God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. [Genesis 1:31a (NIV)]
Although mosquitoes serve as food for birds, bats and fish, most scientists agree that the world would be no worse off if they disappeared; in fact, many think our planet might be a far healthier place if they did! As I dab cortisone on my swelling bites, I can’t help but wonder whether our perfect God made a big mistake when He made the mosquito.
Then again, if you’ve been bitten by a Gila monster or a venomous snake or spider, you might be questioning God’s wisdom in creating them. Yet, while Gila monster venom can be fatal, it is used to treat all sorts of medical conditions. Exenatide, used in treating diabetes, is a synthetic form of a chemical found in Gila monster saliva. Chemicals in their venom can also stop the growth of certain cancer cells. Although there are around 50,000 fatalities from poisonous snake bites each year, the venom from some of those snakes is saving lives. Drugs that treat high blood pressure, angina, and other heart conditions have been developed from the venom of the Brazilian pit viper, pigmy rattlesnake, and saw-scaled viper. I don’t much care for spiders but a substance found in scorpion venom helps identify cancerous cells in the brain and a drug developed from the Chilean rose tarantula’s venom is now used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Those suffering from chronic pain may be surprised to learn that any of seven different compounds in the venom of some 80 spider species might be giving them relief by blocking nerve activity. Apparently, God knew exactly what He was doing when he created these venomous creatures. It’s just taken mankind a little time to figure out how to create something good out of them.
After unsuccessfully searching for something good to say about mosquitoes, I have to agree with scientist Norbert Becker’s words: “Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals confronting mankind.” I may be annoyed by some swelling and itching but, every year, more than a million people die and hundreds of thousands are incapacitated by mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, West Nile virus, encephalitis, dengue fever, yellow fever, and the Zika virus. Sadly, every two minutes, another child dies of malaria.
Mosquitoes truly seem to be the bane of our existence and I don’t understand why they came to exist. If we think back to Eden, however, it was perfect; all was good and mosquitoes wouldn’t have bothered Adam and Eve. It was through our first parents’ disobedience that disease and death came into the world. Maybe, every mosquito bite is just God’s way of reminding us to obey Him. Perhaps, hidden inside the mosquito is a positive purpose and God just is waiting for us to discover it as we have with venomous lizards, snakes, and spiders. Then again, perhaps God is challenging us to find a way of preventing those mosquito-borne diseases by supporting research, funding clinics and education, or making donations to organizations that provide insecticide-treated bed nets to third-world nations. I don’t know.
As much as I hate mosquitoes, I will not make Job’s mistake and question God’s wisdom or plan. I will trust that He has a purpose for everything and accept that we are supposed to thank and praise Him in all things, not just the ones we like or understand.
Thank you, Heavenly Father for all of your creation—not just the butterflies, song birds, and wildflowers but also the spiders, venomous lizards and snakes, poison ivy, ragweed, fire ants, sand flies, and mosquitoes. We don’t always appreciate your idea of blessings but will trust that you, in your infinite and loving wisdom, know what you are doing!
One morning, the self-assured Joseph went out to check on his brothers’ flocks and, by nightfall, Jacob’s favorite son had been stripped of his beautiful robe, thrown in a pit, betrayed by his brothers, and sold to Ishmaelite traders. That day seventeen-year-old Joseph found out how capricious life could be. For the next month, he journeyed through the desert before ending up in Egypt. Imagine how alone, frightened, and lost the young shepherd from Canaan was when, unable to speak, read or write the language, he found himself in the most advanced civilization of the time—one with monumental architecture, centralized government, papyrus, ship building, and a military force.
God’s plan for salvation was all inclusive; He made that clear in Genesis when He said that all the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants. In announcing Jesus’ birth, the angels said it was good news for all nations. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, it became clear that He came not just for the Jews but for all people. Jesus invited all who were weary and heavy-laden, not just a select few. He healed the Roman centurion’s servant and the Canaanite woman’s daughter and ministered in Samaria and the Gentile city of Gerasenes. In what is called the “great commission,” Jesus instructed his disciples to spread the good news to all the nations. The Gospel’s message of salvation is offered to both Gentile and Jew, women and men, slave and slave holder, the destitute and rich, the merchant and beggar, the tradesperson and day laborer, the able and infirm, the demon-possessed and rational, and both the upright and those with sullied pasts. No one is turned away when they repent and come to Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior. Indeed, the Christian church is all-inclusive in its love for mankind and its invitation to all the people of the world.
Within the first two chapters of the book of Job, a man whose life had been blessed with health, wealth and family loses his livestock (meaning his livelihood), along with his servants, ten children, and health. Although James cited Job as an example of patience and endurance through suffering, we really don’t know how long Job’s pain and anguish lasted.
In a series of negative commands regarding the harvest found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, we find an ancient form of social justice/economic equity. A landowner was not to return for an overlooked bundle of grain left in the field, olives trees were not to be beaten more than once, grapes vines were not to be repicked after the first fruit was gathered, the edges of the fields were not to be harvested, and any produce dropped by the harvesters or fruit that had fallen or separated from the branch was not to be taken. As the remainders of the harvest, these gleanings were left for the poor.
In its entirety, the Shema consists of three sections: Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–2, and Numbers 15:37–41. The second paragraph of the Shema repeats the first one’s commands regarding the binding of God’s words to hands and forehead, writing them on the doorways and gates, teaching them to the children, and talking about them throughout the day. The primary theme of this paragraph, however, is that the promised land and the people’s enjoyment of it depended on their faithfulness to God. As long as they loved God and served Him with heart and soul, the people and land would be blessed but, if they turned aside to serve other gods, God’s wrath would result and things would not go well for the people or their land. In this warning, that is repeated again and again throughout the Old Testament, we see the fundamental Jewish belief that reward and punishment are based on the fulfillment of God’s commandments.
Devotions of the Heart 