Judges — Chapter 14

The thing was from the Lord, who sought an occasion against the Philistines. Samson's marriage to the Philistine woman was God's providential instrument. Lapide cites S. Ambrose: three maxims on marriage — (1) religion must be sought in a spouse; (2) there can be no true charity where faith differs; (3) the allure of a woman often draws even the strongest away from religion. \"Beware, O Christian, of giving your daughter to a Gentile or Jew, or of taking a Gentile, Jewess, or heretic as your wife.\"

The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent the lion as one would rend a kid. Lapide: Samson's strength was supernatural, seated in his Nazarite consecration, not in physical stature alone. Tropologically: the lion is a great temptation; invoke the Spirit of God and assault it boldly — \"once killed, it will trouble you no more; the invincible lion becomes a feeble ant.\"

A swarm of bees and honeycomb in the lion's carcass. Allegorically (S. Augustine, serm. 107 De Temp.): \"Out of the eater came forth food.\" The dead lion is Christ, who devours death itself; from His death emerges the honeycomb of the Eucharist, and the swarm of bees is the multitude of the faithful. \"The lion lay sleeping as a lion, and rose as a lion\" (Gen. 49:9).

The riddle: \"Out of the eater came forth meat; out of the strong came forth sweetness.\" Allegorically: death devours all, yet from the death of Christ (the strong Lion) comes the sweetness of eternal life and the Eucharistic honey. S. Ambrose reads it tropologically: from bitter labours (the lion) comes the sweetness of consolation; the martyr's example applies.