Did you know there are a lot of insects mentioned in the Bible? They were used to punish people. They were eaten by John the Baptist.
Most importantly, they can teach your kids something God wants them to learn. Which is great, because bugs are interesting and the warm weather brings out all sorts of bugs to observe.
So let’s get started learning what bugs can teach your kids that God wants them to learn!
Materials: Bible, magnifying glass (iPhones have one built in under settings, general, accessibility, magnifier), books or websites on identifying insects
Procedure: Choose one of the following Bible stories and application principles to teach your kids as you explore insects in the Bible.
- Ten Plagues. Exodus 9-11. Three of the ten plagues involved insects. Gnats, flies and locusts may not be terrifying one at a time, but God sent enough of each to night make it clear, this was a plague from God – not just an every day annoyance. Each time Pharaoh was annoyed enough to offer to let the Israelites leave to worship God, but as soon as God removed the insects, Pharaoh would change his mind. God was using the insects to give the Egyptians a “wake up” call. He wanted them to know He was the only real God and He wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians to free His people. Sometimes, God uses the Bible, people and circumstances to try and “wake” us up when we aren’t doing what He wants us to do. We need to be smarter than the Egyptians and when we see a Bible verse or have a parent or another Christian point out we are sinning, we need to immediately repent. Repentance is not just saying we are sorry – although that is a part of it. It’s also changing the way we are living our lives to be more like God wants us to be.
- John the Baptist. Matthew 3:1-12. John the Baptist was a very interesting person. Not only was he a cousin to Jesus, he had a very interesting story surrounding his own birth. (Luke 1:5-25). John is known as John the Baptist, because of his ministry. He lived in the wilderness – which in that area looked very much like a rocky desert. The Bible told us he wore clothes made out of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. John didn’t care about looking fancy or even going into town to buy “real” food to eat. His only concern was helping people understand their sin separated them from God and that they needed to repent and be baptized. In fact, he even baptized Jesus!. God may not need us to wear clothes made out of camel’s hair or eat locusts and wild honey for every meal, but He does want us to tell others about God and what He wants them to do. We need to realize sharing our faith should be one of our top priorities in life. God wants everyone to go to Heaven, but they need to know what to do so they can become Christians. We need to be willing and able to take the time to teach them what God wants them to do.
- The Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6. Jesus preached a very interesting sermon when he was on the mountain. He spent a lot of time explaining to them how they had taken some of the commands of the Law and twisted them so they weren’t really doing what God wanted. Chapter 6 talks a lot about giving and praying and fasting – some of the ways we can help others. Then he launches into a discussion of how our treasures should not be on earth – because they can be destroyed by moths and vermin or stolen by thieves. Instead God wants us to focus on gathering treasures in Heaven. God doesn’t want our top priority to be getting rich, but obeying and serving Him, helping others and sharing our faith.
Share the Bible story and application principle you have chosen with your kids. Then go outside and go o a bug hunt. (Note: Even in big cities, there are bugs. You just may need to look more carefully or go to a park to find them.)How many different bugs can you find? What are their names? What type of insect are they? (This kid friendly website has some ways to help identifying insects.) What behaviors do the various insects have? Which ones are helpful and which ones are harmful (or does it depend on who or what you are)?
After you have explored the world of bugs in your area, discuss what other godly lessons we might be able to learn from bugs. Are their other ways God uses bugs in the Bible to teach us something He wants us to know? What are they? If you want to be really brave, go to a hiking and camping store like REI and see if they are selling edible bugs. Often they are related to the locusts John the Baptist ate!