Summer 2004
A Riddle
Nancy Shope
Director, Pinecrest Home for the Elderly

“And he said to 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.” Judges 14:14

Samson, fearsome judge of Israel, renowned Bible hero of strength and courage, poses this riddle to the Philistines. Thirty changes of clothing are promised to them if they provide the answer, or they must provide the same to Samson. Learning the interpretation from his wife, they correctly explain it and receive the promised garments, even the apparel of their slain countrymen.

Samson’s earlier encounter with a raging young lion had given birth to this riddle. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he tore the beast apart with his bare hands. Later, passing by, he “turned aside” to see the carcass and to his amazement he saw within a swarm of bees and honey. Samson’s riddle would have remained unsolved, had his wife not deceived him.

Was this riddle, this beehive within a dead lion, a question which the Lord Himself posed to Samson, and which he failed to solve?

A friend once told me of a dream she had, which both frightened and fascinated her. In her dream she was in her house, being stalked by a lion. As she would escape and go from room to room, the lion would reappear each time. I knew instantly that the lion was her will, and the Lord was challenging her to conquer it.

As I consider greatly anointed men and women of God, those in His Word as well as prominent ministers today, I recognize an undeniable pattern: the greater the yielding, the sweeter the anointing. One can be mightily anointed of the Lord, at least for a time, and yet lack the sweetness. The sweetness is His character, the essence of Who He is - His kindness, gentleness, and His mercy.

The sweetness is not weakness. Rather, it is His power displayed in a vessel that has been tempered by the workings of His Spirit. The power of God without the sweetness will eventually destroy the vessel.

Because he was the anointed of the Lord, we respect Samson, much as David respected Saul. The Lord used Samson in spite of his weakness - his desire for women of a nation who served other gods - a direct violation of His commandments. But what would he have been like had he conquered the lion of his will, his own ways and desires? What sort of deliverer and judge could he have been? Was there ever another man with the strength of Samson, the strength even of a lion? We learn from him that the lion without the lamb nature is a recipe for destruction, and will always cause us to fall short of His Glory.

I Peter 5:8,9 tells us of another lion who walks about seeking to devour us:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

This lion has been conquered - we need only to resist him. But the lion of our will must be subdued by us, and through the Spirit of the Lord within us, we are more than able.

While attending a Benny Hinn crusade, during those moments of rapturous worship, I saw a vision of eternity. I saw myself before the throne; I saw the multitudes worshipping. My arms lifted high, I was standing among tens of thousands, and yet alone, in complete, unconditional surrender.

In that instant I knew that the bowing of my heart in this life was my glory. I realized that the surrenderings of this life are not worthy to even be compared with the Glory, which is to be revealed in and through us, both now and in eternity.

In those brief seconds, I felt strength imparted to me, and a revelation of the honor, the privilege it is to bend my knee in this life, to say “yes” in every way to the Spirit of the Lord. The elders, who bow and cast their crowns do so, in response to the revelation of His holiness. I had been touched by His holiness.

As we behold the Lamb in His Glory, we are changed into the same image, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. We desire the honey. We want the sweet anointing of the dove to be actively working within us, producing substance that others may partake of.

The riddle has been posed to us, and if we answer it with the surrendering of our lives, the garmenting of His anointing will be ours.