"Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth... the locust... the beetle... and the grasshopper.... But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you." Lev. 11:21-2321Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; 22Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. 23But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. (Leviticus 11:21‑23).
It is interesting to find the lowly beetle mentioned in the Bible and included in the "clean" food approved by the Lord for the Israelites. Most creeping things were not to be eaten, but the locust, beetle and grasshopper were exceptions. Do you know why? If the Bible verse is read carefully we will see that the "clean" insects had legs above their feet that raised them from the ground. Without these legs their bodies were always in contact with the earth.
This distinction is a lesson for us. If we allow Satan to occupy us with this world so that we do not want to be separated from it or to rise above it in our thoughts, this is not pleasing to God. But if our thoughts and affections rise above the world (heavenward) and separate us from it, then God is well pleased. Think about it.
There are over 200,000 kinds of beetles and it is interesting to notice how the Creator adapts each kind to its surroundings. Some we have considered previously, such as the living bomb, another called the sexton, the familiar ladybird beetle, and the interesting firefly.
All "clean" beetles have four wings, the top pair being a stiff outer case not used in flying, but covering the inner pair when folded and at rest. The many varieties include all sizes-those small enough to crawl through the eye of a needle up to the Goliath beetle of Africa, which is the size of a man's fist. Another, only one-tenth of an inch long, blind and without wings (this one would be "unclean") lives in a nest of yellow ants where it receives good care because of a sweet liquid the ants take from it. When hungry it nudges an ant; their two mouths come together as though kissing, and food from the ant is transferred to the beetle.
Then there is the yellow tiger beetle which, though a pretty brilliant green with coppery legs flashing in the sunshine, is a ferocious little creature, living on sandy shores or on flat open places. It catches insects by attracting them with a fragrant perfume, then kills them with its sickle-shaped jaws.
There is an unusual water beetle which lives below the surface of ponds, carrying air down in a bag-like part of its body and renewing it when necessary. The Creator provided this one with exceptional eyes so that when on the water's surface it can see both what is in the air above and what is going on down below. Another, called the diving beetle, also spends much time in the water and is equipped with fine hair on its underside that holds an air bubble for breathing when it dives down.