" And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion:
and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the Lion." (Judges 14:8)
The fame of Solomon's wisdom was known all over the world.
In a distant land was a queen who decided to test his wisdom.
She wanted to prove that he wasn't wise.
She thought of a way to demonstrate that her wisdom was superior to his.
The story goes that she had skillful artists in her kingdom to make many beautiful flowers out of wax.
They were so good at their craft that when they finished, it was almost impossible to tell
the real flowers from the artificial.
When the artists were finished with the wax-like flowers, the queen placed them in vases of real flowers from her gardens.
The queen came to Solomon with her vases of real flowers and those that were artificial.
She said to Solomon: “ If you are wise as people say you are, you will be able to tell me
which of the vases holds the real flowers and which are the artificial wax flowers.”
The queen presented to Solomon the rules:
Solomon entered the room with a smile on his face and looking very confident.
Then he turned to one of his attendants and whispered, “Bring in the bees!”
The attendant ran out and came back in carrying a hive of honeybees.
Then, he opened the hive and let the bees out.
He watched as the bees flew toward the flowers.
He saw which flowers the bees landed on, and he knew which flowers were real.
The bees knew where the nectar was.
Our God is incredible!
He made the universe in all its vastness, and He made the little bee.
The bee is one of the most marvelous and fascinating of all of God’s creations.
When we learn some things about the ways and habits of the bees, we can also discover some truths
that we should live by.
Let us learn something about the bees.
The Worker Bees
The first thing that we notice about the worker bees is their busy-ness.
A single bee visits two or three hundred flowers in one hour to gather enough nectar to make one drop of honey.
When we look into the hive of the bees, we discover that each bee has his own task.
There are the "mason bees" who make the wax for the comb and fasten it to the roof of the hive.
Then there are the "sculptor" bees who follow the masons and chisel and mold the wax into the right shape.
The "environmental" bees look after the air in the hive.
In hot weather the wax is likely to melt and become soft, so these bees position themselves
near the opening and turn on their fans by flapping their wings to make a breeze.
There are "attendant" bees whose have the responsibility to follow the queen around and attend to her needs.
Then there are the "nurse" bees.
They are to look after the young grubs and feed them.
The "sentinel" bees guard the door of the hive night and day and guard against enemies and intruders.
Their Cleanliness
The honeybees keep a spotless house.
While the masons are making the wax, and the sculptors are molding it, the "cleaning" bees
sweep the floor and turn out anything that shouldn’t be there, such as sand or bits of dead leaves.
Sometimes, in spite of the vigilance of the sentry bees, a snail or an insect will get into the hive.
They sting the enemy to death, and if they can’t get it out of the hive, they build a box of wax over it
sealing it up so that it will not poison the hive.
The Unselfishness Of The Bee
The bees work for the good of the hive.
They are very unselfish.
A small amount of honey is enough for their food.
The rest goes to feed the queen, the grubs, and the drones, or is made into wax to be stored up for the next winter.
In the summer two thirds of the old bees leave to make room for the younger generation.
They leave behind them a beautiful city of wax filled with treasures of honey and pollen.
They go out to face poverty, for they have nothing until they build themselves a new city and fill it with food.
The bees will willingly die to save the queen’s life.
They keep the best food for her, and should food become scarce they will give up their last drop of honey for her.
If there should be an invasion, the queen will be found alive under the bodies of her dead subjects
who have protected her with their lives.
Now, we will have to look at the "drones".
They are much bigger than the worker bees.
They have a beautiful velvet suit.
In the front of his head are two feelers or antennae, and he has 26,000 eyes.
The drone is contemptuous.
He is lazy, untidy, greedy, and selfish.
He does not work, and he hinders others as they work.
Do you know any Christians like that?
The drone eats more than a worker bee.
It takes five or six worker bees to provide him enough food.
He looks out for the corners in the hive, and eats the sweetest honey.
In the hottest days of the summer, he will go out for a flight.
But he doesn’t go out to gather pollen or do anything that resembles work.
Oh no, he goes out to lay on a flower and sun himself.
Then when the day grows cooler, he goes back into the hive for a snooze.
But he will get his due when the days of autumn come, the wise little worker bees know
that they have no food to spare to keep useless bees alive during the winter.
So, one day a signal goes out.
The sentry bees and the worker bees decide that they will not tolerate these loafers any longer!
They either fall on them and stab them to death, or they turn them out to starve.
Don’t be a drone!
There are Christians who act like drones.
They are lazy, untidy, greedy, and selfish.
They want to be seen.
They want the biggest piece of the cake or the biggest slice of the pie.
They want to be recognized.
They make other people uncomfortable.
They push and shove others aside to get to the head of the line.
Jesus came to show us that those who please God are the worker bees.
They care for others.
They would rather serve than be served.
They love to help others.
When a need arises, they can be counted on.
They want to make others happy.
After Jesus had risen from the tomb, He met his disciples on the lake shore and asked them
if they had anything to eat.
They gave him some cooked fish and a piece of honeycomb!
I believe that Jesus would have said, “Thank you, Father, for food so sweet!”
Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White
Email Dr. White at hleewhite@gmail.com