“Behold, God is great, and we know Him not... Behold, He spreadeth His light upon [the earth], and covereth the bottom of the sea.” Job 36:26,3026Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. (Job 36:26)
30Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. (Job 36:30).
Lobsters are weird-looking creatures of the sea which are easily recognized by their armor plate, big flat tail, spindly legs and immense pincers. Dark colored (they don’t turn red until cooked), they blend in with the ocean floor. Eyes, with thousands of facets, are atop two stalks, and two wire-like antennae that detect food or danger extend out in front of them. They have only a pinhead-size brain. They do not have ears, but listen through the sensitive hairs on their legs.
Five pairs of legs carry on most of the work. The first pair are also enormous pincers which look too big for their body. The heavy crusher and cutters of these are for defense, but also are used to crush shells of clams, oysters, etc., to get at the meaty parts. The large tail has four pairs of swimmerets, providing power for swimming or scooting away backwards when frightened.
Male lobsters are cranky and hostile, and it is not unusual for them to lose a claw or leg, which amazingly grows back eventually, but until then it looks lopsided.
A lobster never stops growing and reaches thirty-five pounds or more if it lives long enough. But its armor-like shell doesn’t grow with it. Every summer all parts of the shell break open; the occupant then slowly backs out and discards it. Without its shell it is defenseless and hides under a rock or piece of seaweed while its body swells about one-third larger. Then a shell begins to develop again, and before long it ventures out in its new suit of armor.
The female lays thousands of eggs each year, carrying them safely under her large tail for several weeks before releasing them. Hatching from its egg about a year later, each larva floats around in the ocean currents, sometimes traveling great distances before changing into a two-inch transparent body without a shell. It is then very vulnerable to attack by other sea creatures that are looking for such tender morsels. If it escapes all of them and grows to maturity, then it may become a victim of a lobster trap and wind up on someone’s supper table.
The result is that not many have a chance of growing up. No doubt this is why the Creator provided the female with the ability to produce so many eggs. Those that manage to escape all the hazards can live as many as fifty years, but few do.
Some might think God would not be concerned about lobsters on the ocean floor, but the light of His vision goes even to “the bottom of the sea” (see the above verse), and He does watch over all He has created. Just hear what else the Bible says about this: “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest [visible] in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:1313Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13). This includes each one of us. Have you ever thanked Him for His care over you? But more important, have you thanked Him for offering you salvation through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?
ML-09/08/1985