HORNET STRANGLERS
Psalm 118:12a
"They compassed me about like bees...."
We all know that when bees swarm they are in defensive mode. However, not all species of bees have stinging in mind when they swarm.
We did a program about an Asian honeybee species that engulfs an invading wasp and cooks it to death. That's what scientists thought Cyprian honeybees were doing when they engulf an invading hornet. However, further study showed that the bees could not kill the attacking hornet with heat. They simply didn't generate enough heat to kill it in the hour they were observed killing a hornet.
Further observation showed that the bees favored encasing the hornet's abdomen. It appeared that they knew that the hornets have an unusual breathing arrangement for insects. The hornet in question actually breathes through holes in its abdomen by contracting the abdomen. The bees appeared to be suffocating the hornet. So researchers placed tiny plastic blocks under a hornet's abdominal plates. This propped the hornet's breathing pores open when the bees tried to smother it. Sure enough, the next time the bees attacked, the hornet survived twice as long.
In His love for His creation, God knew that when sin entered His creation, His creatures would need to know how to defend themselves. So He gave the Cyprian honeybee the knowledge to protect itself against its worst foe.
I thank You, Father, that You love your creation and have especially loved me through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Science News, 9/29/07, p. 205, "Honeybee Mobs Smother Big Hornets." Photo found at Sciencemag.org website. Courtesy of Emmanouil Filippou.
Psalm 118:12a
"They compassed me about like bees...."
We all know that when bees swarm they are in defensive mode. However, not all species of bees have stinging in mind when they swarm.
We did a program about an Asian honeybee species that engulfs an invading wasp and cooks it to death. That's what scientists thought Cyprian honeybees were doing when they engulf an invading hornet. However, further study showed that the bees could not kill the attacking hornet with heat. They simply didn't generate enough heat to kill it in the hour they were observed killing a hornet.
Further observation showed that the bees favored encasing the hornet's abdomen. It appeared that they knew that the hornets have an unusual breathing arrangement for insects. The hornet in question actually breathes through holes in its abdomen by contracting the abdomen. The bees appeared to be suffocating the hornet. So researchers placed tiny plastic blocks under a hornet's abdominal plates. This propped the hornet's breathing pores open when the bees tried to smother it. Sure enough, the next time the bees attacked, the hornet survived twice as long.
In His love for His creation, God knew that when sin entered His creation, His creatures would need to know how to defend themselves. So He gave the Cyprian honeybee the knowledge to protect itself against its worst foe.
I thank You, Father, that You love your creation and have especially loved me through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Science News, 9/29/07, p. 205, "Honeybee Mobs Smother Big Hornets." Photo found at Sciencemag.org website. Courtesy of Emmanouil Filippou.
REMEMBER YOUR TURMERIC
1 Chronicles 9:30
"And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices."
Many ancient peoples made various ointments from spices, including ancient Israel. In India, they have been using a spice called turmeric for medicinal purposes for 3,000 years.
Turmeric is made from the roots of a broad-leafed plant that grows well in the warm, moist climate of southern Asia. Ancient healers in India used turmeric to treat skin wounds, jaundice, indigestion and several other ailments. Turmeric is found in most curry dishes. Modern medical science has now begun to study the spice. Preliminary research shows that turmeric lowers total blood cholesterol by 11 percent and increases good cholesterol by 29 percent. But the most hopeful and dramatic medical use of the spice may be in treating, even reversing, Alzheimer's disease. The active ingredient in the spice is curcumin. In lab tests, curcumin has been shown to aid the body in ridding itself of the amyloid-beta plaques that result in Alzheimer's. These results are supported by a population study done in India. A study of people over 65 in that country who ate turmeric showed an incidence of Alzheimer's that was a quarter what it is in the West.
In His foreknowledge, God knew that man would sin and bring death and disease on himself. In His mercy, He stocked the creation with natural medicines to help us.
Thank You, Father, for providing for our needs in this life. Prosper all useful science. Amen.
Science News, 9/15/07, pp. 167-168, Patrick Barry, "Curry Power." Photo: Turmeric field in an Indian village.
1 Chronicles 9:30
"And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices."
Many ancient peoples made various ointments from spices, including ancient Israel. In India, they have been using a spice called turmeric for medicinal purposes for 3,000 years.
Turmeric is made from the roots of a broad-leafed plant that grows well in the warm, moist climate of southern Asia. Ancient healers in India used turmeric to treat skin wounds, jaundice, indigestion and several other ailments. Turmeric is found in most curry dishes. Modern medical science has now begun to study the spice. Preliminary research shows that turmeric lowers total blood cholesterol by 11 percent and increases good cholesterol by 29 percent. But the most hopeful and dramatic medical use of the spice may be in treating, even reversing, Alzheimer's disease. The active ingredient in the spice is curcumin. In lab tests, curcumin has been shown to aid the body in ridding itself of the amyloid-beta plaques that result in Alzheimer's. These results are supported by a population study done in India. A study of people over 65 in that country who ate turmeric showed an incidence of Alzheimer's that was a quarter what it is in the West.
In His foreknowledge, God knew that man would sin and bring death and disease on himself. In His mercy, He stocked the creation with natural medicines to help us.
Thank You, Father, for providing for our needs in this life. Prosper all useful science. Amen.
Science News, 9/15/07, pp. 167-168, Patrick Barry, "Curry Power." Photo: Turmeric field in an Indian village.
DID SOLOMON REALLY MARRY A PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER?
1 Kings 3:1a
"And Solomon made affinity with pharaoh king of Egypt, and took pharaoh's daughter, and brought her to the city of David...."
Scripture notes several times that King Solomon married a pharaoh's daughter in the tenth century B.C. His dowry for this marriage was the city of Gezer, which he received from the pharaoh.
Many Egyptologists and biblical critics have claimed that this was simply impossible. They base their argument on a 14th century B.C. Egyptian inscription. The inscription shows a pharaoh speaking with his daughter with the caption, "From of old no [Egyptian] king's daughter has been given to anyone." However, in 1 Kings 11:19-20 we read of a pharaoh giving his sister-in-law in marriage to an Edomite prince. This took place just a few years before Solomon's reign. Extra-biblical sources tell of another pharaoh who gave his daughter to a Libyan noble later in Solomon's reign. We would have to conclude that the Egyptian royal traditions in the 14th century B.C. had changed by the tenth century B.C. After all, that is 400 years later.
While many scholars doubt that the Bible presents history accurately, believers know that the Bible presents us with the story of our salvation. That salvation is based on real people and real events in history. So we thank God that He has given us an accurate account of how our salvation came about, beginning in Genesis.
Father, I thank You that Your Word is true and that it reveals Your forgiving love for me in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Biblical Archaeology Review, 9-10/01. pp. 32-37, Kenneth A. Kitchen, "How We Know When Solomon Ruled." Photo: Gezer stone steles, known as the Gezer Platform. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
1 Kings 3:1a
"And Solomon made affinity with pharaoh king of Egypt, and took pharaoh's daughter, and brought her to the city of David...."
Scripture notes several times that King Solomon married a pharaoh's daughter in the tenth century B.C. His dowry for this marriage was the city of Gezer, which he received from the pharaoh.
Many Egyptologists and biblical critics have claimed that this was simply impossible. They base their argument on a 14th century B.C. Egyptian inscription. The inscription shows a pharaoh speaking with his daughter with the caption, "From of old no [Egyptian] king's daughter has been given to anyone." However, in 1 Kings 11:19-20 we read of a pharaoh giving his sister-in-law in marriage to an Edomite prince. This took place just a few years before Solomon's reign. Extra-biblical sources tell of another pharaoh who gave his daughter to a Libyan noble later in Solomon's reign. We would have to conclude that the Egyptian royal traditions in the 14th century B.C. had changed by the tenth century B.C. After all, that is 400 years later.
While many scholars doubt that the Bible presents history accurately, believers know that the Bible presents us with the story of our salvation. That salvation is based on real people and real events in history. So we thank God that He has given us an accurate account of how our salvation came about, beginning in Genesis.
Father, I thank You that Your Word is true and that it reveals Your forgiving love for me in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Biblical Archaeology Review, 9-10/01. pp. 32-37, Kenneth A. Kitchen, "How We Know When Solomon Ruled." Photo: Gezer stone steles, known as the Gezer Platform. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
THE DAVID INSCRIPTION
2 Samuel 2:4a
"And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah."
There are two major schools of thought among biblical archaeologists. Many archaeologists go about their work with the goal of providing background to biblical accounts with their finds. But another school, called "minimalists", refuse to accept anything the Bible says unless they find solid evidence for it.
For example, minimalists argued for years that David never existed except as a mythical figure. They even went so far as to argue that Jerusalem wasn't even a city at the time David was supposed to have lived. However, in 1993, archaeologists made a huge contribution to this debate. While cleaning up an excavation at the biblical Dan, one of the team members noticed an inscription on a stone that was sticking out of the ground. It turned out to be part of a victory monument erected by an Aramean ruler celebrating a victory over Israel and possibly Judah. It is written in the type of Hebrew letters used before the destruction of the first temple in 586 BC. It boasts of the victory over a king, whose name is missing, but mentions the "House of David/King of Israel."
Believers don't need such evidence to know that the Bible is trustworthy, even when it talks about historical events. However, now there can be no question that David was a real person.
I thank You, Lord, that the history reported in Your Word is accurate, for it also records the history that saves me. Amen.
Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 1994, pp. 26-39, Herschel Shanks, "'David' Found at Dan." Photo: The Tel Dan inscription in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Courtesy of Yoav Dothan. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
2 Samuel 2:4a
"And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah."
There are two major schools of thought among biblical archaeologists. Many archaeologists go about their work with the goal of providing background to biblical accounts with their finds. But another school, called "minimalists", refuse to accept anything the Bible says unless they find solid evidence for it.
For example, minimalists argued for years that David never existed except as a mythical figure. They even went so far as to argue that Jerusalem wasn't even a city at the time David was supposed to have lived. However, in 1993, archaeologists made a huge contribution to this debate. While cleaning up an excavation at the biblical Dan, one of the team members noticed an inscription on a stone that was sticking out of the ground. It turned out to be part of a victory monument erected by an Aramean ruler celebrating a victory over Israel and possibly Judah. It is written in the type of Hebrew letters used before the destruction of the first temple in 586 BC. It boasts of the victory over a king, whose name is missing, but mentions the "House of David/King of Israel."
Believers don't need such evidence to know that the Bible is trustworthy, even when it talks about historical events. However, now there can be no question that David was a real person.
I thank You, Lord, that the history reported in Your Word is accurate, for it also records the history that saves me. Amen.
Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 1994, pp. 26-39, Herschel Shanks, "'David' Found at Dan." Photo: The Tel Dan inscription in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Courtesy of Yoav Dothan. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
INTIMIDATING DUETS
Ecclesiastes 12:4b
"... and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low..."
Precision in communication is highly important. This is especially true of the type of communication called music, whether you are talking about Mozart or magpie-larks.
Only about three percent of bird species are known to sing duets. In a duet, one mate begins singing, and the other mate begins a half second later. Among Australian magpie-larks, pairs that are newly mated usually lack that precision. However, in pairs that have been together for two years, the lag time of the duet usually varies by only a few hundredths of a second.
Researchers also discovered that this precision serves a purpose. Male magpie-larks respond to perceived threats by increasing their singing. When they played the less-precise duets to 12 pairs of other magpie-larks, the males only responded in this way seven times in five minutes. However, the more-precise duets resulted in nine responses in five minutes. In short, other magpie-larks are more intimidated by pairs that sing with precision than by those who do not. This is important in preserving an established couple's territory from invasion by new couples.
Communication with precision is yet another fingerprint of God on the creation. In Scripture, the ultimate in precise communication, God even points us to the birds as He urges us to recognize His involvement in the creation.
Thank You, Father, for taking care of all Your creation and especially for sending Your Son to save me. Amen.
Science News, 6/9/07, p. 357, S. Milius, "Scary Singing." Photo: Female magpie-lark. Courtesy of J.J. Harrison. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Ecclesiastes 12:4b
"... and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low..."
Precision in communication is highly important. This is especially true of the type of communication called music, whether you are talking about Mozart or magpie-larks.
Only about three percent of bird species are known to sing duets. In a duet, one mate begins singing, and the other mate begins a half second later. Among Australian magpie-larks, pairs that are newly mated usually lack that precision. However, in pairs that have been together for two years, the lag time of the duet usually varies by only a few hundredths of a second.
Researchers also discovered that this precision serves a purpose. Male magpie-larks respond to perceived threats by increasing their singing. When they played the less-precise duets to 12 pairs of other magpie-larks, the males only responded in this way seven times in five minutes. However, the more-precise duets resulted in nine responses in five minutes. In short, other magpie-larks are more intimidated by pairs that sing with precision than by those who do not. This is important in preserving an established couple's territory from invasion by new couples.
Communication with precision is yet another fingerprint of God on the creation. In Scripture, the ultimate in precise communication, God even points us to the birds as He urges us to recognize His involvement in the creation.
Thank You, Father, for taking care of all Your creation and especially for sending Your Son to save me. Amen.
Science News, 6/9/07, p. 357, S. Milius, "Scary Singing." Photo: Female magpie-lark. Courtesy of J.J. Harrison. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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