The Golden Crab Spider
Many thanks to brother Walter Vogt for allowing me to use these beautiful pictures, taken from his garden!!! Frankly, I detest spiders, they are small bloodsucking monsters that sting, paralyze and feed from your life's blood!!! Most spiders weave a web to capture their prey, but not this one. His camouflage is his weapon and it works. However, for me, every time I see a spider web, I think of it as evil, a menacing symbol of ensnarement and death. With this in mind, I remembered this chapter from the book of Isaiah...
Isaiah, Chapter 59
1 Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; neither his ear heavy, that it can’t hear: 2 but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness. 4 No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and give birth to iniquity. 5 They hatch adders’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper. 6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they don’t know; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whoever goes therein does not know peace. 9 Therefore is justice far from us, neither does righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind; yes, we grope as those who have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among those who are lusty we are as dead men. 11 We roar all like bears, and moan bitterly like doves: we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter. 15 Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it upheld him. 17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense. 19 So shall they fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the breath of Yahweh drives.
20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says Yahweh.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed’s seed,” says Yahweh, “from henceforth and forever.”
Sin is a terrible word; terrible not only because of the manifestations of it, but because it separates us from God. And those who actually love SIN progress from worse to worse. Sin ultimately causes death and who really WANTS TO DIE? But, God understands and has provided a remedy for our sin through Jesus. We all have a choice to follow Jesus or not. We can change our ways!!! A spider will always be a spider, but we don't have to be committed to a sinful lifestyle. As far as the spider in the picture is concerned, I was surprised to learn that it CAN change its color to adapt to its flower of choice, but only over a period of days. So, I guess even some spiders can change--- How about that- there is even hope for spiders.
PS. I still don't like them, though!!!!