Articles
Bugs, They Bug Me!
If you have a phobia about insects, these next articles might not be for you. However, the
Bible does talk about bugs/insects and there are some things we can learn from them. This is the
first of a three part series in which we will look at some of the lessons we learn from insects
found in the Bible.
God has used insects to punish entire countries. In the book of Exodus God used insects
as part of the ten plagues to punish the Egyptians. This showed His power and forced Pharaoh to
release the Israelite people. Gnats were the first to be used (Exodus 8:16-19). Then, God used
flies (Exodus 8:20-30), and finally He used locusts (Exodus 10:1-18).
We can find in the book of Proverbs about insects and the lessons we can learn from
them. Even the little ant can teach us a lesson about working hard. “Go to the ant, O sluggard,
observe her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6). “The ants are not a strong people, but they
prepare their food in the summer” (Proverbs 30:25). We can even learn a lesson from the
locusts. “The locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks” (Proverbs 30:27).
Yes, some bugs can be eaten. People around the world do eat insects. The most common
insects eaten are crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, and termites. God gave out some rules
for the Israelite people about which insects could or could not be eaten, including special rules
about winged insects (Leviticus 11:20-23). People were still eating insects in Jesus day. John the
Baptist was one of those mentioned as eating insects. “Now John himself had a garment of
camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey”
(Matthew 3:4). ~B Tolbert
