A Study of God's Word
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.
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Genesis 49:11 Binding 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 11:12 For 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 21:1-8 And 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 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
Isaiah 14:29 Rejoice 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.
David rehearses his exploits with a bear while guarding his father’s flock of sheep to prove that he could stand up to Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
1 Samuel 17:36-37 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
2 Samuel 17:8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
Elisha, who was bald, was being mocked “Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.” His response to them:
2 Kings 2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
A fool in his folly can cause more harm than a bear:
Proverbs 17:12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
As is a wicked ruler:
Proverbs 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
Isaiah writes about the kingdom time (1000 years) promised to the nation Israel when their Messiah (the Lord Jesus) will rule over them (and the whole world). During this time peace will reign that all the animals will dwell together without fear. An example is in:
Isaiah 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Later he writes, our iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Isaiah 59:11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
Read Lamentations 3 as the writer describes his condition without God.
Lamentations 3:10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
Prophecy of a coming kingdom.
Daniel 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Hosea 13:8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
Amos 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
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Job 20:16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
Isaiah 30:6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
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.
John the Baptist:
Matthew 3:7, Luke 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
The Lord Jesus:
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Acts 28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Fulfillment of Mark 16:18
Whales, of course were created on the 5th day along with every living creature, except land animals and man.
Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
The next mention of whale is in Job:
Job 7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
The next mention of whale is in Exekiel:
Ezekiel 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
The next mention should have been in Jonah:
Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
But the translators called it a great fish which is probably the correct translation as whales have very small throats.
But in Matthew it is called a WHALE:
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Whale, Great Fish doesn’t really matter. What matters is: 1st the Lord Jesus verifies that the story of Jonah is true. And 2nd He used it as an illustration of His death, burial and resurrection. (⇛ see Three Days)
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The Lord is speaking to Job out of a whirlwind (40:6), And basically says “who do you think you are?”
Job 40:15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
The Lord then goes on to describe the Behemoth so we know it’s a real creature: Job 40:16-24 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.
Many believe that this is description of what we now know as a dinosaur.
Remember, until 1842, no one had heard of the word ‘dinosaur’. But when acclaimed anatomist Richard Owen grouped three pre-historic animals with curious features in common, he changed the way the world thought about fossil reptiles.
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Skins of Badgers were used to adorn the Tabernacle.
See Exodus 25:5, Exodus 26:14, Exodus 35:7, 23, Exodus 36:19,34, Numbers 4:6,8,10-12,14,25
Badger Skin was apparently wrong as translators seem to have been misled by the similarity in sound of the Hebrew tachash_ and the Latin _taxus , “a badger.” The revisers have correctly substituted “seal skins.”
The Arabs of the Sinaitic peninsula apply the name tucash to the seals and dugongs which are common in the Red Sea, and the skins of which are largely used as leather and for sandals.
In Ezekiel 16 The Lord God reminded the nation of Israel about His loving care He had for them (read the whole Chapter). In vs 16 He speaks of Badgers (seal) skin for shoes.
Ezekiel 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
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Appears 76 times in the Bible: 69 – Old Testament 7 – New Testament
Peter warns of false prophets 2 Peter 2 uses Balaam as one example:
2 Peter 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
Peter is referring to the Story in Numbers 22:21-34 where Balaam’s dumb ass was given a voice to speak. (vs 28) And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
The Lord Jesus instructed his disciples to fetch him a colt to ride on to fulfill the prophecy of his arrival into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9 …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).
Matthew 21:2 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.
Matthew 21:5 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.
Matthew 21:7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
John also recorded the event (John 12:12-15)
John 12:14-15 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
After the a leader of Israel chastised the Lord for healing on the Sabbath he responded:
Luke 13:15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
And again answering the lawyers and Pharises:
Luke 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?