The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin. They look like a combination of a goose and a loon.
They are listed with the unclean animals.
Leviticus 11:17And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
Deuteronomy 14:17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Isaiah 34:11But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
Zephaniah 2:14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for he shall uncover the cedar work.
Occurs 29 times in Bible 24 Old Testament 5 New Testament
The calf was used as meat on special occasions: Genesis 18:7-8And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
As the Israelites were waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain with the word from God, turned to their old ways and had Aaron make them a golden calf to worship: Exodus 32:4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 32:8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 32:19And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. Exodus 32:24And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Other references to the calf when it is offered as a sacrifice or meat: Leviticus 9:2-3, 9:8, 9:16, 9:21, 1 Samuel 28:24, Nehemiah 9:18, Job 21:10, Job 21:10, Psalm 29:6, 106:19, Isaiah 11:6, 27:10, Jeremiah 34:18-19, Hosea 8:5-6
The Lord Jesus speaks of the calf in his story of the prodigal son. Luke 15:23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: Luke 15:27And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. Luke 15:30But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
Stephen, while rehearsing Israel’s history, reminds them of the golden calf. Acts 7:41And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
John writes of the four beasts (government) that ruled the earth. Revelation 4:7And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
The day finally arrived. Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven. He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself. However, the gates are closed and Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.
St. Peter said, “Well, Forrest, it is certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast and we have been administering an entrance examination for everyone. The test is short, but you have to pass it before you can get into Heaven.”
Forrest responds, “It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir. But nobody ever told me about any entrance exam I sure hope that the test ain’t too hard. Life was a big enough test as it was.”
St. Peter continued, “Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions. First: What two days of the week begin with the letter T? Second: How many seconds are there in a year? Third: What is God’s first name?”
Forrest leaves to think over the questions He returns the next day and sees St. Peter, who waves him up and says, “Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers.”
Forrest replied, “Well, the first one — which two days in the week begins with the letter “T”? Shucks, that one is easy. That would be Today and Tomorrow.”
The Saint’s eyes opened wide and he exclaimed, “Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but you do have a point and I guess I did not specify, so I will give you credit for that answer. How about the next one” asked St Peter.
“How many seconds in a year? Now that one is harder,” replied Forrest, but I thunk and thunk about that and I guess the only answer can be twelve.”
Astounded, St. Pete said, “Twelve? Forrest, how in Heaven’s name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?”
Forrest replied, “Shucks, there’s got to be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd…. “
“Hold it,” interrupts St. Peter. “I see where you are going with this and I see your point, though that was not quite what I had in mind…..but I will have to give you credit for that one, too. Let us go on with the third and final question. Can you tell me God’s first name?”
“Sure,” Forrest replied, “it’s Andy.”
“Andy?” exclaimed an exasperated and frustrated St Peter. “Ok, I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?”
“Shucks, that was the easiest one of all,” Forrest replied. “I learnt it from the song, “ANDY WALKS WITH ME, ANDY TALKS WITH ME, ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN.”
St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates, and said: “Run Forrest, run.”
Give me a sense of humor, Lord. Give me the ability to understand a clean joke, to get some humor out of life and forethought to pass it on to other folk.
40 Bible references – 31 OLD TESTAMENT – 9 NEW TESTAMENT
The Lord Jesus is speaking to the multitudes about the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5-7), teaching them many truths, and he mentions dogs: Matthew 7:6Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
The Lord Jesus dealing with a gentile woman from Canaan (Matthew 15:22) who came seeking healing for her daughter, rebuked her. Matthew 15:26-27, Mark 7:27-28 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Read the whole account in Matthew 15:22-28, Mark 7:25-30. There are several lessons to be learned and among them is Matthew 15:24.
The Lord Jesus when teaching about what happens at the time of death, describes the sorry condition of Lazarus. Luke 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
The apostles Paul and John describe false teachers: Philippians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Revelation 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
The apostle Peter quotes from a Proverb when he writes about those who knew about God but didn’t believe God. 2 Peter 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Proverbs 26:11As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Fallow deer are native to SW Asia, are very variable in color; some are white, others very dark brown and a variety are spotted. They are listed as an animal that was clean and could be eaten.
Deuteronomy 14:5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
Isaiah 38:14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
These animals obey the ways of God, but man choses to go his own way, disregarding the work of God.
Jeremiah 8:7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
14 Bible references – 3 Old Testament – 11 New Testament
Genesis 49:11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Job 11:12For vain men would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
Prophecy. Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Prophecy fulfilled. Matthew 21:1-8And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
The above recorded by Matthew records the event of the Lord Jesus making his triumphful entry into Jerusalem fulfilling what was recorded in Zechariah 9:9.
This event is also recorded in Mark 11:1-10 again in Luke 19:29-38 and also in John 12:12-15. Each of these contain truths that are worthy of study.
A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a rooster’s head. A cockatrice was a magical beast resembling a rooster with a lizard’s tail. The Cockatrice can cause death with a single glance. Their poisonous saliva can even kill an elephant.
This definition is what the world thinks a cockatrice is, but Isaiah refers to it three times and says it will exist during the 1000 years of peace on earth.
Isaiah 11:8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
Isaiah 14:29Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Isaiah 59:5 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
