The foundation of the joy experienced by a true follower of Jesus Christ must not be due to personal achievements, but the knowledge of being in a sincere relationship with him.

The success of the Christian message rests on genuine communion with the Father and Son. Although Luke seems to see the result of the disciples’ mission as exorcism and not conversion, it is probably the case that the latter followed the former.

From the moment of Jesus arrival in the world, the powers of darkness submitted to him and “Satan fell from heaven like a thunderbolt”. /v18). Thus the Lord shows them a foretaste of his final victory over them, 

Walking on poisonous serpents and scorpions with their sting in their tail was one of the main dangers that awaited walkers who dared to wander across the deserts near Israel.

However, Yaweh took the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt and made them walk across an expansive, terrifying desert, full of fiery serpents, scorpions and thirst, where there was no water (Deut. 8:14-15).

Thus the Israelites understood well that resisting these dangers was like confronting temptation and sin. These animals with their deadly poison were well known in the Old Testament and were believed to symbolise all manner of evil,

From the first serpent in Genesis, seductress and the very origin of evil in the world, to the scorpion that was a sign of God’s punishment (1Kings 12:11,14), they all had negative connotations. 

Whichever word is used in the Spanish versions: alacrán or scorpion, it is the same type of arachnid (in Greek scorpion, or σκορπίο; in Hebrew ‘aq-rab-bîm, עַקְרַבִּ֖ים, in Arabic aqrab, with its abdomen ending in a long venomous claw with which it can cause humans painful stings, and even lethal ones, depending on the species.

In Israel, the most abundant species is the golden scorpion (Scorpio Maurus) of the Scorpionidae family, native to Africa and the middle east, which is the same size as the Spanish variety but is rather darker in colour.

Their habits are also different as the yellow scorpion hides under stones while the golden scorpion digs galleries of up to a metre deep underground-

This means that it can live in a cooler, more humid setting, as their habitat are deserts which can reach very hot temperatures. Its venom is the most dangerous for the human being. 

 Scorpions live alone and are hostile, even towards other scorpions. The female can devour the male after mating, They catch insects and spiders during the night, but are capable of doing without good for long periods of time,

Before mating, scorpions engage in a nuptial dance in which the make drags the female to an appropriate location in which, after scratching the ground with its legs, it deposits its spermatophore (a little capsule full of sperm).

It continues dragging the female until it places her exactly on the spermatophore so that she can collect if with her cloaca and be fertilised. T

he offspring are born viviparous during a period which can last several weeks, and they cling to the mother0’s back and are thus transported until their first moult. Scorpions tend to live about five years.

During the 1970s it was said that more people died in the US and Mexico because of scorpion stings than poisonous snake bites- 

Although both snakes and scorpions are negative symbols in the Bible, they are important for the ecosystem, as they eat prey which are eaten by other prey. There are millions of species of scorpions and there are many more still to be discovered.

Scorpions perform a number of favours for us, mainly in the area of medicine, as many medicines can be developed from the toxins present in their venom,

Researchers have isolated around 10,000 different toxins from their venom, which are used t treat brain cancer and heart cand pancreas conditions, and they also produce analgesics and are used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism, lupus and diabetes.

The toxins are also used to prevent organ rejection during transplants and to create ecological insecticides. The venom of the yellow scorpion, common in many parts of Israel, has been used to develop large amounts of medicines, 

 From Jesus’s perspective, his joy arose from knowing that the believer is safe, loved and protected at every moment by the power of God.

In Christ we are given evil’s days are numbered, and that its complete disappearance has already begun on the earth. So as believers we live today in this tension between as assured victory and present suffering.

We are already participating in  the final triumph by means of communion, solidarity and love – but we still suffer the final throes of pain, poisons and death, which still seem to prevail on the earth.

Our existential joy derives from the conviction that out names are written in the book of life (Rev 3:5) and our essential being resides in the memory of the Almighty, and can never be erased.

That is the hope if the believer, the Christian’s source of joy and  as the apostle Paul writes, faith in hope against hope. (Romans 4;8)

Antonio Cruz, biologist and theologian.

Notes

[1] Burton, M. y Burton, R., 1979, Encyclopaedia of Animal Life, Bruguera, Barcelona, p. 966.

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[title]One more year[/title]

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[text]At Evangelical Focus, we have a sustainability challenge ahead. We invite you to join those across Europe and beyond who are committed with our mission. Together, we will ensure the continuity of Evangelical Focus and Protestante Digital (Spanish) in 2024.

Learn all about our #OneMoreYearEF campaign here (English).

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