By Philippe R. Sterling

Have you ever heard of a myrmecologist? No…it’s not a person who studies murmuring! Myrmecology is the study of ants.

Myrmecology (from Greek: myrmēx, ant and logos, study) is a branch of entomology (the study of all insects) that focuses on the scientific study of ants. Some early myrmecologists, considering ant society to be the ideal form of society, sought to find solutions to human problems by studying ants. Because of their complex and varied forms of eusociality (social organization), ants continue to be a model of choice for studying questions regarding social systems. Recently, researchers have studied ant colonies for their relevance in machine learning, complex interactive networks, parallel computing, and other computing fields.

I don’t know about devoting one’s whole life to studying the little things, but I do know that the Bible says to consider the ways of ants. And when we do take a look at them, we find that they are amazing creatures and that we can gain much wisdom from watching them. The industrious ant has been the subject of proverbs, fables, songs, cartoons, and movies.

“The Ant and the Grasshopper” is one of Aesop’s Fables:

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the
Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew:

“It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.”¹

I’ve sung the song “The Ants Go Marching One by One, Hurrah, Hurrah” with my grandchildren. I watched the cartoon “Atom Ant” as a child. You may have seen the movies A Bug’s Life, Antz, and Ant Man.

At times, God sends us to the animals to learn certain lessons.

To cure our ingratitude, God sends us to the ox and the donkey: “The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider” (Isa 1:3).

To cure our insensibility to the times, God sends us to the stork and other birds: “Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord” (Jer 8:7).

To cure our lack of trust, Jesus sends us to the ravens: “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?” (Luke 12:24).

To shake us from our lethargy, God sends us to the ant: “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest” (Prov 6:6-8). Also: “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer” (Prov 30:25). Let us take note of the learner, the teacher, the instruction, the lessons to be learned, and the overall application of the appeal.

The Learner

The learner is the sluggard, who is averse to duty—both in temporal and spiritual matters—and thus sins against both God and his own interests. God does not intend us to be idle. The sluggard is the shame of creation; all nature is a witness against him to condemn his sloth. But here God sends the sluggard specifically to the ant in order to learn to labor and make provision for the future.

The Teacher

The teacher is the ant, a diligent and wise creature. Scientists marvel at ants––at what skill they show in building their nests; what order and discipline they have among themselves; what diligence they use to get provisions by day or by night; how they manage to adapt and survive in most land environments.

The Instruction

The instruction consists of three things: Go; Consider her ways; Be wise.

“Go” is used here in the sense of one’s going to a prophet. First Samuel 9:9 says, “Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.” To shame the sluggard, God instructs him to go to the ant as he would go to a prophet. When he arrives, what must he do?

“Consider her ways.” This prophet speaks not by words but by example. The sluggard is not to hear, but to see and consider the ant’s ways; that is, to see and reflect on the diligence and foresight of the ant.

“Be wise.” Be not only a spectator, but a doer; not more knowledgeable, but wiser; not indolent, but diligent (cf. James 1:22-25).

The Lessons

The lessons to be learned are industry, foresight, and self-motivation.

Ants are busy. Their industry is a pattern for us.

Ants prepare for the future. They work in the summer and in the harvest. We are also to redeem the season. The Apostle Paul exhorts us: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15-16).

The amplification of the ant’s industry and foresight—“which, having no captain, overseer or ruler”—enforces the lesson. The ant does her duty by instinct, not compelled by any who have power to check and control her. Entomologists analogically tell us that while bees are a monarchy directed by the queen, ants are a democracy in which each one’s natural industry prompts him to seek his own good and the good of the whole.

The text cites three titles that are not pertinent to ants. The ant has no “captain” to go before her and show her what to do; no “overseer” to observe whether she does it or not; and no “ruler” to punish her for idleness. Nevertheless, she labors.

There are no timecards in the anthill. No ant mothers nag their babies to get out of bed. Ants are self-motivated creatures and need no captain to carry a whip behind them ensuring the work gets done. As believers, maturity means that we no longer need someone standing behind us to ensure that our work gets done, that our moral purity is not compromised, or that we continue to assemble with the saints.

Application of the Overall Appeal

The appeal’s argument is from the lesser to the greater. It is constructed this way in order to shame us. If creatures that lack reason make preparation for the future with such diligence, we who are endowed with reason, who can foresee the end, and who can choose the means to provide for the future are without excuse.

This is binding upon us regarding this life and the life to come. We must make provision for both.

We are to provide for our welfare in this life. Some live without a profession or trade and have no way to support themselves. They are not only worse than the ant, which by labor lays up for the time of want; they are also worse than the grasshopper, because they have little joy in their present life. Those who are busy in an honest calling can supply for their own needs as well as giving to others in need. Ephesians 4:28 exhorts: “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

We need to be wise in setting aside funds for lean times. The wise who store up for those times are ready, while those who simply spend all that they get are unprepared for such times. Joseph, in God’s wisdom, prepared during the seven years of plenty so that that entire region of the world would be spared from starvation and devastation during the seven lean years that followed.

The lesson of the ant is also useful to us in our preparation for the life to come. If diligence and foresight are needed for this life, surely they are needed for the life to come. This life is our opportunity––our summer and harvest––to provide for the world to come. Therefore, “Go to the ant, you sluggard!” Careless believer, consider the manner and course of the ant’s life—how she is vigilant and diligent regarding the time to come—and likewise do something for the life to come.

The opportunity of doing this work is confined to this life; when that is at an end, opportunity ceases. There is no mending of errors in the world to come.

We have a Captain, Overseer, and Ruler to whom we must render an account of what we do; this is not accorded to the ant. Second Corinthians 5:10 informs us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

This life is our opportunity, and when that is over, we receive the reward for our work. We receive the benefit of it after death. Revelation 14:13 says of the martyrs of the Tribulation period, “their works follow them.” There will be rewards for their works.

Consider how satisfying it will be when we depart this life knowing that we have made preparation, known our season, done the things which God has given us to do, thought of the hour and made provision for it before it comes upon us. Jesus said in John 17:4, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” This was Paul’s confidence expressed in 2 Tim 4:6-8. He knew he had fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. As a result, he knew that a crown would be awarded to him by the Lord Jesus, “the righteous Judge…on that Day [the Judgment Seat of Christ].” In fact, He will give a crown “to all who have loved His appearing.”

Peter presses us to diligence in 2 Pet 1:5-10, telling us to add key character qualities to our faith (diligence, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love). He promises that if we do so, then a rich entrance into Jesus’ kingdom awaits us.

To overcome indolence, consider how great our reward could be. Paul concluded his great resurrection chapter with these words, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58).

Ants are a nuisance we all deal with at times. Yet there’s a lot we can learn from the little ant.

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Philippe Sterling is the pastor of Vista Ridge Bible Fellowship in Lewisville, TX. He and his wife of 45 years, Brenda, live in Denton, TX, near their daughter, Sarah, son-in-law, Ben, and grandkids.

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¹ See https://www.umass.edu/aesop/content.php?n=0&i=1.