Summer Part 4
Proverbs 30:24-25 NLT
There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
Ants—they aren't strong,
but they store up food all summer.
What do we know about ants?
Did you know that ants are found on every continent except for the Antarctic (1)? In fact, ants can be found in the tiniest cracks of a sidewalk, at the sub-floor of a forest, or on the top of a building. They will travel to where they find food and will eat all sorts of stuff including wood, glue, carcasses, plants, seeds, or even grease. An ant can lift twenty times its body weight. (2) They leave a pheromone trail when they forage which helps them track their territory so they won’t repeat their steps. (2)
The function of a worker ant
Ants live in colonies and work within a caste system. There are several classes of ants, but the worker ant forages and stores food. The entire colony depends on the worker ants to keep them fed. The majority of their foraging happens in the summer months when produce is available. The word summer here actually means ‘summer fruit’ (3)
Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of the ant:
Ants are diligent
They work together as a group
They are efficient
They will not stop their assignment until every scrap of food is gone
They will travel as far as they must to get food
The other classes of ants can depend on the worker ants to sustain them
All summer long, the ant works nonstop to store food for the entire year.
Proverbs 30:24-28 paraphrased:
Listed are four of God’s creatures that are miniature but considered exceptionally prudent. The ant is at the top of the list. They are not considered strong because they are not able to overpower anything or anyone. However, they are considered wise because they work to forage and store food in the summer when there is plenty available. Their colony never has to worry about having enough to eat during the seasons when food is scarce or nonexistent.
That’s what summer means in this verse
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