Sweet and Strong
I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 9th of October, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
We start in the Book of Judges 14:18:
“What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?”
That is a riddle.
I looked up the definition of what a riddle is in the Oxford Dictionary, it is a puzzling question, and that is what Samson, one of the strongest men in the Old Testament, asked the men at the wedding.
Then we go to Psalm 119:103:
”How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Isn’t that beautiful? And then, of course, John 1:1:
”In the beginning was the Word…”
Oh yes, His name is Jesus!
I’m a honey-keeper. It’s a hobby of mine, and that honey, when it comes out of the comb, is so sweet and so strong, sweet to the mouth, and it lingers in your mouth all day long. That’s why honey-keepers enjoy their profession so much, but folks, I want to tell you: I used to work for a company in Swaziland many, many years ago, and they exported all their sugar to Great Britain. There was a company there called Tate and Lyle. Their syrup was in a green tin and on the cover of that tin was a picture of a lion lying dead and a swarm of bees coming out of that lion’s carcass. That is the story of Samson.
Samson was on his way to a wedding. He was a very strong man - he killed a lion! He left the lion there and carried on to the celebration and then on his way back he saw a swarm of bees inside the carcass of the lion. He took some honey out, ate it and it was sweet and then he said to the men, ”If you can work out this riddle, then I will give you some garments.” Of course they couldn’t, except his newlywed wife told them the secret, but I want to tell you today, there is something much sweeter than honey, and there is something much stronger than a lion. It is God’s Holy Word.
Please, every day, spend time in His Word. It will make you sweet and it will make you strong.
God bless you and have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.