Oldal:W22.1935 Samson 2.djvu/9 forrásának megtekintése

<noinclude><pagequality level="1" user="" /></noinclude>November 15, 1935
8Te WATCHTOWER.
34.5
unusual appearance amongst other young men. The
I'eeord does not disclose that there were present any
other Israelites aside from Samson and his parents.
“And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they
brought thirty companions to be with him.”—Judg.
14:11.
80 While these thirty Philistines here mentioned ap¬
peared at the feast, it was probably a movement of
precaution against the unusual-appearing man Sam¬
son. The Philistines were a warlike people, and doubt¬
less many more than the thirty were near by, ready to
be used if necessary. The fact that no other Israelites
were there with Samson would seem to indicate that
many professed followers of Christ have feared to
associate themselves with the zealous ones, fearing the
modern Philistines might do them harm.
81 The occasion had now arrived for Samson to spoil
some of the enemy of his people, and therefore he put
a riddle to the Philistines that he might find such an
occasion: “And Samson said unto them, I will now
put forth a riddle unto you; if ye can certainly de¬
clare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find
it out, then I will give you thirty sheets, and thirty
change of garments: but if ye cannot declare it me, then
shall ye give me thirty sheets, and thirty change of
garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy
riddle, that we may hear it.”—Judg. 14:12,13.
82 The Philistines desired some material gain at the
expense of the Israelites, and hence they asked Sam¬
son to name his riddle; and he did so. Samson was
not seeking selfish gain, but he was there playing the
part which God had assigned to him for the purpose
of furnishing an occasion to inflict punishment upon
the spoilers of Israel and to make a picture of the
greater spoilers, the modern Philistines, which would
come in the future. These modern Philistines have
long opposed God and his people, and they must be
discomfited in God’s due time. Samson was confident
that the Philistines would be the losers because his
commission was from God, and that therefore the only
result could be in his favor.
83 To the greedy Philistines Samson now announced
his riddle: “And he said unto 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.” (Judg. 14:14) The meaning of the riddle
and its prophetic significance now seems quite ap¬
parent. The Devil is like a strong, roaring lion, and
the dupes that he uses carry out his wicked schemes,
and they are strong. Often the admiring dupes of the
clergy are heard to say, ‘ ‘ Who is like our great preach¬
ers ? No one can stand up against them in controversy. ’ ’
Likewise many say of the Devil’s organization, “Who
is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with
him?”—Rev. 13:4.
84 In due time Christ Jesus will slay or completely
destroy Satan and all of his organization, and in doing
so that will be sweet meat to him. Says the Lord, “My
meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish
his work.” (John 4:34) The faithful followers of
Christ Jesus, doing the Elijah work by using the
“sword of the spirit”, declaring the truth of God’s
Word, slew the lion-like clergy of Baal, the Protestant
organization. This, both for themselves and others, was
really meat to them, because such was the will of
Almighty God. At Armageddon the faithful will feast
upon Jehovah’s great sacrifice, the slaughter of Satan
and his organization. (Rev. 19:17-21; Ezek. 39:17-22)
“Out of the eater came forth meat”; that is to say,
it was meat to the faithful servants of God to slay
those who would destroy them.
33 That part of Samson’s riddle, therefore, pictured
the faithful doing the Elijah work, which resulted in
the slaying of the opposing clergy by driving them
into the Hierarchy’s camp and ending Protestantism.
30 The sweetness is not inherent in the strong, but
it is noticed that the riddle stated by Samson says:
“Out of the strong came forth sweetness.” It is the
killing of the lion-like crowd that prey upon the de¬
fenseless that is a ‘sweetness like unto honey’ that
comes to those who faithfully follow the Lord Jesus
Christ, and it is sweet because such is a vindication
of Jehovah’s name. To those who had part in the
Elijah work it is sweetness to know that the so-called
“Protestant” clergy can no longer deceive those
honest people who form the “great multitude” (Rev.
7:9-14) and who love the Lord. None of Satan’s
“lions” or servants can explain these deep sayings
or prophecies of the Word of God, regardless of the
length of time that is given unto them; and this was
illustrated by the fact that the Philistines could not
in three days expound the riddle. The Protestants had
been a strong organization against the Roman Hier¬
archy and had been turned by the Devil to war against
the true followers of Christ Jesus. But now, they ceas¬
ing to exist as Protestants, out of their decease came
sweetness to the true followers of Christ Jesus for the
reason that the truth, prevailing, vindicated Jehovah’s
name to that extent and brought sweetness of joy to
those who participated in it.
3T Samson had granted the Philistines seven days in
which to solve the riddle; but they were “stumped”,
and after three days’ effort they saw that there was
necessity of framing some fraudulent scheme to aid
them in accomplishing their purpose of solving the
riddle: “And it came to pass on the seventh day, that
they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband,
that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn
thee and thy father’s house with fire; have ye called
us to take that we have? is it not so?”—Judg. 14:15.
33 According to the Rotherham rendering of this
verse it was “on the fourth day” that they began to
scheme- to entice Samson into their trap, and they hit
upon the scheme of using his confidential companion
to accomplish their purpose. Having a Philistine be¬
trothed wife put Samson in a close relationship with<noinclude><references/></noinclude>