson from getting to the Philistines.
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To make him forget the enemy of Philistines.
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If devil sees you climb higher, he will try to distract you.
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He will try to get your mind off the real goal of destroying him.
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He’s frantic.
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Christians might say wrong thing to you.
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That is still only a distraction.
People and circumstances are instruments of the devil like a gun in his
hand, and when a shooter threatens you, you shoot the holder of the gun
— not the gun.
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Do not allow people or any form of distraction succeed in taking you away
from the will of God for your life.
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People are only his instruments, when they come and cause you problems.
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Attack the devil, the real culprit.
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You must see these things as distractions.
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You are getting somewhere and the devil is stirred.
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He wants to get you away from this will of God.
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The prophet Elisha prayed for God to open his servant Gehazi’s eyes, when
enemy surrounded the two and threatened their lives.
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Gehazi suddenly saw many more angels around the hillside.
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But blessed are those who have not seen and still believe.
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Believe that His angels are with you!
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If our eyes were opened when we faced confrontations and problems from
people, we’d see demons whispering the lies to the very person who is hurting
you.
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You’d never concern yourself over people if you could see these devils
at work on people.
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They’re the real enemies — not people.
Don’t get worried over people and don’t proceed to fighting people.
Don’t be ignorant of Satan’s devices.
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Realize who the real enemy is.
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Get lion out of the way and march on to victory ahead.
V. 8
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Samson took the Philistine woman after he arrived and he proceeded again
for home and turned to see the slain lion.
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He saw the dead lion with a swarm of bees and honey in the lion’s carcase.
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The honey and swarm of bees were not there in the battle.
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But after the battle they were there and he could see them there.
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He took the honey and ate.
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When He arrived home he gave some honey to family and told them not how
he got it.
When you defeat the devil there is strength.
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There was meat, or food, in the lion afterwards.
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You won't see it during the battle, but afterwards you will see the strength
provided for you through the victory.
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Food is strength for your body.
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Honey is sweet.
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Since the honey came there as a result of Samson’s victory over the lion,
you could really say that victory was sweet for Samson!
The Bible refers to the promised land as a Land of milk and honey.
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In light of Samson and his honey, we see that honey speaks of victories,
making Canaan a realm of victories.
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Canaan was the place God took Israel after He saved them out of Egypt using
Moses.
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It represents the place of victory that God wants to take you after he
saves you, too.
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When Israel first arrived at Canaan, after having left Egypt’s bondage
already, they saw the enemies in the land and feared.
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These enemies were like Distractions to discourage them from getting into
the land where God wanted them.
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Israel was to set up a Kingdom under God and have a nation ready through
whom Jesus would one day be born.
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Somehow the devil knew this and did everything to stop them from becoming
that nation in that land.
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He did not want the Messiah to come!
Fears are likewise put within people by the devil to distract them from
getting to where God wants them to be, and becoming a powerful Kingdom for
God to bring the Jesus into the world through our lives.
We need not fear these enemies.
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Take each enemy of giants and make a victory of each one... for so many
more enemies means that there are that many more potential victories.
A minority of soldiers were in the midst of a battle, and one soldier said
to the leader, “Captain, we’re surrounded.”
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The captain replied, “Good. Don’t let any of them get away.”
God will make stepping-stones out of stumbling-stones.
“Why are you holding back on God and not coming to church any more?”
a preacher asked a woman.
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She said, “This person did that to me, and I could not see how Christians
could ever be like that, and I quit going to church.”
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The preacher responded, “Why would somebody else’s failures stop you from
worshiping and serving God?”
If ordinary people were your gods, and you stood on judgment day to give
an account to people, then you would have a right to tell them that they
caused you to stop serving them.
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But we do not serve the people who disillusion us.
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We serve God.
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And we cannot stop serving God because of other people’s actions.
All the trials in the wilderness were inserted by the enemy to get Israel
away from getting to the goal of Canaan.
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All the fusses and the feudings.
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Many had to be dealt with and removed, before God was ever able to take
them into the land.
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Recognize what the enemy is doing!
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And overcome those distractions and keep on proceeding towards the will
of God
While taking Driving lessons as a teenager, I veered towards the other
oncoming lane.
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The Instructor did not even look at my eyes and asked me what I was looking
at?
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He knew that I was going off-course because I had my eyes on something
that I shouldn’t have.
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He knew I was off-target.
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If we veer off this good life, folks, its because our eyes are off the
Lord.
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The enemy has successfully distracted us somewhere along the road, and
off the main goal.
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We fell for the enemy’s tricks.
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Your eyes are on something they should not be upon.
The Lord told Peter to walk on water, when he saw the Lord coming to him
and walking on water.
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And Peter walked on water.
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He did what Jesus did so long as He looked at Jesus.
Matthew 14:29-30 And he said, Come.
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to
go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning
to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
When he looked instead at the trouble around him, he began to sink into
the trouble.
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If we keep our eyes on Jesus we will do what He did.
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We will have the victory He had.
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We will wreak havoc on the enemy as He did.
The story proceeds and Samson held a feast and gave forth a riddle to some
acquaintances.
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How many of you would know the answer if the situation applied to circumstances
in your life today in the modern world?
“Out of the eater came forth meat.
Out of the strong came forth sweetness.”
The riddle was of the kind that urged the people to describe the picture
that was hidden in this statement.
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Riddles of today are quite a bit different.
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In the riddle, “the eater” and “the strong” referred to the lion.
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And honey was the “meat” and the “sweetness” that was in the carcase of
“the eater,” or “the strong.”
It was a lion that confronted him on his way to the goal that the Lord
willed him to attain.
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It was a distraction.
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It was a lesser enemy than the real enemy of the Philistines that Samson
sought to deal with.
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And from that lion came honey which was referred to as meat and sweetness.
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(Food was often referred to as meat in the Bible).
The fact that a lion confronted and threatened Samson on his way to do
God’s will speaks to us a message.
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There is a riddle in life given to all of us.
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Everyone asks this question, and so few know the answer.
Get the picture.
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God sent Samson to do His will.
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God likewise wants us all to do His will.
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And His will will be to do His work in this world and help destroy the
enemy.
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The whole picture was that Philistia was Israel’s enemy, and God wanted
Israel to have peace and victory.
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And he sent Samson to gain inroads with this enemy to be able to later
destroy them.
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The lion was a problem that arose as soon as Samson went forth to do God’s
will.
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The riddle in life is how do we get food from an eater who eats food?
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There would be no food around an eater!
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Samson used the term EATER, as the SOURCE of meat that is to be eaten.
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And he next used the term STRONG as the source of something very sweet.
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He used contradictory terms.
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From an EATER comes MEAT.
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From the STRONG comes SWEETNESS.
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Quite a puzzle.
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He knew it would throw the people off.
Now the point of all of this is that the last thing anybody would ever
guess as to what the source of Samson’s food and sweetness actually was,
was the problem of a life-threatening lion that arose in Samson’s path.
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Something that wanted to eat Samson was where Samson got food.
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Problems arise to devour us.
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Most people do not look at PROBLEMS as potential sources of food,
strength and sweetness.
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They look at problems that arise in life and in their Christian walks as
things which destroy what God wants to do in us.
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Albeit, These things are intended by the devil to destroy us, but we have
a God on our side.
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So this would be a riddle to most people.
When God calls us to do His will, any problem that comes our way is going
to be taken care somehow and some way, if we will have faith.
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He does not abandon us when troubles come.
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He still wants us to do His will.
Samson knew that not many people look at problems that threaten them as
sources of food and strength.
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Therefore, he knew these men would never guess the answer.
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Today, not many look at problems like that either.
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Because not many people have faith in God.
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I am here to help you have more faith towards God.
Only a certain kind of person could answer this kind of riddle.
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Food, strength and sweetness from a source of intended to cause trouble
is only enjoyed by those who know how to defeat the enemy.
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Those who know how to call upon God.
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Those who know that confidence in God’s help to come upon you and give
you the strength to deal with any problem does indeed move Him to help.
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Those who do not let distractions of any kind get in their way because
they know God can and will help them.
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The only people who would ever think of problems, like a threatening lion,
as those things which give you an opportunity from which to get strength
and sweetness are the people who know how to win battles by having faith
in God to help.
The last people who would ever figure out that the problems that face them
can strengthen them are defeatists.
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And if you don’t know my God, and how He can strengthen you and is ready
to do so if you will believe He can do it and ask for Him to do it, you
have to be a defeatist.
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Handling these kinds of things is impossible!
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But God can do the impossible even through you and in you.
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God is trying to give you the answer to the riddle as to how you can have
victory and strength and sweetness.
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VICTORY IS SWEET.
The riddle that puzzles so many people is how do you get this particular
kind of strength and joy?
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How did someone like Samson get his meat and sweetness?
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Where did he get this food?
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How is sweetness and meat associated with an EATER and something that is
STRONG?
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How can such contrary things provide meat and sweetness?
Its easy when you understand the ways of God.
Every time you defeat the enemy in your life, you are that much stronger.
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And it will look impossible to gain strength when you face such enemies
if you do not understand that God is with you.
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When you can learn to depend upon God when any trouble comes, you come
to learn that enemies only mean another opportunity for you to get stronger.
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As the weight-lifter lifts the weight and it tears his muscles and he suffers
hurt afterwards, he knows that this kind of ripping of tissue is going
to cause that body to rejuvenate those muscles to be ready the next time
and not be torn, and that means bigger muscles through damaged tissue.
Many cannot answer a riddle that speaks of sweetness from the strong, because
they have never tried to trust in God when the enemy/eater comes.
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They never tried God’s word out for themselves.
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They were never doers of the word, but only heard it and left their experience
with hearing alone.
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They read about Samson and David but never call upon the God of Samson
and David.
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They never trusted God to help them when in similar situations as Samson
and David were in when they trusted God and saw God help.
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Elisha came to the Jordan that Elijah saw divided in times past, and said,
“Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”
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He wanted to see God do for him what God did for Elijah.
If you are not used to winning victories, then you could not know that
defeating an enemy gives victory.
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Trials that face your life would be the last things you would consider
as sources of strength.
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ALL THINGS ARE FOR A PURPOSE.
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The last thing that many believers feel is the source of strength that
God gives is confrontation with an enemy.
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But even confrontation with an enemy, for a believer, is a source of strength,
in some way.
When Satan comes, you think, “He is going to go down once again and I am
going to get stronger. I don’t know why he hasn’t learned that yet.”
We too often do not see trials as chances to get victory.
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The last thing they would have guessed was that a threatening beast gave
Samson an opportunity to get food and sweetness.
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Why?
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Because they do not believe the impossible can be dealt with through the
power of God.
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They may know it enough to say the Bible says this, but they do not apply
it to their impossible situations enough to instinctively know the answer
to this riddle.
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What you know instinctively is what you really know.
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They only see problems as problems.
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No chances for victory.
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But for someone who saw God take them through a problem, because of their
faith, and later saw a sweetness in it all, and a victory and source of
strength, that person would consider the answer to be just what it actually
was... a confrontation with an enemy of life that was overcome!
Not many know the answer to the riddle because not many live by faith.
But you can live by faith.
Its like saying a riddle similar to:
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From the knife of Isaac’s death came life and many millions of children
from Isaac.
Abraham knew that when God told him he would father many nations, and then
told him to offer Isaac up as a sacrifice, that God would simply have to
raise Isaac from the dead in order to fulfill His word... Because GOD’S
WORD IS THAT SURE AND SOLID, and He cannot lie.
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But that would sound insane to most others, and they would be lost in its
riddle.
Another riddle:
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From the very river of threat and extinction against Israel’s existence,
came the deliverance for Israel’s continuation and survival.
Moses’ mother had faith when she put Moses in a basket into the very Nile
river where Pharaoh ordered the infants to be slain, to prevent a deliverer
from arising from Israel.
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But most others would be lost in the riddle of it, and in the reasoning
behind it.
Another riddle:
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From the risk of personal life, would come deliverance of her life.
Rahab risked her neck when she accepted spies into her home and hid them.
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All so that she would be saved from the destruction to come against Jericho
by the Israel from whom these spies came.
The best riddle:
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From a cross of Christ’s death, came eternal life for all those who believe.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And he said unto
me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses
for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Such contrariness would lose a person in its riddle.
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The reason for their loss in such riddles is that each of these cannot
normally occur.
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It is impossible in the norm.
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But Jesus said, “That which is impossible with man is possible with God.”
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory;
It does not come to many people’s minds that they can get something out
of this battle, because they only see themselves as being defeated.
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Normally anyone would be defeated.
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Normally its impossible to overcome.
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Who would have thought about Samson’s riddle being answered by the idea
of God strengthening him to do the impossible and slay a lion?
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Who was familiar enough with the ways of faith and the accomplishments
of faith, to believe such impossible things can be done through the power
of God?
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When troubles arise, these folks are defeated before they even battle,
because they never look to God in the heat of the trouble.
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They do not keep their faith knowing that He is in control.
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He has the entire world in His hands, and nothing occurs that causes Him
to lose control.
I challenge everyone here today to face any impossible situation that may
come your way, and realize that God is a God of the impossible.
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Reach out and request of Him in prayer a strength and power to deal with
your situation.
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AND HE WILL DO IT.
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HE CANNOT LIE.
This supernatural God has your lives in His sight, folks.
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Just put your lives into His hands now.
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Trust Him with your life in His hands.
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When troubles come, God knows that they are there.
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He doesn’t miss these things.
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He knew Samson would meet a lion on the way to do God’s will, before Samson
ever went and faced the lion.
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But knowing the future, as only God does, with that in mind, He still called
Samson to go forth and do His will.
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In other words, He took into consideration that He would help Samson deal
with that lion.
Do we understand that it was God’s power and help that caused Samson to
defeat that lion?
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You could never solve the riddle without having faith and being experienced
with faith in God.
What if Samson had looked at the lion and thought he could never do God’s
will because of such obstacles?
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He would not even have considered that God was right there every step of
the way.
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He would not have considered that he could utter a prayer to the Lord and
walk right into the situation and experience God’s hand upon Him in supernatural
strength to deal with that hindrance.
You do not ask God’s hand to be upon you and then walk into a situation
and expect Him to strengthen you in that situation unless you have FAITH.
Hindrances to God’s will in your life are meant to be conquered through
the power of God by your faith in Him to help, and not be considered as
successful obstacles that you might as well give up even trying to overcome.
When God wants you to do His will, whether it is to live for Him or
to work for Him after you are saved from sin, then He intends to give you
victory over those hindrances to His will.
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Don’t see that these obstacles are beyond your strength and walk away in
despair and never do His will.
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See them as things that God can deal with quite easily, through you!
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He wants you to enjoy the sweetness of victory!
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He wants you to gain strength from this ordeal!
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If God be for you, who can be against you?