In the Bible, the concept of "stinging" is often used metaphorically to describe the pain, suffering, or consequences of sin and disobedience. The imagery of a sting is vivid and conveys the sharp, immediate, and often unexpected nature of the consequences that follow certain actions or behaviors.

1. The Sting of Death:

The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of a sting to describe the power of death in 1 Corinthians 15:55-56: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" . Here, the "sting" of death is identified as sin, and the power of sin is the law. This passage highlights the victory over death and sin through Jesus Christ, who has removed the sting by fulfilling the law and offering eternal life to believers.

2. The Sting of Sin:

Sin is often depicted as having a stinging effect, leading to spiritual and sometimes physical consequences. Proverbs 23:32 warns of the dangers of indulging in wine, stating, "In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper" . This verse illustrates the deceptive allure of sin, which may seem harmless or pleasurable at first but ultimately leads to pain and suffering.

3. The Sting of Rebellion:

The rebellious nature of humanity against God is likened to a sting in various biblical narratives. In Numbers 21:6, the Israelites' rebellion against God results in Him sending fiery serpents among them, which "bit the people, and many of the Israelites died" . This event serves as a physical manifestation of the spiritual sting of rebellion, emphasizing the need for repentance and obedience to God.

4. The Sting of Judgment:

The prophetic books often use the imagery of stinging creatures to describe the judgment of God upon nations and peoples. In Revelation 9:10, during the vision of the fifth trumpet, locusts with tails like scorpions are described: "They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months" . This apocalyptic imagery underscores the severity and inescapability of divine judgment upon those who oppose God.

5. The Remedy for the Sting:

Throughout Scripture, the remedy for the sting of sin and death is found in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. By His death and resurrection, Christ has conquered the grave and offers salvation to all who believe. Romans 6:23 declares, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" . This promise assures believers that the sting of sin and death has been nullified through faith in Christ.

The biblical use of "stinging" serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of sin and the hope of redemption through Jesus Christ. It calls believers to live in obedience to God, avoiding the sting of sin by embracing the grace and salvation offered through faith.1. (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Sting.

2. (a.) Piercing, or capable of piercing, with a sting; inflicting acute pain as if with a sting, goad, or pointed weapon; pungent; biting; as, stinging cold; a stinging rebuke.

2971. konops -- a gnat
... gnat. Apparently a derivative of the base of kentron and a derivative of optanomai;
a mosquito (from its stinging proboscis) -- gnat. see GREEK kentron. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2971.htm - 6k5636. sirpad -- nettle (a desert plant)
... brier. From caraph; a nettle (as stinging like a burn) -- brier. see HEBREW
caraph. 5635, 5636. sirpad. 5637 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5636.htm - 6k

2070. zebub -- a fly
... fly. From an unused root (meaning to flit); a fly (especially one of a stinging
nature) -- fly. 2069, 2070. zebub. 2071 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/2070.htm - 5k

6880. tsirah -- hornets
... hornets (1). hornet. From tsara'; a wasp (as stinging) -- hornet. see HEBREW
tsara'. 6879, 6880. tsirah. 6881 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/6880.htm - 6k

On the Physical Basis of Life.
... You are doubtless aware that the common nettle owes its stinging property to the
innumerable stiff and needle-like, though exquisitely delicate, hairs which ...
/.../huxley/lay sermons addresses and reviews/vii on the physical basis.htm

The Holy Communion.
... Can he not leave us alone? Let him talk to us of other matters; let him preach
to us some real stinging gospel truth, and make us wince. ...
/.../the village pulpit volume ii trinity to advent/xxxix the holy communion.htm

What the Flowers Say.
... your love. Some children are regular stinging nettles in a home, or a
school. They always make people uncomfortable. They sting ...
/.../the life of duty a years plain sermons v 2/sermon lxi what the flowers.htm

Literary Expressions
... A step was at her heels. A stifling sensation of pain and suspense. A stinging wind
swept the woods. ... A subtle emphasis of scorn. A sudden and stinging delight. ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section vii literary expressions.htm

Of Creation in General.
... of itself, would be full of torment, as soon as it was shut up in the first forms
of its life, in its own astringency, sourness, and stinging bitterness: so ...
/.../law/an appeal to all that doubt/of creation in general.htm

On Genesis.
... And let Dan become a serpent by the way, lying on the path, stinging the horse's
heel; and the horseman shall fall backward, waiting for the salvation of the ...
/.../hippolytus/the extant works and fragments of hippolytus/on genesis.htm

Preface by the Translator.
... style to the English reader, is not liable to these objections; and yet, in the
variety of its themes, the clearness of its exposition, the stinging force of ...
/.../preface by the translator.htm

Jacob and Doubting Souls --A Parallel
... If they see any passage of Scripture that appears to frown upon them, they retain
that in their memory, and they keep on stinging themselves with it, often ...
/.../spurgeons sermons volume 42 1896/jacob and doubting soulsa parallel.htm

Asking and Receiving
... If the father loves his son it would be utterly inconsistent with his nature to
give his child a stone, or a snake, or a stinging scorpion instead of bread. ...
/.../anderson/prayer availeth much/chapter 10 asking and receiving.htm

The Tears of the Penitent.
... obligations; the fatal necessity which drags sin after sin, and summons up murder
to hide, if it be possible, the foul form of adultery; the stinging rebuke in ...
/.../maclaren/the life of david/xiii the tears of the penitent.htm

Stinging (1 Occurrence)
... a.) Piercing, or capable of piercing, with a sting; inflicting acute pain as if
with a sting, goad, or pointed weapon; pungent; biting; as, stinging cold; a ...
/s/stinging.htm - 7k

Sting (5 Occurrences)
... reproach. 4. (n.) The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging;
a wound inflicted by stinging. 5. (n.) A goad; incitement. ...
/s/sting.htm - 10k

Scorpion (6 Occurrences)
... akrides) like war-horses with crowns of gold, with the faces of men, hair of women,
teeth of lions, breastplates of iron, and with stinging tails like scorpions ...
/s/scorpion.htm - 13k

Venom (8 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) The poisonous fluid excreted by snakes,
scorpions, spiders and bees by biting or stinging. 2. (n ...
/v/venom.htm - 8k

Keen (3 Occurrences)
... keen features. 3. (superl.) Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging;
severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm. 4. (superl.) Piercing ...
/k/keen.htm - 8k

Nettles (5 Occurrences)
... wild vetches"); the translation "nettles" is due to the supposed derivations of
charul from an (obsolete) charal, meaning "to be sharp" or "stinging," but a ...
/n/nettles.htm - 9k

Nettle (2 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) A plant of the genus Urtica, covered with minute sharp hairs containing
a poison that produces a stinging sensation. Urtica ...
/n/nettle.htm - 8k

Gnat (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Only in Matthew 23:24, a small two-winged stinging
fly of the genus Culex, which includes mosquitoes. ...
/g/gnat.htm - 10k

Wasp
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) Any one of numerous species of stinging
hymenopterous insects, esp. any of the numerous species of ...
/w/wasp.htm - 6k

Prick (2 Occurrences)
... a skewer. 2. (n.) The act of pricking, or the sensation of being pricked;
a sharp, stinging pain; figuratively, remorse. 3. (n.) A ...
/p/prick.htm - 11k

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