IN the Bible, animals as well as men are used to teach us some gospel lessons.
THE LION. King of beasts, and monarch of the forest, unfettered and untamed, he roves and roars, ever “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). The Bible tells us that such is “our adversary the devil.” He spares none who come within his grasp. He even attacked the Son of God when in the wilderness, but on Him he left no mark. He tempts, trips, and seeks to get the young into his “snare,” that he may bring them under his “condemnation” (1 Tim. 3:6). The only way to escape his wiles, and to be delivered from his “power” (Col. 1:13) is to be “in Christ.” Safe and secure are all who are “born of God” from his touch (1 John 5:18), but the whole world of the unconverted, he “deceives” (Rev. 20:10).
THE BEAR. Found in the valleys of Judah and the ravines of Galilee, the Syrian bear is a destroyer of the sheep and the lambs of the flock. You remember that while David kept his father’s sheep near Bethlehem, a bear, as well as a lion, seized a lamb of his flock (1 Sam. 17:34) which he delivered from its cruel grasp. The bear hugs its prey to death. In this it is like the world. When the cruel world, and the lusts thereof, get a grip on the young, stepping out into life, very soon the desire for all that is of God, is crushed out. But as David delivered his lamb out of the mouth of the bear, and restored it to the green pastures, so Christ, the Good Shepherd, rescues and brings back to Himself all who trust in Him.
THE LEOPARD. Spotted all over, it cannot change its color (Jer. 13:23) or its nature. In this it is like a sinner, born in sin, with an evil nature, which can neither be renewed nor reformed. This is why it is said, “Ye must be born again.” John 3:7.
THE ASS. The ass, unclean and unbridled, is like the sinner by nature and practice (Job 11:12; 24:5). Its firstling had either to be redeemed by a lamb, or have its neck broken. So it must be with us redemption or condemnation.
ML-03/28/1971