Category Archives: Plus

Birdwatching and Blessings – Anoles and Geckos

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Baby Dinosaur - Chamilian or Lizard by Lee 3-28-20

Baby Dinosaur – Chameleon or Anole by Lee 3-28-20

Birdwatching and Blessings – Anoles and Geckos

Most mornings while we are eating and watching out our back door, we not only see the various birds, but, being in Florida, there are always Anoles around. Many call the green anoles Chameleons, but our brown one are just Anoles. I have been trying to get a good photo of them showing their dewlap, which is a fold of skin. But this video does a better job.

While reading our devotional of Zechariah 8 this morning, the Gecko was mentioned. The anoles and geckos both have this characteristic.

“Geckos have some of the stickiest feet in nature. They can hang their entire body weight off one toe, and climb up nearly any wall, no matter how slick or polished.

Biologists and engineers looking to duplicate the gecko’s abilities in synthetic glues have recently uncovered its secret. It uses million of tiny foot hair ends to adhere to surfaces through weak molecular attractive forces. Each foot hair ends in about a thousand even tinier pads at its tip. These pads are arranged in precise geometric sizes and shapes and determine the level of stickiness. The total adhesive power of an average gecko would support 280 pounds!”

“As sticky as geckos’ feet are, Gods faithfulness is even “stickier.” He never lets us go, and His promises endure forever…..” (From Today in the Word, 2003)

Anole with dewlap showing by Lee

Anole with dewlap showing just outside door – Lee

Church Signs:

What does God have in common with an object in the car mirror? Both are closer than they appear.

Spring forward with the Lord so you won’t fall back into sin.

We are each a masterpiece, a piece of the master.

Truths To Consider:

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
(Proverbs 18:24 KJV)
“Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” (Psalms 119:90 KJV)

Previous:

Save The Parrots

Our Christmas Eve Service on YouTube

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We just finished attending our Christmas Eve service at our church, Faith Baptist Church. Thought maybe you would enjoy watching it.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:8-14 KJV)

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE LORD’S BLESSINGS!

If it’s not working correctly, follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/c/FaithBaptistWinterHaven

 

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Horse

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Horse - Galloping Bashkir curly©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Horse

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

There is a fine description of a war-horse in the book of Job-a book which some think to be the oldest in the world. It is in the thirty-ninth chapter.

Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him; the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting.

Horse -Zarcohm Roman nose

Horse -Zarcohm Roman nose ©WikiC

In the fifth chapter of Judges you will find this verse.

Then were the horse-hoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.

And it seems likely from this, that it was not the custom to shoe horses in those days, so that their hoofs were more easily broken.

They had horses in Egypt in very ancient times, as you will find if you read the first part of the book of Exodus. You will see there how the children of Israel escaped from Egypt, after they had been kept in hard bondage a great many years; and how when they had gone only a short distance, the wicked king Pharaoh went after them to try to get them back. There was a great company of the Israelites, men, women and children; they had nothing to ride on, and had their flocks and herds with them, so that they could not go very fast. They took the course which God directed, and it brought them to the Red Sea, where there were neither boats nor bridges for them to go over.

Horse- Ferghana War Horse©WikiC

Ferghana War Horse©WikiC

Just then they heard that Pharaoh and his army were coming after them. Some came in chariots of war, and of these there were six hundred drawn by horses; and a great many more came on horseback. Now what could these people do? If they went on, they would be drowned; and if they went back, or stayed where they were, they would fall into the hands of the Egyptians. God told them not to be afraid, for he would take care of them; so he divided the waters of the sea, and made a dry road for them to go through, while the water stood up like a wall on each side of them. Then the Egyptians followed on, and God let the waters flow down upon them, so that they were all drowned. Think what a sight it must have been, when the chariots, and horses, and men, were all surrounded by that great, mighty water, and then sunk down one after another, so that they could be seen no more. The children of Israel sang a psalm of praise after God had saved them in this wonderful manner, and these words are a part of it:

Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

In one of the last chapters in the Old Testament you will find these words,

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.

This speaks of a time which has not yet come, but for which christians are looking, when this world will not be wicked as it now is; but when every thing, even the bells of the horses, shall be holy unto the Lord.

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Horse

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Horse

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Ibex or the Wild Goat

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Wild Goat - Ibex and young ©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Ibex or the Wild Goat

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

The Ibex is a kind of goat, but different from the one described at page 33. It is sometimes called the Rock Goat, or Wild Goat; and the last is the name given it in the Bible. It resembles the common goat, but is larger, and its horns are much longer; they are sometimes considerably more than a yard in length, beautifully curved, and surrounded by many curious rings or ridges.

Wild Goats - Hang on ©wildphotons

Wild Goats – Hang on ©wildphotons

It lives in places where you would think no animal could get without falling and breaking its neck; you would be frightened to see it sometimes, when it climbs up rough and narrow places, or jumps from one great rock to another. But God has given it just such a kind of foot as it needs; it has a small hoof, something like those of a sheep, excepting that it is hollow underneath, and has a sort of ridge around it by which the animal can cling to the rock, and so keep from slipping. I never heard of such a thing as one of them sliding off the rocks, unless it was pursued by the hunters. Two goats once met on a high narrow path, where there was just room for one to walk. There was a high rock rising close to their shoulders on one side, and on the other was a place so steep that it would have made you dizzy to look down. They could not go back without danger of falling, and they could not pass each other; what do you think they could do, but stay there and starve? It seemed for a little while as if they were considering about it; at last one bent his knees and laid down, and the other walked safely over his back.

The ibex feeds during the night in the highest woods that grow on the mountains; but as soon as the sun rises it begins to climb, eating the grass or whatever it finds, till it has got up where it is too high for trees to grow. They go in small companies of eight or ten, and lie down in sunny places among the rocks while the sun is hot; but about three or four o’clock in the afternoon they begin to go down again towards the woods. They can climb up rather more easily than they can get down, because their fore legs are shorter than the others.

See how the ibex or wild goat is spoken of in the Bible. In the one hundred and fourth Psalm you may find the words, “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;” and another place where the animal is mentioned is in the twenty-fourth chapter of first Samuel:

Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.

Wild Goat - Capra ibex ©Wiki

Wild Goat – Capra ibex ©Wiki

I should like to have you read with me the whole history of Saul and David in the Bible, so that we might talk about it, for it is very interesting; but now I can only write down what this one verse means. David had been made king over Israel by the command of God; but Saul, who was a very wicked man, was determined to kill him. So David was obliged to fly for his life, with only a few faithful friends; and month after month he hid himself in one place and another, so that Saul might not find him. At last he came to a wild, gloomy place, where nobody lived, near the Dead Sea: it was rocky, and there were many wild goats there. He thought he was safe now; but Saul heard where he was and came after him.

One night Saul and his men went into a large dark cave among the mountains, and behold David and his friends were already there; but they were hidden, so that Saul did not know it. David’s men wanted very much to kill Saul, now that he was in their power, but David would not allow them. He only cut off a small piece from the robe that Saul wore, and he was sorry afterwards that he had done even as much as this He did not hurt Saul in the least, but allowed him to go safely out of the cave, though he might have killed him as easily as not. Was not this returning good for evil?

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Goat

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Goat

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Jerboa or Mouse

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Mouse - ©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Jerboa or Mouse

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

You will not find the name of the Jerboa in the Bible; but it is supposed to be the same animal that is called a mouse in the 17th verse of the 66th chapter of Isaiah,

They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord;

and also in Leviticus, where God is telling the children of Israel what animals they may be allowed to eat, and also what they must not taste. He says,

These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind.

Whether the Jerboa is the same animal or not, the Israelites must have been well acquainted with it, for it is found in great numbers in Syria and Egypt, and other countries mentioned in the Bible. They like to live where the soil is sandy, and make their burrows, or holes to live in, in the sides of sand-hills. These burrows are often several yards long, and the part where they sleep is made soft with grass.

The Jerboa is about as large as a rat, and its color is a tawny yellow, something like that of dried lemon-peel. Its fur is very smooth and soft; its eyes are full and round, and its head is much like that of a young rabbit. When it eats, it sits and hold its food in its fore-paws, very much as a squirrel does.

Mouse - Four-toes-jerboa

Mouse – Four-toes-jerboa

There is a very great and curious difference in the length of its legs; those in front being so short that you would hardly notice them, and those behind very long. It bounds along over the ground very rapidly; so that the greyhound, which is one of the swiftest of dogs, is often unable to overtake it. It seems, when you first look at it, to use only its hind legs in jumping, but his is not so. When it is about to take a leap, it raises its body upon the toes of its hind feet, keeping the balance by the help of its long tail. It springs and comes down on its short fore legs, but does it so very quickly that you can hardly see how it is done, and the animal seems to be upright all the time.

They appear to be very fond of each other’s company, and great numbers are usually found together. They sleep during the day, but like the hare and rabbit, go out of their burrows to eat and to play as soon as it begins to be dark.

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Mouse

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Kite

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White-tailed Kite by SSlayton

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Kite

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

The kite is mentioned but once or twice in the Bible. In Leviticus, 11 : 13,14, it is named among the birds which the Israelites were not allowed to use for food.

And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination; the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, and the vulture, and the kite after its kind.

These are all birds of prey, that is, they live by destroying other animals, and some of them are very fierce and cruel; I suppose this is one reason why they were not to be eaten.

Black Kite (Milvus migrans) by Ian

Black Kite (Milvus migrans) by Ian

The kite is a large bird, more than two feet long; and when its wings are spread it would take a string five feet and a half long to stretch from the tip of one across to the other. It does not fly very rapidly, but its motion in the air is very graceful and beautiful. On this account it has sometimes been called the Gled, or the gliding bird.

The kite is very much dreaded and disliked by those who have ducks and chickens, because it carries them off for food. It also eats frogs and moles: it is said that more than twenty of the latter have been found in one Kite’s nest. It is a cowardly bird, and does not attack any animal that is strong enough to defend itself. Its nest is usually built between the forked branches of some tall tree in the thickest part of the forest; and if you could look into one of them in the spring, you would probably see three eggs, almost white, but a little tinged with blue.

(Blog formatted by Lee)

See:

Harriet Newell Cook -Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Birds of the Bible

Glede and Kites

Acciipitridae Family – Kites, Hawks & Eagles

Nave’s Topical Bible – Kite

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Leopard

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Leopard - Persischer leopard ©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Leopard

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

The leopard is a beautiful animal, though very savage and cruel. It is about as large as the largest of our dogs, but it looks much more like a cat than a dog. You have watched kittens at their play a hundred times, and you know how very quick, and pretty, and graceful all their motions are. It is just so with the leopard; and it can creep along too, as softly as a cat, and run up a tree after a monkey, as easily as a cat does after a bird. It lives mostly upon young antelopes and deer, and it often lies still a long time watching one till it comes near, and then springs out upon it. The Bible says in one place,

A leopard shall watch over their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces;

and in another, “Therefore will I be to them as a lion; as a leopard by the way will I observe (or watch for) them.

The leopard runs very swiftly when it is trying to overtake any animal: the Bible says, Their horses are swifter than leopards.

Leopard - Panthera pardus japonensis ©WikiC

Leopard – Panthera pardus japonensis ©WikiC

Its color is a clear, handsome yellow, spotted with black; the spots are found in little groups, two, or three, or four together, and the skin is very smooth and shining. There is such a great difference between the color of the spots and the rest of the skin, that you would think it a very curious looking animal. The 23d verse of the 12th chapter of Jeremiah is this:

Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil.

It would be no easy thing to wash away the leopard’s black spots; indeed nothing but God’s power could do it. So it is not easy to do right when we have been used to do wrong, and have loved to do it: this is why we need to pray that God will

create a clean heart and renew a right spirit within

us. Should we not be careful about every sinful habit? Remember, dear child, that such a habit in you may become fixed, almost like the leopard’s spots; and pray God to help you love every thing that is

pure, and lovely, and of good report.

What a peaceful and happy time that will be, when Jesus our Savior shall reign in all the earth-when all men shall love him and each other-when “the leopard (fierce and cruel as it is now) shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” That bright day is coming; and if you love Christ, even you-a child-can do something to prepare for it.

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Leopard

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Leopard

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Lion

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Lioness at Louisville Zoo ©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Lion

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

You have seen pictures of the lion a hundred times, I suppose, and perhaps you have seen it alive; would you not like to know what the Bible says about it? You have heard it called the “king of beasts,” because it is so strong and so bold; it is afraid of no other animal, and it is strong enough to carry away a horse or a buffalo. In the 30th verse of the 30th chapter of Proverbs, we read about

the lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any.

When king David was mourning for the death of Saul and Jonathan, he said,

They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

How strong Samson must have been to take hold of a young lion and tear it in pieces with his hands! Did you ever read a riddle in one of the chapters of Judges? This is it,

Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness;

Lions ©WikiC

Lions ©WikiC

and it was made by Samson after he had found the honey in the skeleton of the lion,-as I told you when speaking of the bee. He promised some of his friends that he would give them thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment, if they would find it out in seven days; but they would not have been able to do it, if Samson’s wife had not told them what he meant. Then they came to him and said,

What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?

The boldness of the lion is noticed in a verse in Isaiah:

Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them.

In Proverbs, 28 : 1, you will read,

The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous is as bold as a lion.

This is true, dear child; and if you will love God and trust the kind Savior, there is nothing in all the wide world of which you need be afraid. God can take care of you as he did of Daniel, even if you were shut up in a dark cave with cruel and hungry lions around you.

Lion - Asleep at the Louisville Zoo ©WikiC

Lion – Asleep at the Louisville Zoo ©WikiC

The lion lies in his den and sleeps in the daytime, but at night he goes out to find his food. His eyes are a little like those of a cat, and he can see in the night better than we can. The Bible says,

Thou makest darkness and it is night; wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

It has soft feet, like a cat, so that it can creep quietly along and not frighten the animals that it means to kill, till it comes very near them. Sometimes the lion lies in his den, very still, until some animal comes by; then he gives a sudden spring, and seizes it just as a cat seizes a mouse. The Bible says, when speaking of a wicked man,

He lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; he lieth in wait to catch the poor; he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

The lion has very strong claws hidden in the soft cushion of his paws, and when he has caught his prey he uses them to tear it in pieces. His tongue is like that of a cat, only a great deal more rough, and with this he can strip the flesh off from the bones. David in one of the Psalms prays that God will save him from an enemy,

Lest,” he says, “he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces when there is none to deliver.

Roaring Lion ©WikiC

Roaring Lion ©WikiC

The roaring of the lion is very terrible, especially at night. He seems to delight to be wandering around for his prey when it is dark and stormy; then when he puts his mouth near the ground, his roaring sounds like thunder, and all the animals that hear it are full of fear. You have read of Satan, that most wicked being, who would be glad to make us as wicked as he is; the Bible says he is like

a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour.

Let us pray God to keep us safe from this roaring lion.

Christ is sometimes called

the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

He is always gentle and kind to those who love him; but if we will not receive him as our Savior, the day is coming when he will meet us in judgment; then where can his enemies hide themselves.

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Lion

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Lion

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Hart and Hind

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Hinds at Killarney National Park©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Hart and Hind

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

Several animals of the deer kind are mentioned in the Bible under the names of Fallow-deer, Hart, Hind, and Roe-buck. They were all numbered among the clean animals, or those which the Israelites were allowed to eat; as we see in Deut. 14:4, 5,

These are the beasts which ye shall eat; the ox, the sheep, the goat, the hart, the roe-buck and the fallow-deer.

In 1st Kings, 4:23, we read of the daily provision which was made for king Solomon’s table, and among the rest were

ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and roe-bucks, and fallow-deer.

Fawn ©WikiC
Fawn ©WikiC

These animals are all harmless, gentle, timid, loving and beautiful; noted for their branching horns, for the elegance of their form, and for their surprisingly swift and graceful motion. It has long been a favorite amusement in eastern countries to pursue them in the chase; and as the swiftest greyhound can scarcely overtake them, it is usual to train hawks or falcons to attack them, and so delay them till the dogs come up. They bound along over the plains, “fleet as the wind,” seeming scarcely to touch the ground: no motion can be more beautiful. In the last verse of Solomon’s Song we read,

Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe, or to a young hart on the mountains of spices.

The 35th chapter of Isaiah contains a beautiful description of the peaceful kingdom which Christ will one day establish in the earth; and among other things it is said,

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

The hart or hind is remarkably sure-footed as well as swift: this may explain one or two verses in the Bible. David says, 2d Sam. 22:33, 34,

God is my strength and power, and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

In the last verse of Habakkuk we read,

The Lord is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet.

The male deer is called a hart, the female a hind; and their affection for each other is beautiful. Solomon says in the Proverbs,

Rejoice with the wife of thy youth; let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe.

The hart often suffers from thirst in the dry and sandy countries where it lives-especially when pursued by the hunters; it then longs for water, and plunges with the greatest eagerness into the cooling stream. David says in the 42d Psalm,

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

Nothing could more strongly express his love to God, or his ardent desire for communion with him. Happy is the child who has in his heart such feelings towards God, and who finds pleasure in praying to him, from day to day; he has been taught by the Holy Spirit, and is preparing to meet God in peace. (See Roe.)

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Hart

Nave’s Topical Bible – Hind

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Hart

(Photos ©WikiC)

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Goat

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Nubian Goat with long ears ©WikiC

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Goat

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

There are two kinds of goat in the countries where the Bible was written; one very much like those that we sometimes see; the other differing from it in several respects, especially in the greater length of its ears. It is supposed that the prophet Amos speaks of the latter kind when he says,

As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion, two legs or a piece of an ear.

Goat with unusual horns ©WikiC

Goat with unusual horns

The ear of this kind of goat is so long that a large piece might easily be bitten off; it sometimes measures more than a foot.

Solomon says, in the Proverbs, when speaking to a man who is diligent in his work,

Thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens.

This seems strange to us, because we are not much used to it; but in those countries the milk of the goat is very sweet and good, and is often made into cheese.

The people there often have a great number of goats. Jacob sent a present of two hundred and twenty to his brother Esau; and a great king, mentioned in the Bible, once received seven thousand seven hundred as a gift. A man is mentioned in the first book of Samuel who owned a thousand goats: perhaps you can find the place; and if you do, you will see in the next verse what his name was, and also the name of his wife.

Long-haired Goat ©WikiC

Long-haired Goat ©WikiC

There are two kinds of hair upon the goat; one is long and coarse, the other soft and fine. Of the first kind the people make a kind of rough, coarse cloth; the other is made into very fine cloth, almost as soft as silk. A part of the curtains for the tabernacle were made of goats’ hair.

The bottles mentioned in the Bible were usually made of goat-skins: the people in those days had not learned to make glass. When they had been used a long time, they became worn, so that they would not hold what was put in them. Our Savior once said,

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles;

this was because the new wine would ferment and the leathern bottles would burst. There is a story in the Old Testament about some men who wished to deceive Joshua, and lead him to think that they lived at a very great distance from him, when they really lived very near. So it is said, (Josh. 9:4, 5)

They took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old and rent, and bound up; and old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy

Mauritanian making a bota bag©WikiC

Mauritanian making a bota bag©WikiC

Then they said to Joshua, (verses 12 and 13)

This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold it is dry, and it is mouldy. And these bottles of wine which we filled were new, and behold they be rent; and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

The Israelites had a singular custom in ancient times, about which you may read in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus. It was commanded by God, and was to be observed once in every year. On the morning of the day appointed for it, the high-priest was to wash in pure water, and clothe himself in a dress of clean white linen. Then two fair and handsome young goats were brought to him, one of which was to be killed. The priest was to cast lots, that he might know which of them it should be; then he was to kill him, sprinkle his blood upon the altar seven times, and burn the flesh. Afterwards he was to take the live goat, lay both hands upon his head, and confess over him the sins of the Israelites,

putting them upon the head of the goat.

Then the animal was given into the care of a man who led him away and let him go in the wilderness,

bearing upon him all the iniquities

of the people. This goat was a type of our Savior; that is, it represented what he afterwards did, when he came into the world and “bore our sins.”
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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Goat

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Goat

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Fox or Jackal

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Fox - Blandford's Fox

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Fox or Jackal

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

It is not quite certain whether the fox mentioned in the Bible is the same animal that we now call by that name. It probably means what we now call the jackal. This animal is about as large as a common sized dog, and its color is yellow, or reddish brown. It never goes out alone to seek its food, but always in companies of forty or fifty together. Then they make strange noises, which sound very much like the crying of children.

They do not go out for their food in the daytime, but wait till it begins to be dark; and then they kill all the animals they can find that are not too strong for them. Sometimes a large animal like the lion will hear the cries that they make when they are hunting, and will come and snatch away from them whatever they have found. These foxes or jackals have been known to scratch away the earth from graves that have been lately made, and then devour the bodies of the dead. This explains a verse in the sixty-second Psalm, where David says of those who

seek his soul to destroy it,”-“They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes.

They eat plants of different kinds; sometimes roots, and sometimes fruits. This is one of the verses in Solomon’s Song,

Take us the foxes, the little foxes which spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes.

These animals are often found in great numbers around the walls and ruins of old cities; they live in holes or burrows which they dig in the ground. Our Savior says,

The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Fox - (Vulpes macrotis mutica) with pups

Fox – (Vulpes macrotis mutica) with pups

We have read this verse so many times that we scarcely think how much it means; but was it not a wonderful thing that when Christ came from his bright throne in heaven to this poor earth, he should not find even a home here? Every animal on all the hills has its shelter and hiding-place; every little bird in all the forest has its comfortable nest; but our Savior “had not where to lay his head.” During all his life he was

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

For whom did he suffer all this?-and when his sorrowful life was ended, for whom did he die? I need not tell you this, dear child, but I may ask you,

“Is there nothing we can do

“To prove our grateful love?”

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See:

Harriet Newell Cook – Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Nave’s Topical Bible – Fox

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Fox

(Photos ©WikiC)

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Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Eagle

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Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) by Ian

Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) by Ian

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Eagle

By Harriet N. Cook (1814-1843)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by AestheticPhotos

Did you ever see an eagle? There were once a great many among the rocks and mountains of our own country, but they will not stay where there are many people; so they are seldom seen here now. They like to make their nests in high and rocky places, where nobody can find them; as a verse in the Bible says,

“Though thou shouldest make thy nest on high as the eagle, yet will I bring thee down from thence.”

Their nests are not usually made in trees like those of many other birds, neither are they shaped in the same way: they are nothing but a layer of sticks spread flat upon the rock, and covered with some hay or straw. The care of the eagle for her young is spoken of in Deut. 32:11.

“As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him.”

This beautifully describes God’s care over the children of Israel while they were passing through the wilderness; does it not also well express his kindness to us?

These birds fly very swiftly, and you will find verses in the Bible that speak of this. One is the forty-ninth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy. “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, as swift as the eagle flieth.” In another place it is said, “His horses are swifter than eagles.” Job says,

“My days are swifter than a post, (or post-rider;) they are passed away as the swift ships, as an eagle that hasteth to the prey.”

Bald Eagle by Raymond J Barlow

Bald Eagle by Ray

The eye of the eagle is very curious. It has something like an inner eyelid, only it is very thin; and the eagle can draw this over its eye, like a curtain, whenever there is too much light. You have heard perhaps that it can look directly at the bright sun; and this is the reason. It can see a great deal farther than we can; and when it is very high in the air, so that it would look to you but little larger than a speck, it often sees some small animal on the ground and flies down to catch it.

See how well this bird was described a great many years ago: these are the last verses of the thirty-ninth chapter of Job:

“Doth the eagle mount up at thy command and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth upon the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is she.”

Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) by Ian

Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) by Ian

The eagle lives a great many years; sometimes more than seventy, I believe. It sheds its feathers every spring, and new ones come out; then it looks like a young bird. This is why David says in the Psalms,

“Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed, (or comes again,) like the eagle’s.”

There is this beautiful verse in Isaiah,

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

How blessed and happy a thing it is to be a Christian indeed! to “wait upon the Lord” every day for the strength we need; and to be always preparing for that world where the inhabitants are for ever young, for ever active, for ever holy, for ever happy.

(Blog formatted by Lee)

See:

Harriet Newell Cook -Scripture Alphabet of Animals

Birds of the Bible

Eagles

Accipitridae Family – Kites, Hawks & Eagles

Nave’s Topical Bible – Eagle

Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Eagle

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