Lamar Howell's Weblog

LORD OF THE BEES

J Lamar Howell

“Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet” Judges 14:14

Anyone who has a love for poetry will appreciate the use of imagery in the two-line riddle from the Book of Judges. Samson was teasing the men invited to his wedding. He told them they would be rewarded with a new wardrobe if they could answer the above riddle.”

            He was referring to something he experienced earlier. He had killed an attacking lion and left it to dry up in the desert. When he returned to that place, he discovered that bees had built a hive in the carcass. He scooped up some of the honey and ate it. Thus the source of his difficult riddle.

            The story of Samson getting honey from the carcass of a lion may seem implausible to some people. A surprising fact is that in the 18^th century scientists classified a new genus of honeybee called Trigona, which includes three species. Then in 1982, it was discovered that these are the only known bees which do not rely on plant products for food.  They feed on rotten meat rather than pollen or nectar. [Roubik, D.W. 1982. Obligate necrophagy in a social bee. Science 217: 1059-1060.]

THE HONEYBEE CRISIS IN THE U.S.

            Today, Samson might be hard-pressed to find a beehive, especially in the U.S. They are disappearing. Entomologists and beehive owners are baffled over the bee problem. Colony Collapse Disorder is the name of the phenomenon which scientists are scrambling to explain and bring to a halt. It involves the demise of up to half the honeybee hives in the U.S over the last two years. Nearly a million beehives out of two-and-a-half million have disappeared.

“Those are quite scary numbers,” said Dennis van Engelsdorp, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s lead apiarist [Discovery News Feb 5, 2007]. Scientists are troubled. Cornell University associate professor of entomology Nicholas Calderone had this to say: “Finding the cause of the problem is vital for U.S. agriculture. Many fruit, vegetable and seed crops, worth between $8 billion and $12 billion each year, rely on honeybees for pollination.” [Science Daily, May 12, 2007] Dr. May R. Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology at the University of Illinois, believes the economic impact of the decline in bees could be disastrous.[CNNMoney.com, March 29, 2007]

            A honeybee may seem like an insignificant thing in itself, but the implications of the loss of millions of honeybee hives are staggering. It could and probably will affect the availability and price of crops as agriculture feels the full impact of this problem.

            In the Law of Moses, God outlines to the people the rewards for obedience and the consequences of national disobedience. One of the many things he cites is that if a nation is obedient, their fields will be fertile, but if they are disobedient their fields will be barren.

            The argument may be made that this is simply a balancing act of nature or the result of overuse of pesticides or perhaps mite infestation and that God is not that strictly involved with the world, but that is not what the Bible indicates. Before Jerusalem and surrounding nations were overtaken by the Babylonian empire, he sent them this message:

            “This is what the Lord says: By my great power I have made the earth and its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnessar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals under his control.”

            Two times God mentions the animals. First, he says he owns them, and secondly that he can put them under someone else’s control. If the wild animals – which  would include honeybees – are under his control, he can direct their activities, set in motion their demise, or drive them away. It is novel to think that God would choose to use the simple honeybee as a way of withdrawing his blessing over a country. If only makes sense through association.

                                                HONEY AS A METAPHOR

Psalm 19 gives a direct parallel of honey to the Word of God. Psalm 19:9-10 says, “The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable that gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.”

            Honey stands alone as the most unique food on earth. It is the only food that will never spoil. Honey is energy-boosting, indisputably good and sweet to the taste, and it has an indeterminate shelf-life. Properly sealed and at the right temperature, it can last for centuries. In short, honey is like the Word of God – sweet, energizing, incorruptible, and everlasting.

            The dearth of honeybees and the coveted honey they produce has a spiritual equivalent – a deficiency of the pure word of God in this nation. Whatever has caused the loss of pure Biblical doctrine in America, there is a solution. The honey can be recovered, but it will take daring action.

                                    THE CHALLENGE OF KILLING THE LION

            The church must act as did Samson – seize and kill the lion. The lion is used as a Biblical symbol whenever the people were affected by cowardice. Proverbs says the lazy man will not go outside to work because he thinks a lion might be waiting in the streets.  The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!”[Proverbs 26:13]. Cowardice is the mother of inaction.

Another incident is in I Kings  20:35-36 “By the word of the LORD one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, ‘Strike me with your weapon,’ but the man refused. So the prophet said, ‘Because you have not obeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.’ And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.”  The lion is whatever makes God’s people cowardly, fearful, and silent. To put it more concretely, the lion may be the media, Western philosophy, fear of authority, ignorance, or simply unseen spiritual powers.                                                                                                                                                                    

It is interesting to note that Samson killed the lion with his bare hands.  We don’t often see the hand as a weapon, and usually it is not. But when an urgent situation arises and no weapons are within reach, people will use their hands as the first line of defense. My point here is that the situation in our country is grave. If we are going to arrest the moral decline and halt the rapidly accelerating downward spiritual plunge of our culture we must act immediately. There is too little time to handcraft a splendid, admirable ecclesiastical sword. We have to do it now if we want to have the rewards of courage.

                                    THE REWARDS OF COURAGE

            The first reward of courage is personal – the sweet goodness of the pure Word of God filling one’s being. A corollary to that is the fresh ability to give something good to our countrymen. It may be a hidden spiritual battle but the effects will be felt by society. Samson gave honey to his mother and father but kept the source a secret. However, the most vital outcome of the restoration of honey will be a new confidence to take on the Philistine spirit which has a fist-locked stranglehold on our culture.

             Samson fought the Philistines and so must we. Philistinism is defined as desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters. In literature is means a cynical indifference and supercilious (disdainful) sneering at religion.[Webster’s Online Dictionary, 2007]                              

                There have always been Philistines and always will be. The question is – are there any Samsons? Are we willing to be the Samsons, to courageously face the intimidating roar and bare-handedly tear open the jaws of the lion, all for the prize of bringing the sweet goodness of honey – the pure Word of God – back to our land? When we kill the lion, the buzz of the honeybee will return to our fields. Then, after an invigorating taste, we will be able to stand against the Philistine spirit of materialism and godlessness that rules over our nation. We can do it, but it will take great nerve and unshakeable determination. Then we can enjoy the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 again.        

                  That, my friend, is our moral obligation to this generation.