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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Saturday, August 17, 2019
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Samson [3] — Samson’s Riddle Bible Verse :Judges 14:8-14 "After some days he returned to take her [his Philistine wife]. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.” And in three days they could not solve the riddle. " Message:
Until about 100 years ago, riddles were told somewhat differently. Instead of asking a question, the person posing the riddle would recite a poem describing something in a clever way. To answer it well, the responder would write another poem (although sometimes they would just guess it, as we do today). Also, riddles were not as dependent on puns as they are today.
You should be able to guess the answer to Samson’s riddle, since it appears in the first verses of today’s Scripture. The Philistines could not possibly know the answer. No human except Samson knows about his encounter with the lion.
Angel sleeping with a lion
Rutland Psalter (1245)
Consider how brash and provocative Samson’s riddle is. We know that God wants to provoke a war with the Philistines; this is the very reason Samson has insisted on taking a Philistine wife (Judges 14:4). How bold and rude it would be for a foreigner to come into your town, to marry your daughter or sister or friend, and tell the wedding party, “Okay, I’m going to tell you a riddle, and if you get it right I’ll give you $1,000 each, and if you don’t get it, you each give me $1,000.” Such conduct is bound to give offense. By telling an impossibly difficult riddle, he is going to coerce them to pay him a considerable sum.
Yet this is just what Samson does. He is provoking the Philistines intentionally, because his action is bound to make them angry.
The riddle also continues the metaphor mentioned yesterday. The lion represents the Philistines. Out of the eater — the Philistines who have conquered and occupy Israel — comes something to eat: the conquerer will be conquered and will give up the fruits of the land.
Samson is taunting them. If they guess wrong, they give him the clothes off their back, symbolic of their defeat. If they guess right, they essentially admit that Samson, through the power of YHWH, will destroy them.
Meditation : Prayer : Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made me one with your saints in heaven and on earth. Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.......Amen |
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