Isaiah 59:1-6
59 See, the Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 No one brings suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas; they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and bearing iniquity.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.
6 Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
In the two places that spiders are mentioned in the scriptures (Job 8:14 and here in Isaiah) they are used as examples of wickedness and injustice. And in our modern literature, spiders are often used as the trappings of evil. (Come to think of it, even five-year-olds hide fake spiders around the house to frighten. They understand the stigma this insect has garnered.)
And we can be caught up in the not so innocent practices of unjust acts in our interactions with others.
“What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” We need to be careful how we are perceived by those around us, as our actions can define us.
Prayer
God, keep my thoughts pure and my actions free from the entanglements of sinfulness and selfishness as I live today in relationship with others and you. Amen.
