Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem
I took a course in weaving when I was in college. The gentle clicking of the shuttle, the sight of colorful threads building up in the loom to form a pattern, and the soft yarns beneath one's fingers all worked together to make a very satisfying and peaceful experience.
However, this is not the entire picture. Preparing and threading the loom itself to carry the "warp" threads was an incredibly painstaking, lengthy, intricate, and exhausting job. Some patterns took DAYS just to set up the loom. In Jesus' day, this would also include raising the sheep, shearing it, carding the wool, spinning the yarn, dying it (a nasty process!), sorting it out, and only THEN, threading the tiny eyes in the "heddles" of the loom.
Jesus knew what was involved in producing even the simplest of fabrics. That is why, in the Bible, "Garments" are included when describing great wealth.
All that labor-intensive wealth was vulnerable to the tiny larvae of the Moth. Much had to be done to keep this tiny pest from destroying this precious asset.
To this very day, part of a Bride's Trousseau is a "Hope Chest". It is lined with cedar wood to discourage moths. The household linens would be stored in the Hope Chest, and, hopefully, they would not end up being full of holes.
In Both of the Isaiah passages, the moth is the symbol of destruction. Jesus tells us to work for that which is Eternal, not the treasures of this world that can be destroyed so easily.
While the Butterfly is a symbol of life, the moth has become a Symbol of Death and decay.
Come and Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS
