9. The lion and honey

 9. The lion and honey

Judges 15:16 『 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heels, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.』

Samson posed a riddle to the Philistines who were present at his wedding, and the Philistines, who could not find the answer, eventually succeeded in finding the answer by threatening Samson's wife. Accordingly, Samson gave the Philistines 30 linen clothes and 30 outer garments stolen from the residents of Ashkelon, as he had promised. Samson was so angry at this situation that he returned to his father's house, and his wife became the wife of Samson's friend who had come as a bridesmaid at Samson's wedding. The text takes place some time after that incident.

Samson goes to his wife with a baby goat during the wheat harvest season and asks his father-in-law to let him into his wife's bedroom. However, his request is rejected by his father-in-law, who has already given his daughter to Samson's friend. The important point is that even though Samson was the one who abandoned her, he went to her bedroom. The wheat harvest season is associated with Pentecost. The fire of the Holy Spirit comes. When the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit speaks about sin, righteousness, and judgment. For some, it discovers sin, for others, it becomes righteousness, and for others, it comes as judgment. The story of the three hundred foxes will be a judgment for the Philistines.

Samson, who was denied entry into his wife's bedroom by his father-in-law, could not accept the situation. Even though the situation was triggered by himself, who came up with the riddle for self-display, he attributed the cause to the Philistine, not to himself and his father-in-law. And Samson pours out his anger on them. Samson used foxes to burn not only the Philistines' grain, but also their vineyards and olive orchards.

In 300 Foxes, 300 appears in Gideon's 300 Warriors. At this time, a torch (Rapid) also appears. The war with Midian signifies God's judgment on idols. The idol is not something far away; the physical self is the idol. The number three represents both death and resurrection on the cross. Salvation is when the physical self dies, is resurrected as a spiritual body, and the spiritual self is formed. Once they know the answer to the riddle, they will eventually have to abandon their lion-like idols and return to the Word of God, which is as sweet as honey. On the surface, the Philistines knew the answer to the riddle, but they did not know God's will on the inside. Philistines are people controlled by Satan. The salvation of Israel from the Philistines is to judge them with fire using Samson as an instrument.

A woman who was once his wife and her father, who was his father-in-law, are burned to death by the Philistines. Samson, who lost his former wife and former father-in-law to the Philistines, draws his sword for revenge without stopping. He began to kill the Philistines at random. Then, in retaliation, the Philistines trampled the Lehi region of Judah. Samson's wife and father-in-law were all Philistines. This is how they will be judged.

The people of Judah, who set out to find out the cause, found out that the situation was caused by Samson, and they decided to hand Samson over to the Philistines tied with rope. Samson came to Lehi. The Philistines came out to confront him. At that time, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, and at the same time he broke the rope that was binding him, and struck down a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, killing them.

On the surface, the story depicts Israel living in compliance with the Philistines despite being ruled by them. However, a judge named Samson appeared and attacked the Philistines. The Israelites did not understand Samson's actions. So the tribe of Judah handed over their judge Samson to the Philistines. It appears that the Jews bound Jesus and handed him over to Rome. In this story, God explains the state of spiritual adultery through a judge named Samson.

The way Israel lives with the Philistines is like serving God and idols together. So the story is that the Spirit of Jehovah comes to Samson and judges the Philistines. Through that judgment, we discover God’s salvation. The secret of the riddle becomes a story about salvation. In other words, it is a story about Christ (man) and the church (woman). The Bible tells us that a woman must meet a man, but if she goes for another man, it is spiritual adultery. If a person does not understand the riddle, he or she will be judged. Those who understand the words of God through the three hundred burning foxes will attain salvation. When the power of God comes, the bones of a donkey become stronger than a lion (Philistine). That is why sweet honey comes from a dead lion.

Honey symbolizes Christ, Jesus Christ riding on a donkey. The Hebrew word Ramat Lehi means mountain of the chin. Samson called the place where he threw the donkey's jawbone 'Ramat Lehi' to commemorate God's grace in using the jawbone of a donkey to defeat the Philistines. Ramat means Golgotha (Hill of the Skull) in the New Testament. Lehi is a pile of corpses. When a lion dies and becomes a pile of corpses, sweet honey (resurrection) comes out. Those who do not know this are Philistines and are far from salvation.