March 28, 2010
Scripture
Song of Solomon 2:10
As some may know, this is a special verse for me and my wife, but it’s also a special verse otherwise. We’ve been thinking this morning of the love that was shown at Calvary. And one of these days, that One Who loved us then and loves us now will call us to be forever with Himself. May this be the hope that presses us onward. To know that love till it says “Rise up, my love, my fair one and come away.”
Hymn 197 - The Saviour is Coming
Prayer
Today we are going to look at a very interesting insect: the bee.
Isaiah 7:18 - The northern kingdom of Israel was captured and taken to the land of Assyria, where these bees were.
Most bees live in a hive. In a hive there is:
1 Queen bee. All the other bees serve her, feed her and so on. She is the one that lays all the eggs. If another queen is born in the hive, either the two queens will fight, or some of the bees will leave with one of the queens and find a new hive. This is called swarming.
100-300 Drones. These are the male bees. Their job is to fertilize the eggs that the queen lays.
16,000 - 20,000 Foraging bees. These are the bees that go and get the nectar that is brought back to the hive and made into honey.
And 26,000 - 49,000 Hive bees. These bees raise the baby bees, build the honeycomb, clean the hive, and guard the hive from intruders that would steal honey.
The queen can lay up to 1,700 eggs per day. There are 7,000-11,000 larvae and 16,000 - 20,000 pupae in the hive. First the queen lays an eggs in a cell, and it grows into a larvae. The larvae is fed 1,300 meals a day for five days. It gains 300 times it’s original weight, 75% of which is fat. Two other interesting facts are: 1.) Bees regulate the temperature and humidity of the hive ,and 2.) foraging bees do a dance to tell other bees where to find nectar.
I thought, “What can we learn from all this?” Well, I thought that a beehive was like an assembly. The queen bee is like those who witness to the lost, and make born-again believers. The drones are like those who study the Scriptures so that we know what to teach lost people. Foragers are like those that bring things into the assembly, things like the bread and the wine. The hive bees are like those who visit the assemblies, and those that have the gift of a pastor.
We are still reading about the commitment the Jews made. In v. 34, we find that they collected the wood for the wood offering. This must be speaking about the wood needed for the sacrifices. This is one of the organizational jobs that was necessary to keep the temple in order. Read I Corinthians 14:40; the assembly requires order as well, because God is a God of order. We can see this throughout the whole universe.
We often think of the sacrifice as the important thing in an offering, but the wood is important too. Everything in the tabernacle was made of wood and overlaid with gold or brass. The wood speaks of humanity; the gold speaks of divinity. We should be offering our bodies as living sacrifices; this is the message of v. 34. It is precious to see those who give of themselves to God’s work and God’s people.
They continue to lay out what they were to give to God: their firstfruits (vv. 25 & 27) and their firstborns (v. 36). Their firstfruits were very likely products they had farmed. John 15 tells us we can bring forth fruit as well. They gave the first portion of their harvest to God. They also gave of different substances: dough, wine, and oil. We can also bring him temporal gifts (time, money) and heavenly gifts (praise). When we come together, we should come with our baskets full, to offer to the Lord. Everyone should take truth in and be ready to give it out when the Lord prompts.
Hymn 201 - When we walk with the Lord,
Prayer