Samson's Hidden Riddle: Who's the Smartest?

The book of Judges portrays Samson as intelligent and bright but possessed with a proclivity for mischievousness. On one occasion he hatched up a riddle for the young men at his wedding party to solve. His motive was to win a wager and prove his intellectual superiority. Ulterior motives disguised the truth behind attitudes and objectives. 

Samson knew his riddle was impossible to solve because he alone knew all its components. The young men who took the challenge offered his bride this alternative: "Get the answer to Samson's riddle or we'll burn down your father's house with you in it. Were we invited to this party to be humiliated and lose all our possessions?"  

Samson's values clashed with God’s calling and purpose for his life. When impure motives are used as an incentive to engage in behavior that is unsuitable for believers in Jesus Christ, we subject ourselves to natural consequences that serve up sorrow and regret. This, then, becomes a wake-up call to return to a lifestyle that honors and glorifies the Lord God. 

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Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given you.

~Romans 12:3 Phillips – The New Testament in Modern English

Crisis! A Wake-up Call to Change

Trouble comes our way often by our own invitation. It’s not that we intend to behave in ways that invite trouble, but we passively or directly engage in behaviors that invite negative consequences. Those consequences are wake-up calls to make changes in our attitudes and actions. Jacob got a wake-up call on the road to Haran.

In dreams he saw a ladder or stairway extending from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Can you visualize this picture? It gets better. Above the stairway stood the Lord God speaking to him directly. He told Jacob, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather and Isaac your father."

Prior to this life-changing dream, Jacob’s life was defined as self-directed and self-centered; he was a cheater and a fraud. In his dream God promised him a new beginning, not because he deserved it but because God saw potential where no one else could. He promised Jacob a future with hope. Is this what you need? God will give it to you.