Webcrawlers

The mystery surrounding this last verse in the proverb of the four small but wise creatures makes it the most interesting.

It's unclear what type of creature is referred to and how it demonstrates wisdom. Some translations render it "spider" and some "lizard" and at the risk of oversimplification there are two concepts; "the creature grasps" or "the creature is easily grasped". If you, or someone you know, speaks ancient Hebrew or Chaldee I hope you will tell me exactly what creature is spoken of and unlock the secret of the mysterious virtue the creature possesses. Until then I have, of course, gone back to the original document to uncover the truth...

huh?

What did you say?

No, not the original hebrew, the King James version of course.

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces - Proverbs 30:28

God has, throughout history, placed spiders in palaces. Joseph, Moses, Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah. These people demonstrated skill, wisdom and integrity and while different and foreign to their surrounds they were regarded as extremely useful and God was able to use them to further His purposes.

The spider is regarded by many to be ugly, sometimes frightening, even evil. It's an unfair characterization and I personally am offended for spiders everywhere. Here are the facts, and they are undisputed; spiders are extremely efficient at pest control, they weave beautiful webs, the silk they create is one of the strongest fibers on earth, what's not to like?

So the takeaway for us should be whenever you feel like an ugly, eight legged, arachnid remember, wherever your place in the world is, God wants you to use your skill and be prepared that He may lead you into a palace of sorts. If that happens remember Mordecai's warning to Esther.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? - Esther 4:14

Jesus is coming back... Look busy

The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; - Proverbs 30:27

The locust is a tiny creature and demonstrates wisdom in coordination. Swarms of them move together like an airborne army. What makes this so amazing? The fact that no one is directing them. I'm so tired of hearing people complain, "I don't know what God's will for my life is". Have you read His Word? It's pretty simple. When He comes back will He find us working, or will He see us scurrying out of our comfortable holes trying to look busy?

The Terrible Visitation

Blow a trumpet in Zion,

and sound an alarm on My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of the LORD is coming;

Surely it is near, a day of darkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness

as the dawn is spread over the mountains,

So there is a great and mighty people;

there has never been anything like it,

Nor will there be again after it

to the years of many generations.

A fire consumes before them

and behind them a flame burns

The land is like the garden of Eden before them

but a desolate wilderness behind them,

And nothing at all escapes them.

Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;

and like war horses, so they run.

With a noise as of chariots

they leap on the tops of the mountains,

Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,

Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

Before them the people are in anguish;

all faces turn pale.

They run like mighty men,

they climb the wall like soldiers;

And they each march in line,

nor do they deviate from their paths.

They do not crowd each other,

they march everyone in his path;

When they burst through the defenses,

they do not break ranks.

They rush on the city, they run on the wall;

they climb into the houses,

They enter through the windows like a thief.

Before them the earth quakes,

the heavens tremble,

The sun and the moon grow dark

and the stars lose their brightness.

The LORD utters His voice before His army;

surely His camp is very great,

For strong is he who carries out His word

The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,

And who can endure it? - Joel 2

The picture I see is similar to the Battle for Minas Tirith in the Return of the King. All Mordor is arrayed against the white city and it's teetering and threatening to fall. Suddenly a swarm of pale green sweeps towards the city. The oathbreakers, the previously idle Army of the dead. They had been ignoring their duty but now they're leaping over the walls, pouring into every building, cutting a swath through the Mordor horde. Why can't we be like that now? Working together and busy. Does Jesus have to come back before we'll work together?

If Joel was alive today instead of destroying locusts he might've compared the Day of the Lord to the present financial plague sweeping the earth. We've sat around all smug and fat. Stuffing our selfish faces with more and more and when we ran out instead of cutting back we borrowed. We borrowed for houses and cars. We borrowed for TVs and comfy couches. Paid for with lines of credit and plastic. We got second mortgages and paid the interest only. Not just individuals but companies and governments too. We can have whatever we want, just run a deficit. Perfect. Except when Uncle Guido comes to collect his money. And if we can't pay we'll never walk again. Or maybe we'll get to try out his new concrete shoes.

It's a scary time, even for Canadians. Yes our government has been running with a budget surplus and we've been reaping the benefits of the high oil prices but if the US falls they will take 60-70% of our exports with them.

Where's your treasure? Does it hurt to see your investments and pension evaporate? Will it fill you with fear as more and more resource and trade dependant jobs collapse? We need to repent as a nation of our gluttony. We need to pray for forgiveness. Whatever happens God is in control. Our hope is in Him, He can do anything. We must not break ranks, whatever comes at us we will stand our ground, we are His children.

Global warming and bacon wrapped dates

About three years ago my cousin was getting married and somehow while the family was gathered and enjoying appetizers and light conversation, the topic turned to "global warming". You may or may not remember this as the predecessor to what we refer to today as "climate change". Anyhow, her fiance said that he believed that the polar ice caps were melting and that in five years most of Vancouver Island would be underwater. Everyone smiled politely and continued enjoying themselves and the tasty appetizers. To me this was an extraordinary statement and I couldn't believe my ears. "Do you really believe that we will be underwater in five years?", I asked incredulously. He looked me right in the eyes and without any doubt he said, "Absolutely" and then he ate another bacon wrapped date. (Which by the way might sound strange but is actually very delicious)

I sat there silently pondering the enormity of what he had said. I kept waiting for him to notice me watching him, and then look at me and laugh, "Naw! I'm kidding!" We would've all had a good laugh and then carried on but that never happened. We never discussed it again.

To be honest, even today, I don't know what to think about his dire prophecy. You may be reading this and thinking "You moron, of course the sea level is rising and if you're smart you'll buy a cabin in the mountains because soon it's going to be worth a lot more when it becomes oceanfront property". Or maybe you're thinking, "It's happening slower than five years but it's happening nonetheless". Ok, ok, I won't argue that. However, what I find extraordinary is that even though my cousin-in law believed it so definitively, he didn't seem to be acting like he believed it. I mean, they bought a house in Parksville. Which is on Vancouver Island. Probably no more than five feet above sea level. And if you do the math we only have two years left before everyone who lives on the coast who doesn't have a set of Kevin Costner waterworld gills is going to have a really bad day.

I personally don't think it would be sufficient to move to higher ground on Vancouver Island. If his prediction comes true, this whole coast will be chaos and pandemonium. There will be no ferry terminals, no airports, few dry roads. No way on or off the island.

Maybe he's still planning to move. Yeah, maybe he's trying to decide between becoming a Tibetan monk or working in the oil sands. Calgary is the city with the highest elevation in Canada so that would make sense. Mount Ararat would be another good place to lay low and chill until things to settle out.

This brings me to number two on the list of "Wisest creatures on earth"...

The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;- Proverbs 30:26

If we believe something shouldn't our actions back up what we believe? Why do we say we believe God's Word but don't act like it? We trust our money, our friends, our physical strength. This is the comforting, soft field we make our little nests in when we should be hidden in the Rock. It's probably a lot harder work every morning and night after gathering food and water to climb back up into the crags. It's definitely not as comfortable, but when storms and predators come it's safe and definitely wiser.

The result of all this? Well, after digesting a date wrapped in something I completely didn't expect and after my self-righteous critique of my cousin-in-law's beliefs and resulting actions about the physical world I realised I had my own contradictory issue to deal with... My beliefs and actions about the spiritual one. Argh.