Web message (spider type)

I was on my way to refill an empty finch feeder when I found the way blocked by an exquisite orb web. I stopped to admire its delicate, intricate artistry and thought of several things. One was the fun, yet profound, children’s story, Charlotte’s Web. It tells of a barn spider who, in an effort to save a personable pig named Wilbur from being slaughtered, begins weaving words into her webs extolling his virtues. The words bring admirers from miles around, and Wilbur is eventually shown off at the local fair.

The first words that saved Wilbur were “some pig,” “terrific,” and “radiant.” The last word, spun at the fair as the spider was dying (having laid her sac of eggs), was “humble.”

I also knew the Bible had a couple references to spiders, both translated from the Hebrew akkabish, used of the many common spiders of the Holy Land.* In Job 8:14, one of Job’s misguided “comforters,” Bildad, describes those who forget God as having spiritual confidence as fragile as a spider’s web. In Isaiah 59:5-6, the prophet describes the activities of sinful Israelites as useless as a spider’s web. They’re so frail that they can’t even be used as clothing. Not exactly encouraging images!

But if you read about how spiders make webs, you’ll come away with profound appreciation for the God as creator of even spiders. For one, spider silk cannot be dissolved in water and is one of the strongest known natural fibers. Most important, a web is built one strand at a time with admirable determination and endurance. If a spider gives up, there is no web to catch prey for food. I’m reminded of Peter’s second letter, in which he encourages believers to keep building on to the basic foundation of faith. From that main, anchoring thread, we’re to make every effort to live out behaviors that honor God.

Wilbur was “some pig,” “terrific,” and “radiant.” God wants our webs to spell out “goodness,” “knowledge,” “self-control,” “perseverance,” “godliness,” “brotherly kindness,” and “love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). If all these qualities are evident in our Christian walk, we’re not to boast about them. Instead, we’re to be, as that last word for Wilbur, “humble.”

What of my garden web? I crawled w-a-y under it to get to my bird feeder, not wanting to disturb it. I hoped the spider would catch lots of the aphids that had homesteaded in my rhododendrons. And I thanked God that, on this ordinary summer morning, He reminded me of His creative power and purpose.

*(The King James version also uses “spider” in Proverbs 30:28: “The spider taketh hold with her hands and is in king’s palaces.” However, the original Hebrew word is semamith, for which concordances give "poisonous lizard" as a primary meaning. Thus (NASB): “The lizard you may grasp with the hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.”)