Anacharsis, a Greek philosopher once remarked: "Written laws are like spider's webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful." Job 8:14 reminds us: “His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider's web.”
An arachnid is defined as a class of animal that includes spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks. Spiders, in particular, can live almost anywhere. They thrive in woodlands where moisture is abundant, this makes life easier as food is often in plentiful supply. According to Wikipedia, spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica and have become established in nearly every land habitat.
Where private or public dwellings are chosen as the main abode, a quiet location, close to water or moisture is the preferred domicile. A spider will usually spin a web to facilitate life in general. A spider’s web may or may not be geometrically proportional in every respect, but each is tirelessly and carefully formed with a particular impetus in mind. Apart from the typical safe haven that a home provides, it can also serve as other useful purposes. The different functions are endless, but many spiders establish a web for three primary reasons. They can be created to conceal a spider’s presence, to hold and protect its eggs, or to catch prey to provide food and sustenance for the spider. In a spiritual sense, a web can be considered to represent the continuous and reproductive cycle of life. Thus, both life and death may feature prominently in the service of any constructed web. Any small living insect or creature that becomes entangled in a web faces certain death, but those with intricately woven sacs containing the eggs of a spider, can alternatively, create life. A web can thus be considered, to be both cherished or undesirable.
Cultural depictions of spiders feature in many fictional books and films. Their portrayal is often based around fear, which for some can be extremely disturbing and can lead to a severe phobia. There is an apt saying that: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Virginia Woolf, an English writer once remarked: “Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so slightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. Often the attachment is scarcely perceptible.” 1 Samuel 24 reminds us: “When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks. And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’”
Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.” As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.”
A spider’s web is often intricate and complex. The above passage heightens the necessity for patience which many spiders may need to sustain. God delivered Saul into David’s hand, and although king Saul had the intention to kill David and David and his men had the opportunity to kill Saul before he could inflict his intentions, David decided otherwise. It highlights that it is sometimes better to wait and seek God’s guidance rather than become like a bull in a china shop, destroying everything in sight. Unlike the enticement that a web may invite for a spider’s prey with the assurance of certain death, to hold back may sometimes be the more beneficial option and prevent one from becoming foolhardy. In analogical thinking, some may consider the presence of God as comparable to a spider’s web. He can be considered as both inviting or distant depending on the religious belief of an individual. A web may be seen as a spider’s throne, however, for many, especially Christians, an existence with God and His throne is the primary venture that provides a source of life and nourishment, but for agnostics, or those less inclined, the opposite is pertinent. Revelation 21:3 reminds us: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
Amen.
