Riddles in the dark

I am not sure if you are someone who enjoys riddles or not, but they are supposed to be fun and entertaining. Riddles describe things in a way that can be long winded, complicated, or confusing and the answer to these riddles are meant to be clever or funny.

You may or may not know that there were a number of riddles presented during an encounter the main character, Bilbo had with a strange, hobbit-like creature by the name of Gollum in ‘The Hobbit’. Bilbo found himself in a ‘tight spot’. It was not just because he was in the dark, in a cave, alone and lost, but because his life depended on winning a game of riddles, he was forced to play with this sinister Lord of the Rings character.

You will find the whole scene and all the riddles and answers in chapter 5 of ‘The Hobbit’ book by JRR Tolkien. And the same scene, although with some differences from the original 1937 fantasy novel, can be found in the Hobbit film – ‘The Unexpected Journey’.

These entertaining riddles and the tense riddle game in the Hobbit reminds me of Samson’s riddle in the bible which was brought about by the killing of a lion and a nest of bees in said dead lion. And although Samson’s life did not depend on his riddle game as he was the one who challenged his 30 companions to answer his riddle in Judges, the game ended with killing. This was Samson’s riddle:

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet.” (Judges 14:14)

You will find the full story of Samson’s riddle in Judges 14 and the answer is found in Judges 14:18:

“What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?”

I am also reminded of the parables of Jesus when I think about the riddle game in the Hobbit as the parables are clever and make us think. When Jesus was asked by his disciples why he spoke in parables, he told them they were permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but others were not. Jesus further noted that if people listen to his teachings they will understand and gain knowledge but those who don’t listen will have what little understanding they did have taken away. (Matthew 13:10-13)

So, it is clear that Jesus hid what he was saying from some people but revealed clearly what he was saying to his disciples. As Christians we can understand what Jesus is saying to us today through the Holy Spirit.

If you are interested in riddles, then why not tune into Pure247Radio.org for Family Focus with Jo and Andy B from 3 pm-6 pm every Sunday when they share a riddle a week.https://www.pure247radio.org/familyfocus

Jo