Samson’s killing of the lion begins a chain of events that leads to his posing of the riddle during the wedding at Timnah (Judges 14:12–18), which in turn sets off another chain of events that culminates in the slaughter of the Philistines at Ramath-lehi (Judges 15:14–19).
6 Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.