THE LAMB
The Lamb is one of the most symbolic and widely used animals in the Bible. The lamb/sheep has been used by humans for many reasons, such as for wool, milk, and clothing. In the time of Moses, rams skins were dyed red for the making of the Tabernacle. But the main purpose of sheep/lamb was a symbolic one. After sin entered the Bible tells of Abel who sacrificed a lamb to God. He understood the meaning of that great sacrifice. Abraham would also make burnt offerings to God.
What were the characteristics of the lamb to be brought to the altar? “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.” Exodus 12:5. Was not Jesus like this—perfect? These sacrifices in the Old Testament were a symbol of the real sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Morning and the Evening sacrifices daily pointed to the Lamb of God.
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7. He gave His life as an offering for sin, for our sin. We were bought with a price, a heavy price. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold. . . . But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18–19
As a child Jesus went to the temple with His parents. He saw the priests dressed in white, performing their solemn ministry. He saw the bleeding victim upon the altar of sacrifice. In the congregation He bowed to worship day by day as He saw the meaning more clearly. He understood that every act seemed to be bound up with His own life. Jesus knew that He would be the ultimate sacrifice. The Holy Spirit illuminated His mind and little by little He sees and understands
The thief on the cross sees in Jesus the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world; Jesus—bruised, mocked and hanging on the cross. Hope enters his heart and with anguish he casts his helpless dying soul upon the dying Jesus, “Lord, remember me,” he said, “when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” Luke 23:42. We must also see our helplessness and like him cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus.
Let us remember this sacrifice of Jesus and come to Him so that we may truly have eternal life. “Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.’ Revelation 5:12.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 131. Amen.
Cyrus Newby
THE DOVE
The dove is sometimes used to represent the Holy Spirit. It is mentioned in the Bible several times .
When Jesus went to Jordan He got baptized by his cousin, John. When He came out of the water the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit landed on Him in the form of a dove. Then all present heard God say, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
“When He was baptized of John in Jordan, as He came up out of the water, the Spirit of God, like a dove of burnished gold, descended upon Him, and a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” –Selected Messages, bk. 1, p. 227
In Noah’s time, after the flood, he sent out a raven to see if it could find land. It flew around until the water dried up. Then Noah sent out a dove, and it came back with nothing. A week later he sent it again and it came back with an olive tree leaf. The third time Noah sent the dove it did not come back because it found land.
The dove is a symbol of peace. When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and we are forgiven that creates peace in our hearts.
It is my prayer that we may let the Holy Spirit into our hearts so we will have His peace. Amen.
Sarah Newby
THE SERPENT
One animal, the serpent changed earth’s history completely in the Garden of Eden. The scientific name of serpent is “acrochordus arafurae”. In many different religions, the serpent, or snake, is a good omen. In early civilization, the serpent was a sign of fertility and good fortune. Some religions state that the serpent was the umbilical cord between humans and the Mother Earth. In Buddhism, it was said that a hooded cobra protected Buddha during a vicious storm. Buddha put his two hands into the snake’s hood as a blessing, and that created the spectacled cobra. In other mythology, dragons and serpents were used interchangeably. The venom of a serpent was said to have the same fiery quality as a dragon’s fire. In the Bible, the serpent was Satan, deceiving Adam and Eve to disobey God.
Today there are 3,400 species of snakes, and all species have their own distinctions from one another. Some swim, some spit venom. Some have hoods to intimidate, while others have rattles on the tips of their tails. Some swallow whole animals into their mouth, while others squish their prey to death. Some are scavengers who hunt bird eggs and smaller reptiles, amphibians and insects. Certain species of snakes glide across the sand and others swing from tree to tree. Some are small and others are at the top of the food chain in their habitats. Snakes are reptiles, which means they are cold-blooded. They do not give birth to live young. They produce eggs. As always, these eggs need to incubate, and the mother sits with her eggs in a burrow or dead tree of some kind, and produces rays of heat that reach the eggs so they incubate faster. When the eggs hatch, the mother leaves her babies to fend for themselves. Here are the names of several species of snakes: Boa constrictor, spectacled cobra, king cobra, the green anaconda, diamond back rattlesnake, coral snake, black mamba, reticulated Python, rat snakes, milk snakes and garter snakes. The diet of a snake depends on its species. Usually they will eat small vertebrates like birds, rats and sometimes other snakes. Bigger species like the anaconda, for example, eat big prey like wild pigs, deer, birds, capybara, caiman and sometimes even jaguars. Anaconda do not have venom, so they squeeze their prey to death and swallow it. They can go for weeks, if not a month after a big meal. The average lifespan of a snake is nine years.
Dragons are mythical creatures that originated from China. They are considered reptiles and cold-blooded. Some dragons have wings while some do not. Dragons were used in oriental ceremonies such as celebrating the New Year. Dragons would originally spit fire but it does not matter. Satan was also represented in the bible as a dragon. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7–9. Here Satan is referred to as a serpent and a dragon.
We all know the story of Adam and Eve. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden He created, calling it the Garden of Eden. They were told that everything in the garden was theirs, except for one tree—the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of course, the first few times they forgot about it until Eve became curious and went to the tree. In the tree there was a serpent. The serpent hissed to Eve, whispering about the knowledge she could gain and how powerful she could become if only she took one bite. Just one. One bite changed history. Eve took a fruit. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she took a bite. After, she went looking for Adam, so he could take a bite of this amazing fruit. Adam questioned it at first, but then gave in to his wife’s persuasion. God knew they disobeyed, and went looking for them. They hid, but of course, no one can hide from God. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. God then cursed the serpent to forever slide on its belly and that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. Adam and Eve were then exiled from Eden. Now they would have to toil for their food and work for their family. Satan however, laughed that he was able to convince Adam and Eve to sin. Sin now spoiled this world. From that moment on, sin spoiled the beautiful handiwork of God.
Another story that involves a serpent is the story of Moses and the Israelites when they were in the wilderness. God sent serpents into the camp of Israel to punish them for murmuring. Of course, the Israelites pleaded for mercy. Moses prayed to God for an answer. “And the people spake against God, and against Moses. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” Numbers 21:5–9. Whenever the people looked at this brazen serpent, they were healed. So if we look upon Jesus, we may be healed of our sins. We must beware the temptation of the serpent, for it is strong. May the Lord help us. Amen.
Stephen Newby