The Strand Study Bible

JOB JOB 3:25 Any “fear” outside of the fear of God is an unhealthy fear (Lk 12:25). What Job greatly feared the most throughout his life was having to depend on others for help. He helped others his entire life, yet deep down he feared that one day he would become one of those who would need help (Job 4:3-6). Because of this fear, Job failed spiritually in four areas: 1. His outlook on life (Job 3:1-22 and Eccl 12:1-7) 2. His prayer life ( Job 6:8-9 & 35:2 and Phil 4:6) 3. His love for God (Job 7:11-21 and I Jn 4:18) 4. His willingness to trust God (Job 32:1-2) 4:19 The moth is the first insect ( creeping thing – Gen 1:24c ) mentioned in Scripture… and for good reason. The moth is one of the most destructive insects in the world, especially in its larvae stage. According to Wikipedia : 809

Moths, and particularly their caterpillars, are a major agricultural pest in many parts of the world. Examples include corn borers and bollworms. The caterpillar of the gypsy moth ( Lymantria dispar ) causes severe damage to forests in the northeast United States, where it is an invasive species. In temperate climates, the codling moth causes extensive damage, especially to fruit farms. In tropical subtropical climates, the diamondback moth ( Plutella xylostella ) is perhaps the most serious pest of brassicaceous crops. Several moths in the family Tineidae are commonly regarded as pests because their larvae eat fabric such as clothes and blankets made from natural proteinaceous fibers such as wool or silk. 1

Think about it. There are approximately 160,000 species of moth (nearly ten times the number of species of butterfly), with thousands of species yet to be described; and their larvae are ravenous. No wonder Jesus spoke of moths in such a disparaging manner (Mt 6:19-20/Lk 12:33). Because moths in their caterpillar stage destroy temporal material assets, including our dead bodies, they are viewed unenthusiastically in Scripture. NOTE – According to entomologists (people who study insects), there are from six to ten million species of insects on earth. However, only twelve insects are mentioned in Scripture. Amazingly, the number twelve in the Bible is viewed as a perfect number, signifying perfection of rule . For example: *The sun which rules the day, and the moon and stars which govern the night, do so by their passage through the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and thus rule ( govern ) the year. *There are twelve patriarchs (from Shem to Jacob), who ruled their families. *There are twelve sons of Israel, who will rule the world with CHRIST during the Millennium. *There are twelve judges mentioned in the book of Judges, who ruled Israel during their day. *There are twelve apostles, who will rule and reign with CHRIST during the Millennium. *There are twelve foundations, twelve gates, and twelve pearls in the heavenly Jerusalem, indicating structural rule in heaven. *There are twelve legions of angels, indicating the perfection of angelic rule ( power ). The reason only twelve species of insects are mentioned in Scripture is because God wanted us to know that insects rule over all other creatures here on earth. In fact, one of the largest swarms of locusts ever recorded in history was recorded back in 1873. This swarm covered 198,000 square miles (around the size of California), causing over $200 million dollars in crop damage (back then that was equal to billions of dollars today; like a Katrina). That swarm consisted of over 12 trillion locusts, weighing in at more than 27 million tons. You can poison them, disrupt their habitat, and even find ingenious ways to try and rearrange their DNA, but you cannot eradicate them… ever. They adapt. All in all, insects (if they were smart enough) could rule the world anytime they so desired. Note the twelve insects of Scripture: 1. moth (Job 4:19 & 13:28, Isa 50:9 & 51:8, Hos 5:12, Mt 6:19-20 and Lk 12:33). 2. locust (mentioned 41 times), and includes: the cankerworm (crawling locust – Joel 1:4 & 2:25 and Nah 3:15-16), the caterpillar (consuming locust – I Ki 8:37, Psa 78:46 & 105:34, Isa 33:4, Jere 51:14,27, Joel 1:4 & 2:25 and II Chro 6:28), and the palmer-worm (wingless locust – Joel 1:4 & 2:25) 3. lice (Exo 8:16-18 and Psa 105:31) 4. horse-leech , i.e., blood sucking worm (Prov 30:15) 5. hornet (Exo 23:28, Deut 7:20 and Josh 24:12) 6. grasshopper (Lev 11:22, Num 13:33, Jud 6:5 & 7:12, Job 39:20, Eccl 12:5, Isa 40:22, Jere 46:23, Amos 7:1 and Nah 3:17) 7. gnat (Mt 23:24) 8. fly/worm-maggot (Exo 8:21,22,24,29,31 & 16:20,24, Psa 78:45 & 105:31, Eccl 10:1 and Isa 7:18) 9. flea (I Sam 24:14 & 26:20) 10. cricket (called a beetle in Leviticus 11:22) 11. bee (Isa 7:18) 12. ant (Prov 6:6 & 30:25) The ant is the only insect to be given a good review by God ( Prov 6:6 ). Why? Because the ant is self-motivated. It begins things without supervision, it completes things without supervision, and it doesn’t make excuses for laziness.

1 Wikipedia. Moth ,