The Edah
God has given us many wonderful examples in creation to
teach us His ways. There is so much we can learn from
the life of the beehive. We marvel with fascination at
the selfless devotion of the little bees that literally
wear out their wings serving the hive. Each bee does
his part in an amazing society that is continually growing
and developing. Their life is beautiful to behold and
the produce of the hive is sweet and life giving.
In the Hebrew word edah there is a key to understanding
the beehive. This word helps to unfold the mystery of the
new life God wants to establish on the Earth. In Jeremiah
30:18 – 31:1, we see a picture of the restoration
of the people of God in the latter days. Jeremiah 30:20
uses the word edah,
Their children will be as in days of old, and their community
[edah] will be established before me; I will punish all
who oppress them. (NIV)
The word edah also means swarm
or beehive, as
in Judges 14:8. It comes from a root word that means witness or testimony.
Ed Meets the Edah —
A Parable
Meet Ed. Ed is a leafcutter bee. Leafcutter bees are very
similar to the common honeybee, yet they have very different
habits. Leafcutter bees are solitary bees, meaning they
don’t produce colonies as do social insects such
as honeybees, nor do they make honey.
Ed decided long ago to buzz along a different path than
most leafcutter bees. As a youngster Ed used to read the
Book of the Honeybees. He would imagine himself being a
member of the special colonies, bringing honor to the great
queen. He understood that only those who were born of the
queen could be part of the beehive.
One day Ed met a traveling carpenter bee that had a very
special message for him. The boisterous bee told Ed that,
by the mercy of the great Creator, he could be born again
and become part of the mystical hive of the honeybees.
All he had to do was believe in the great queen and ask
her to come into his heart. The good news filled Ed’s
little bee heart with great joy. He was so lonely and wanted
to be part of the fellowship of the great hive. Ed bowed
his antennae and whispered a little prayer. The carpenter
bee, quite pleased with his new convert, heartily welcomed
Ed into his new life in the hive. Ed merrily went on his
way telling any bee who would listen of the great kindness
that was available in the queen bee.
One day as Ed was buzzing along about his bee business
he encountered another very zealous bee busily collecting
nectar from a nearby flower. “Greetings! I’m
Ed, the honeybee. Who are you?”
“Hello,” said the little bee, “I’m
a scout bee from the nearby hive. We just swarmed into the
area. I’m collecting nectar for my friends!”
“Nearby hive?” asked Ed.
“Yes, we’re over there in the big oak tree, you
are welcome to come and see the wonderful life we share together.”
“Well” said Ed, “I also have a very wonderful
life. I am part of the great hive, you know. We live our
lives in devotion to the great queen.”
“Really” said the little bee, “Where is
this great hive?”
“All over, my friend! I meet brothers and sisters wherever
I go.”
“That’s very interesting,” said the little
bee. “I wish I could stay longer and talk, but I must
get back to the hive, for there is much to do to meet all
the needs. Please come and see us if you can. We would love
to have you!”
So the little bee buzzed away and left Ed to ponder the
encounter. He was very intrigued by the kind spirit of
the little bee and his talk of a wonderful life together
with other bees. At the same time he was a little concerned
that such bees could send the wrong message to potential
bee-lievers that you would have to actually do something
to be a honeybee. After all, it didn’t actually say
in the Book of the Honeybees that you have to live in a
hive. You only have to believe in the queen. Perhaps, thought
Ed, he would have to help these fanatical bees with their
understanding of what it meant to be a honeybee.
So with a sincere heart to help these poor misguided little
bees, and a measure of curiosity, Ed charged off in the
direction of the big oak tree. Soon he came upon a very
amazing sight. He had never seen so many bees in his brief
bee lifetime. The hive was teeming with activity. As Ed
approached the colony a few guard bees flew to meet him. “Hello,
welcome! Where are you from?”
“I’m Ed, the honeybee. I was invited by one of
the bees that live here.”
“Really?! How wonderful! Please come in,” said
the guard bees.
Ed could hardly believe his little compound bee eyes at
what he saw as he entered the hive. There were busy bees
everywhere he looked. Each one seemed to have a particular
function in the hive. Some were cleaning. Some bees were
making food. Some were caring for the young. Some were
doing repairs on the hive and building new rooms for the
new life that was continually coming forth. Some of the
bees were doing a little bee dance, while others looked
on and began to join in the dance. Ed marveled at how the
hive seemed to be like one living organism – like
a body, every part working in harmony with the others – for
the good of the whole community.
“Hello Ed, I’m so glad you could come!” Ed
turned to see the smiling face of the little scout bee whom
he had originally met. “Have you ever seen anything
as wonderful as the life of the hive?”
“Yes, well it’s interesting…” replied
Ed.
They were interrupted as a group of worker bees approached,
greeting Ed and offering him some honey and beebread. They
began excitedly asking him questions about his life and
telling him about the recent swarm and all the activity
of the hive. More and more of the bees gathered around
as the queen proclaimed a special celebration to welcome
their guest. Ed could hardly bear all the attention he
was getting.
As amazing as the life of the hive was, Ed could hardly
see it. Somehow he felt very threatened by the things he
heard from the honeybees. They seemed to think one had
to live in a beehive in order to be a honeybee. But Ed
personally knew many good honeybees that were not part
of any hive. Ed determined that, although these bees were
very nice and hospitable and had many admirable qualities,
he didn’t think he could ever live the life they
were living. He just wasn’t interested in opening
his life to so many others. He could see that this was
a very demanding life. He could sense that if he stayed
he would probably be very limited in following his own
pursuits. So he bid his host farewell and began to crawl
toward the entrance of the hive.
“But where will you go,” asked the little scout
bee.
“Well, you know, we all have different callings, my
brother. It’s just good to know there are fellow honeybees
out there like you all,” replied Ed. “I need
to go and spread the good news about the hope that’s
in the great queen.”
“But Ed,” said the little bee, “We have
that same hope. But we know that our faith has made us part
of a living hive with sweet produce. Our life is a witness
of the goodness of our Creator.”
“Well, yes, I couldn’t agree more. But you can’t
limit that life to your little hive. There are many out there
that the Creator wants to reach out to,” said Ed.
“Yes, yes, we know that’s true, but His heart
is to bring them home and restore them to the purpose He
has for their life, all the bees working together, not one
seeking for his own good, but rather for the good of the
community where everyone is cared for, and no one is overlooked.” Then
the little bee looked at Ed compassionately and said, “Ed,
I have to tell you something, because I really care about
you and I think you should know.”
“Yes,” said Ed, “What is it?”
“You see Ed… the truth is that you’re
not a honeybee.”
Ed was instantly offended. “How can you say such
a thing, after all the great work I’ve done for the
queen?”
“But can’t you see Ed, that no bee can possibly
do the will of the queen apart from the true hive? A lone
honeybee could never bear the fruit of the hive.”
So what is Ed going to do? What would you do? The honeybee
is a social creature. If a true honeybee becomes separated
from the hive it will die within a very short time…
New Israel
In Jeremiah 30:20 it speaks of the time when God will establish
His community, His witness — His Body on the Earth.
And then a few verses later in Jeremiah 31:1, it says,
“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will
be the God of all the families [clans, tribes] of Israel,
and they shall be My people.” (NIV)
Here we begin to get a picture of the new Israel that
will be established by God in the latter days. This is
what Yahshua was referring to in Matthew 24:14,
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all
the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall
the end come. (KJV)
Yahshua preached the good news of a Kingdom that was coming
on Earth, just as it was in Heaven – the same Spirit,
the same love. Obedience to the gospel that He preached
would transfer one out of the kingdom of darkness and into
the kingdom of the light. This is not a mystical kingdom,
but actual communities of believers that would set the
evidence of God’s love for man and the salvation
that is in His Son before all the world. This is what Yahshua
prayed for right before He was crucified,
I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of
those who will believe in Me through their word, that they
may all be one. As you, Father, are in Me and I am in You,
may they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that
You have sent Me. The glory that you have given Me I have
given them, so that they may be one, as We are one, I in
them and you in Me, that they may become completely one,
so that the world may know that you have sent Me and have
loved them even as you have loved Me. (John 17:20-23, NRSV)
Beehive… swarm… community… witness… testimony… A
life of brothers dwelling together in unity, loving one
another as He commanded them, encouraging one another
daily, seeing to it that no one falls short of grace…
A life of fellowship, which is a sharing of all that you
have and all that you are, considering others more important
than yourself.
The Life of the Hive
Imagine a life where all you do is for the sake of others.
Somehow that didn’t appeal to Ed, the lone bee.
But those who know Messiah and follow Him walk as He
walked.
Imagine you are a carpenter. You work in the woodshop.
Your little industry helps to meet the needs of your household.
This is your gift and your contribution. Then someone else
washes your clothes, and others make your meals, still
others teach your children, others clean the house, others
shop for food. So much needs to be done to meet all the
needs, but you’re needed in your area. You can’t
do it all. But you do what you do because you love your
friends. They serve you in their areas because they love
you. And all of you function together like a body to glorify
the Head – your King, Yahshua.
Such a life was seen on the earth 2000 years ago for only
a brief moment. It is recorded in Acts 2 and 4. But in
a short time their loved faded and so did their light.
They stopped doing the self-sacrificing deeds of love they
did at first. They could no longer live together and
share all things in common; they gathered less and less,
until it was only once or twice a week.
They were no longer qualified to be His witness as they
lost any evidence in their lives of the fruit of the Spirit,
but rather dissension, factions, denominations, strife,
envy and all the other fruits of the flesh crept in. They
conformed more and more to the world, until the time
came when there was hardly any difference between the world
and the church.
The Stone Kingdom
Yet the promise remains of the restoration that Jeremiah
spoke of in the latter days. This is the same Kingdom
that the prophet Daniel spoke of in Daniel 2:44,
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set
up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom
will not be left for another people; it will crush and
put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure
forever. (NASB)
Once again in these latter days this life is being established
as a witness on the Earth. There are communities of disciples
who have seen the great worth of Messiah and His sacrifice
for them. They have left behind everything that would keep
them from following Him and serving Him and loving Him
with all of their hearts. Together they share again the
life of the “hive”, which you can come and
see and experience and be a part of.
You will see what Ed saw, that this is a very demanding
life. It is a free gift, but it will cost you everything
to truly be part of the hive. But as Paul said,
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of
the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [Yahshua]
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.
(Philippians 3:8, NASB)
Edah (ay-dah) is a Hebrew word that was used in the
Old Testament to describe the community of Israel as
well as a swarm of bees or a beehive; it comes from a
root word that means witness or testimony.
John 1:4;
Acts 5:20
Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:12
Daniel 2:44
Colossians
1:13
Psalm 133
John 13:34-35
Hebrews 3:13
Hebrews
12:15
Philippians 2:3
I John 2:6
Acts
2:44-47, 4:32-37
Revelation 2:4-5
Hebrews
10:25
Romans 12:2
For more on the name Yahshua, see the article
What’s in a Name
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