On his way to the Philistines, Samson encountered a young roaring lion and defeated it with his bare hands, which is not really possible for a human being. When Samson passed the carcass of this lion some time later, he discovered a beehive in it, from which he took honey (Judges 14:5-9). He packaged this experience in a riddle that he presented to some young Philistines at his wedding celebration: “Out of the devourer came food and out of the strong came sweetness” (Jdg 14:14). The solution is: “Out of the lion, who eats much and brings the bitterness of death, came the sweetness of honey.” The Philistines could not solve the riddle on their own.

The lion here is an image of the devil, who has the power of death (1 Pet. 5:8; Heb. 2:14). No one can withstand this power. That is why people spend their entire lives in bondage to the fear of death. But Christ has come and on the cross has destroyed him who has the power of death, that is the devil (Heb 2:15). Because Christ triumphed on the cross, the believer no longer fears the terror of the “roaring lion” and death has even become a door opener to heavenly paradise for him. The “natural man” cannot understand any of this, but faith enjoys the glorious consequences of Christ’s victory on the cross of Golgotha every day.