‘Fleas’ in the Bible
by Z.D. Schofield, recreated
by Doug Schofield
How to train fleas:
Get a quart sized mason jar, with a lid; call the old dog to you and brush his fur backward holding the jar next to him to catch as many fleas as you can. Quickly put the lid on the jar, sit it on the table and watch. You’ll notice the fleas jumping for all they are worth – hitting the lid. No matter how many times they hit the lid they’ll keep on jumping. But after a time they don’t jump quite as high as before. They jump just short of the lid. They are still jumping, but they stop just before hitting the lid.
Now, take the lid off the jar. The fleas continue to jump just short of the top of the jar. They’re still jumping, but they don’t jump out! They have been trained.
How many of us are like those trained fleas in our …
· Personal life
o Do we operate in a comfort zone, doing just what we have to do to get by? When I was in elementary school one entire side of the report cards had a list of comments for the teacher to check. Comments like ‘talks too much’; ‘plays too rough’; ‘wastes time’; … and a group of positive comments, like ‘respects the rights and property of others’; ‘pays attention in class’; and one that my Dad kept after me about – he wanted to see a check mark beside the comment “does more than least expected”. I’ll never forget how pleased he was when I finally got that comment! It took me several years to understand why that was so important to him.
o Later, when I was scoutmaster of a Boy Scout troop we would often camp in the National Forest – they had what they called improved campsites. That meant that they had garbage cans – if you’ve ever spent 3 days in the woods with 35 boys you know how to appreciate a garbage can! They also had pre-cut stacks of firewood. We made it a practice to see to it that we left those woodpiles higher than we found them.
· Work life
o Have we exceeded our level of competency? Most employers have a promotion policy that is not always based on an employee’s ability to do the job. As a result, many people get promoted above their level of competency, and the sad part of that is that they do little or nothing to improve their ability. They are content to stay in the jar.
o Jesus’ parable of the talents should teach us that we need to work to improve our ability, and learn to accomplish more.
· Christian life
o Is our faith active or are we just going through the motions?
o Do we stop with attending services and maybe a daily prayer? Do we read our Bible – or do we STUDY it? A preacher once visited a little country congregation of about 30 or 35 people. He asked what they were doing to try to grow. An old gentleman told him, “We’re just keeping house for the Lord”.
The prophet Elisha had called Jehoash, King of Israel to him to discuss his coming battle
with the nation of
It appears that Jehoash was possessed of the attitude that he would do just what he had to do to get by. Elisha wanted – the Lord wants – to see us with some enthusiasm, some fervor, some zeal – willing to ‘do more than least expected’. Make the effort to get to worship on time; participate in programs, projects and activities – don’t let sign-up lists hang around blank on the bulletin board; develop an active love for the Lord and His work. He wants us to take the lid off and look up – look beyond where we are now – don’t be like those trained fleas.
The lowly “FLEA”
appears only twice in the Bible; mentioned both times by David speaking to King
Saul. David was going to succeed Saul as
King of Israel; Saul, even though he proclaimed to love David, went through
periods of jealousy and tried to kill him.
On one such occasion Saul was chasing David in the hills, and went into
a cave to rest, not knowing that David and his men were in the back of the
cave. David slipped up on Saul and cut
off the corner of his robe, but would not harm him. Then he said to Saul in I
Samuel 24:14; “After
whom is the king of
On another
occasion Saul was pursuing David in the dessert and made camp for the
night. David went into the camp while
Saul and his men were sleeping and took Saul’s spear and water jug and left the
camp. Then he called out to Saul in I Samuel 26:20; “… for the king of
We have a colloquialism that says of someone harmless, ‘he wouldn’t hurt a flea’. We usually think of a flea as being one of the most insignificant forms of life on earth. In referring to himself as a flea, David was showing great humility, acquiescing to Saul as King of Israel and refusing to harm him because Saul was the Lord’s anointed leader of his people.
So much for the lowly insect.
There is another form of the word however…the word “F-L-E-E” – meaning to run away, as from danger. The word occurs in various forms, flee, fleeing, fled, appearing more than 250 times in the Bible. It is a word that indicates the presence of fear. It is most often used to describe an effort to escape imminent danger and preserve one’s life. Most frequently used in describing battle scenes.
The first time the word appears in the Scriptures is Genesis16: 6 When Sarai became angry with Hagar, her handmaid, she dealt harshly with her and the scripture says that Hagar “…fled from her face.” We can imagine the fear that a slave would have before an angry master, fear that would cause her to flee!
In Genesis 27:43 Rebekah feared that Easu would harm Jacob for having received the birthright from their father Isaac, and she told Jacob, “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother in Haran;”
Then in chapter 31, Jacob had to flee from Laban
In Genesis
chapter 39:12 Joseph was going about his duties as a slave in Potiphar’s house, Potiphar’s wife
temped Joseph. Verse 12: “And she
caught him by his garment, saying, lie with me: …”I’m sure that Joseph must
have been fearful; notice how he responded “… and he left his garment in her
hand, and fled, and got him out.
Are we fearful in the face of temptation, or do we instead flirt with it? Do we entertain temptation, or do we FLEE from it?
In Exodus chapter 2 Moses found it necessary to flee from Pharaoh, then in chapter14, the Egyptians fled before Moses from the plagues of the Lord.
After delivering
them from Egypt, the Lord promised Israel that as long as they were faithful to
Him that He would be with them in battle and “…cause thine
enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall
come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.” Deut. 28:7. The scriptures are filled with accounts
of battles in which
When the
Israelites turned to sin, as they often did, God would use the enemy nations
around them to punish them, and they would FLEE. On one such occasion, the Philistines’
champion, the giant Goliath came out to do battle with them. I Samuel
Isn’t that a comforting thought – to know assuredly that God is with us, and will be with us as long as we serve him faithfully. David wrote in Psalms 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ To have such faith in God that we are able to stand in the face of a menacing giant as David did is surely something for which we should all strive.
Of course after David, with the help of God, had killed Goliath it was the Philistines who fled. Can’t you just imagine their surprise when they saw the lowly shepherd boy triumph over their giant champion? And how they must have been filled with fear.
There are times in our lives that we become fearful. Where should we flee when we are troubled or afraid? Isaiah asks the question in 10:3 “And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help?”
David writes is Psalms 143:9 “Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.”
Isaiah 35:10 “And
the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to
joy
and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Instead of fleeing to the Lord, Jonah attempted to flee from the Lord, and ended up in the belly of a great fish.
In Matthew
In Matthew 26:56 – Jesus’ disciples fled when he was taken prisoner. Mark’s account simply says, and they all forsook Him and fled.
Early in the morning of the third day when the women went to attend to the body of Jesus and found his grave empty - they fled.
Mark16:8 “And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”
To flee is a natural human response to fear. Imagine how you would respond if you were to come face to face with a menacing army charging fiercely at you. Or in a burning building, if someone said to you RUN! FLEE! What would you do? Would you hang around to question, would you try to rationalize the situation? Would you argue or ignore the warning? Of course not, you would flee!
We have been given some such warnings …
I Cor.
Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy
6:11 - 12 “But thou, O man of God, flee
these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,
…”
When we flee from the temptations of the devil, when we flee to the refuge of righteousness, godliness, and faith, the devil will flee from us….
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Verse 8, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
The last flee in the Bible appears Revelation 9:6 – speaking of the wicked who will flee as they seek to escape the judgment of God.
So you see, the Bible is full of “fleas” – Ultimately, let us flee from sin, and flee unto our God, trusting in Him and following his word; doing our best in all that we do that we might enjoy the blessings of God and bring glory to His name.