Biting Bugs and Blood Suckers!

[Fragrant Grace]

Greetings brothers and sisters

A question that one of my children asked:

There are so many biting bugs, stingers and bloodsuckers, especially here in Australia such as mosquitoes, headlice, poisonous spiders, ants etc

Did they start out good at creation and turn "nasty" after the fall of man?

A few simple answers with Biblical reference would be welcomed.

 

[Bendito]

Greetings brothers and sisters

A question that one of my children asked:

There are so many biting bugs, stingers and bloodsuckers, especially here in Australia such as mosquitoes, headlice, poisonous spiders, ants etc

Did they start out good at creation and turn "nasty" after the fall of man?

A few simple answers with Biblical reference would be welcomed.

It's interesting that one can find all sorts of articles to this subject but nobody gives scriptures.... We know that many of these insects are a part of the 'janitorial staff' in our world. We know that in the beginning, we did not have the problem of biting insects et al. Their present behavior is a result of sin and us getting kicked out of the garden as you suggested, Little Sister. Perhaps it has to do with them needing to find a food source now too. We can plant and grow our food, raise our food in herds as well, but the bugs have not learned that?

 

[Curtis]

Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Every animal, every insect, and every single thing that has breath was designed by God to only eat "plants" for food!

Gen_1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Adam's responsibility was for him to have "dominion" over every single living thing. He failed in his job and that dominion was handed over to the serpent who corrupted the whole world. :smile:

 

[Quantrill]

Living in Texas I have often wondered the same thing. Add to the list ticks and chiggers. And, I have wondered the same concerning poison ivy and poison oak. Surely it wasn't here before the fall. Or if it was it didn't have it's torturous affect.

So, yes, I think as Curtis said, these are the result of the fall. After all, the serpent appears to have changed as a result of the fall. God's judgement upon him for being the vessel used by satan resulted in his crawling on his belly. (Gen. 3:14) And the earth changed and is under the curse of God. (Gen. 3:17-19)

Quantrill

 

[B-A-C]

It would be hard to tie this passage to mosquitoes, but I wonder if this is when it happened?

Gen 3:17; Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.
Gen 3:18; "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;
Gen 3:19; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

I always have to chuckle a little when I read this. God is mad at Adam "because you listened to the voice of your wife".
(I know that's not really the reason, it was the fruit)

But still this is when thorns and thistles came about. Why not mosquitoes?

 

[Hekuran]

OK. If mosquitos and bugs were around in the garden of Eden, Adam would have come up with the idea of clothes much sooner than he did.

The Bible says we had a vegetarian diet until after the flood, and Isaiah speaks of the lion eating straw in the age to come.

Depending on how old your kids are and how ready to think abstract things through, you could just front up with them: when God gave us the Bible he didn't give it as a gift to answer all the questions we might be curious about. He gave us his word to show us who he is and to tell the story of how he want to love with people like us. Which means we don't have a clear answer to questions about wasps.

A answer lke this might give you a foundation for the inevitable queries about dinosaurs, where the devil came from, how did the animals all fit on the ark...

 

[amadeus2]

Early on... from the way I read it there were only vegetarians among people and I would guess also among what we name as 'lower animals'.

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." Gen 1:29-30 [KJV]

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food:
and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, [I have given] every green herb for food: and it was so." Gen 1:29-30 [SV]

But then after Noah and family were saved from the flood there was a new allowance made:

"Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." Gen 9:3 [KJV]
"Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; As the green herb have I given you all." Gen 9:3 [SV]

So then the meat of animals was then allowed, whereas before...? It was then apparently that no one and nothing ate the flesh of animals, not even lower animals ate animals... When it changed for Noah apparently it changed also for animals. Consider the following prophecy for something is it to come to pass later... [a restoration to as it was?]

"And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the LION shall eat straw like the ox." Isaiah 11:7 [KJV]

"And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." Isaiah 11:7 [SV]

There are other verses regarding the beasts or animals throughout scripture if someone wants to search for them.

Was the lion was a meat [flesh] eater prior to the first sin of man or even prior to the flood and the application of Gen 9:3? So then to the OP question regarding bugs and stinging insects. It would seem that the whole ecology of the world of men and lower animals changed as man himself became more of a 'lower animal' himself:

"I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity." Ecc 3:18-19 [KJV]

But then another prophecy?

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." I John 3:2

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Thank you brothers for your replies they are all very helpful.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

I wonder when this prophecy is fulfilled will we have friendly mosquitoes, lice and fleas etc :smile:

@Quantrill thank you for mentioning poisonous plants, they have come up in conversation too.

So many gloroiously beautiful plants and flowers are highly toxic even deadly......a sad reflection of the effect of sin.

 

[B-A-C]

Did Noah make sure he had a few mosquitoes on board?

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Did Noah make sure he had a few mosquitoes on board? :smile:

Perhaps they were less noxious then and have just got more so over the generations of increasing sin.

Did insects get taken into the ark?
Tiny fleas and mites?????

 

[Curtis]

Thank you brothers for your replies they are all very helpful.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

I wonder when this prophecy is fulfilled will we have friendly mosquitoes, lice and fleas etc :smile:

@Quantrill thank you for mentioning poisonous plants, they have come up in conversation too.

So many gloroiously beautiful plants and flowers are highly toxic even deadly......a sad reflection of the effect of sin.

Maybe on the new earth dogs will be potty trained and self-sustaining, and then maybe I will get a pet dog!

 

[Quantrill]

Thank you brothers for your replies they are all very helpful.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

I wonder when this prophecy is fulfilled will we have friendly mosquitoes, lice and fleas etc :smile:

@Quantrill thank you for mentioning poisonous plants, they have come up in conversation too.

So many gloroiously beautiful plants and flowers are highly toxic even deadly......a sad reflection of the effect of sin.

You are quite welcome.

Quantrill

 

[KingJ]

Greetings brothers and sisters

A question that one of my children asked:

There are so many biting bugs, stingers and bloodsuckers, especially here in Australia such as mosquitoes, headlice, poisonous spiders, ants etc

Did they start out good at creation and turn "nasty" after the fall of man?

A few simple answers with Biblical reference would be welcomed.

I would not say they are nasty. A nuisance yes. But not nasty.

Everything God creates is good. We just have to consider ''a lot'' to grasp how them blood suckers are good.

The whole eco system is God's gift to a fallen man. It enables free will.

Simple example: That annoying mosquito. You have thoughts of catching it and tearing off limb by limb. You can. But then when you catch it, you realize it is cute, so you instantly kill it or release it outside.

 

[Victor Van Heerden]

Greetings brothers and sisters

A question that one of my children asked:

There are so many biting bugs, stingers and bloodsuckers, especially here in Australia such as mosquitoes, headlice, poisonous spiders, ants etc

Did they start out good at creation and turn "nasty" after the fall of man?

A few simple answers with Biblical reference would be welcomed.

Nope - they evolved. Just like all things evolved. That's what science tells us. The Bible can NOT be taken literally when it clashes with proven science. The Bible cannot explain how creepy crawlies came along it does not know it is not a science biology book.

 

[Victor Van Heerden]

I would not say they are nasty. A nuisance yes. But not nasty.

Everything God creates is good. We just have to consider ''a lot'' to grasp how them blood suckers are good.

The whole eco system is God's gift to a fallen man. It enables free will.

Simple example: That annoying mosquito. You have thoughts of catching it and tearing off limb by limb. You can. But then when you catch it, you realize it is cute, so you instantly kill it or release it outside.

What about the worms that hatch from strings of eggs and crawl around in black African children's eyes and makes them go blind - the eggs are laid in the eye by a horrible grotesque blood sucking fly. or wasp from a horror movie - Is that also cute?

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Nope - they evolved. Just like all things evolved. That's what science tells us. The Bible can NOT be taken literally when it clashes with proven science. The Bible cannot explain how creepy crawlies came along it does not know it is not a science biology book.

@Victor Van Heerden

This is a Christian forum
If you are here just to challenge then why did you join?

 

[Victor Van Heerden]

@Victor Van Heerden

This is a Christian forum
If you are here just to challenge then why did you join?

Most Christians accept the ToE. I'm sorry if i offended you. I don't think mosquitoes are cute. They are pests. I kill them by the dozens daily with Doom bug spray. Literal Christians believe all things like thorns, thistles and nasty bugs etc came via the fall of mankind. Conjecture no verse to back it up. Is there?

 

[amadeus2]

Nope - they evolved. Just like all things evolved. That's what science tells us. The Bible can NOT be taken literally when it clashes with proven science. The Bible cannot explain how creepy crawlies came along it does not know it is not a science biology book.

Proven science over the centuries has apparently proven itself to be error more than once. Evolution even according to scientists is at best an unproven theory. A theory is not a undisputable fact.

Whereas as believer we receive God by faith and the scriptures are also received by faith. But as we see in the denominations of men as well on forums such as this one that what people believe according faith sometimes clash one with another. This does not mean the Bible is wrong. It mean that probably some of us (or all of us) at times misunderstand part or even all of God's message to us.

 

[amadeus2]

Most Christians accept the ToE. I'm sorry if i offended you. I don't think mosquitoes are cute. They are pests. I kill them by the dozens daily with Doom bug spray. Literal Christians believe all things like thorns, thistles and nasty bugs etc came via the fall of mankind. Conjecture no verse to back it up. Is there?

And you believe this because it is established by some man's poll using someone else's definition of what a Christian is? Of course you are entitled to your own opinion and beliefs, but we should not presume based on what man says. What does God say?

 

[Quantrill]

Perhaps they were less noxious then and have just got more so over the generations of increasing sin.

Did insects get taken into the ark?
Tiny fleas and mites?????

I'm thinking Noah had no choice with the fleas and mites or mosquitoes. They were probably more than just two of those throughout the ark.

Quantrill