In preceding issues we have mentioned rats in many places of the world. One species that lives in Australia is known as the stick-nest rat because it makes its home out of great piles of sticks, sometimes three feet high and as much as four feet wide. In windy areas they place stones on top to hold it all together. The instincts God has given them taught them to do this. This rat is similar to the wood or pack rat found in the western United States.
Another that lives in Australia is the water rat which has partially webbed feet. It doesn’t bother people much, relying more on fish, frogs, water birds and shellfish for food. Its strong jaws can break most shells. However, if some are too tough it spreads them in the hot sun which soon causes them to open, and the rat then eats the exposed food. The Creator has been its teacher, too.
Part of the damage done by rats is due to their constant gnawing chewing on books, furniture, walls, lead pipes, plastics and even electrical wires on which they sometimes electrocute themselves. The reason for all this is not so much to eat what they gnaw on, but because their front teeth keep growing just like a beaver’s do, and if these teeth were not worn down by constant gnawing, they would grow too big for their mouths. The Creator’s wisdom is seen here again.
All rats seem clever in avoiding poisons and traps, but their numbers are partly controlled by such means. In addition they are a prey for dogs and cats, foxes, coyotes, weasels, hawks, owls, snakes and other animals and birds. If this were not the case their numbers would soon overrun the world.
Do you wonder why God allows these rodents to thrive, multiply and be such spoilers? One reason definitely is that they provide a much-needed food supply for the other creatures mentioned above. Another reason is certainly to remind mankind that sin is responsible for the evil throughout the world, just as rats and mice are present in all lands. These undesirable little animals come under the term “unclean” defined in the Bible (Lev. 11:27-2927And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. 28And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you. 29These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, (Leviticus 11:27‑29)). God’s people in Bible times were instructed to avoid them. This tells us that God is not pleased when a person is involved with evil things. If tempted by evil things, the Bible instructs us to “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Proverbs 4:14,1514Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (Proverbs 4:14‑15). These are two important verses for all of us.
The time is coming (known as the millennium) when these animals will no longer be filthy or destructive, but a happy part of God’s creation. Those who now love the Lord Jesus and know Him as their Saviour will before then be taken into the glories of heaven where sin can never come, and will look down on a cleansed earth, rejoicing that it, too, is also enjoying the light of His love. Will you be included with those in heaven?
ML-12/29/1985