Man originally walked with God in Adam and Eve and God taught them everything they needed to know as he walked with them. Following Adam’s sin then man turned from God and eventually turned to idols made by their hands. Many of these idols (actually devils) were made in the image of birds, fourfooted beasts and creeping creatures. (Romans 1:21-23 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.) Today many people place the creature above the Creator as they worship them. (Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.) People will protect a mouse at the expense of man’s growth. Due to sin man now had lost wisdom from God and sought false wisdom from Satan and their idols of animals. God now tells foolish man to learn from these very creatures that they worship since they have rejected his wisdom. These animals are wiser than people as we will see and God says to learn from them.
God says to go to the ant and consider her ways and be wise and do not be a sluggard. (Proverbs 6:6-11 6 ¶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.) Throughout history many people have been lazy (sluggard) and fail to work for their food and to take care of themselves and their family. They fail to plant crops at the right time so when harvest comes they have nothing to harvest and therefore no food and so they expect the government or other people to bail them out. This sluggardness or laziness is especially prevalent in today’s society as everyone wants a free handout without doing any work for it. This even includes many professing Christians and then they say we are uncaring if we do not help them. God said that if you do not work then you do not eat. (II Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.) God said that those who do not provide for their own are worse than an infidel. This is how serious that God expects people not to be lazy. (I Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.)
God says to consider her ways when speaking of the ant. All ants that we see and that are doing the work of gathering food are female ants so we see the accuracy of the King James Bible whereas other bibles say its ways. God said those who follow the ways of the ant are wise. Think about this that a little tiny ant that is much smaller than man is wiser than most people. Even God’s small parts of creation can teach man. These verses continue to show how the ant will mobilize to gather food during harvest in order to have food for the summer. These ants do all of this without having a ruler tell them what to do. Ants do not need to be told to work they just do it as they know what needs to be done and they know if they do not do it then they will not survive. Too many people today have no initiative to do anything unless they are told to do it. Ants can carry up to twenty times their weight. God created them this way, but this also shows how ants will more than literally carry their own weight rather than relying on another source to do the work for them as people often do. Today people even if they do work will do the bare minimum necessary to keep their job and no more. Many do not “carry their own weight” and do their share of work, but rather expect their coworkers to do all of the work while they sit back and rest. The ant is smart enough and wise enough to store food away so that when they cannot gather food then they can eat of the reserves that have been saved away. This is what Joseph was teaching the Egyptians to save food during the seven plenteous years so that they would have food during the seven years of famine. Ants will work together in order to carry larger food sources than they could carry alone and they will spread out to search for food. Christians can learn to work together rather than against one another. Ants are always on the move and they move fast, not slowly (sluggish) like most people. They have a job that needs to get done and they do it. Some are worker ants and others are soldier ants. Some will provide protection to the ant hill from predators whereas many people just sit back and never guard their homes or their eternal souls for that matter. God says that those who want to sleep away their days and be a sluggard then this will lead to poverty. We see this today yet these people are still not wise enough to go and get a job in order to survive. These people just sit back waiting for someone to feel sorry for them and hoping for a free hand out. The ant can teach man that hard work will reap rewards.
God again says the ant is wise along with three other animals. (Proverbs 30:24-28 24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.) God gives four small animals that we can once again learn from. One thing we can learn is that people do not have to be big people in order to accomplish God’s work. God can even use small things to accomplish his goals and purposes and this includes people if they will let him. When a small Christian feels too small to do God’s work that he has called them to do then they need to remember these four small animals of God’s. The first of the four animals that are little upon the earth is the ant. God once again in verse 25 says that the ants are not a strong people yet they are wise enough to prepare their food in the summer so that when it gets cold and it is harder to gather food then they will have food to survive. Many animals never store food, but ants are wise enough to do so. God next lists the conies which he says are feeble (weak) yet they are wise enough to make their houses in rocks. The coney is a rabbit. Jesus spoke of the same principle in his sermon on the mount when he said we needed to build our houses upon rock which will last when the storm hits whereas those who build upon sand will have their house destroyed when the storm comes. (Matthew 7:24-27 24 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.) Many people today have not learned this as they build houses on the beach. I remember a person who built his house on stilts in the ocean in South or North Carolina and it was destroyed when a hurricane came through. This was an unwise individual who did not learn from the coney. The Rock that all people need to build upon is Jesus who is the only one who can provide a solid foundation. If you are not saved and are building upon any other foundation such as a false god then you will be destroyed and spend eternity in hell and the lake of fire.
God next speaks of the locust who has no king just like the ant. The locusts which are swarming grasshoppers normally are solitary and will do their business without a king, but at times they form large swarms that can be up to 200 million per square mile. These swarms form on their own without a king putting them together. The swarms are formed for their survival and they form bands or groups. They do not need a king to get them organized and form these bands; they just know what needs to be done for survival. These locust swarms will work together to destroy large areas of farmland very quickly and God even used them as one of the ten plagues against Egypt. (Exodus 10) God is showing man what they can do if they work together yet man is always fighting against one another. This same principle applies to the church. If all who profess to be Christians would truly work together for the survival of the church then they could win many souls for the Lord by going out in swarms to spread the word of God.
God speaks of the spider that as little as she is lives in king’s palaces. We see how God is accurate here again by saying her hands as all spiders seen are females and spiders do not have eight legs as is taught by man, but has hands as well. The spider will use these hands to make silk in a king’s palace. Modern bibles remove the wise spider and change it to lizard so that people lose the teaching of the spider. The spider will go wherever it is necessary for her to survive and Christians should be doing the same by going wherever God sends them so that many souls might be won for the Lord. God says all four of these animals are wise in their ways. If only man was.
God told Israel to learn from the ox and ass. (Isaiah 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.) God told Israel that the ox knew its owner and the ass where his master lives. The ass understands he has a master yet Israel did not and people today do not realize that we all have a Master as well in Jesus. (Matthew 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.) Jesus is still Master whether a person is saved or not; he is just not treated as Master by the unsaved, but many professing Christians do not give him his due as Master either. Israel and many Christians have forgotten who their owner and Master is. If a person is a Christian then their body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and does not belong to them. (I Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?)
(Proverbs 6:4-5 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.) We see in Proverbs again how God says not to be lazy and full of sleep. God says for us to be awake so that we can be aware of our surroundings just like the roe (female red deer) who escapes from the hand of the hunter who is trying to kill her. Often times deer seem to know when hunting season is and they move around much more in order to escape becoming a dead deer yet man never seems to learn from animals and when God gives them insight in order to avoid danger they ignore it. Man will almost always continue towards that danger. This is why many people today are on a path to hell as they ignore the danger that their spiritual house is on fire and yet they refuse to leave. These people want to continue in their sins and avoid God in their lives. God also mentions the bird that escapes from the hand of the fowler. These animals escape death because they remain vigilant rather than sleep their lives away as sluggards.
God says to ask the beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea and they will teach us since we do not want to learn from God. (Job 12:7-8 7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.) God says all of the animals can teach man if we ask them to just like God will teach us if we ask him to teach us. We then need to listen when we are taught. Notice verse 8 has fishes which shows the accuracy of the King James Bible as fishes means different kinds of fish showing that they all can teach us if we are willing to learn from them. (Proverbs 30:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.) God says to see the way of the eagle in the air. The eagle will fly around to search below for prey. It does not just sit back hoping something will come to it. The eagle places its nest high in trees so that it can see far away in the search for food. By being high in the sky the eagle is also well protected from predators. (Job 39:27-29 27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.) Notice how an eagle will often times make its nest in the crag (crevice) of a rock just like Jesus said to build upon rock. This will make a strong nest that will survive the storms of life. This should be a lesson for Christians who should be like the eagle that nests high for visual discernment and safety as Christians should also always be on the lookout for danger from Satan as well as be on the high ground by being right with God so they have spiritual discernment to see the danger coming and have safety in the nest of Jesus. These lessons can help keep a Christian safe and on the right path with God. The serpent gets upon rocks to stay warm in the sun. God says we are to be wise like the serpent yet as harmless as the dove. (Matthew 10:16 ¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.) Lions are strong animals that fear nothing and we as Christians who are walking with God have no need to fear either. (Proverbs 30:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;) Just as the hart (male red deer) pants after water when it is thirsty, we as Christians should pant after God. For those who are not saved they need to have their souls convicted so that they might pant after the living water of Jesus so that they too might be saved. (Psalm 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.) Sheep are dumb animals yet they follow the voice of the shepherd. They will easily go astray so the shepherd must always keep an eye on them. Jesus compares us to sheep who need Jesus as our Shepherd. We like sheep will quickly wander towards sin and this is why we need to hear the voice of Jesus the Shepherd so that those who are not saved will get saved and for those who are saved we need to hear his voice so that we will stay on the path of righteousness. (Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.) (John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:)
Besides what is found in scripture, nature itself teaches us. Sharks are able to sense when a hurricane is coming and they will swim out to deeper water to protect themselves yet man will try to go surfing during a hurricane in order to catch the big wave. Animals in the forest will run away from a forest fire yet man will stay and try to protect private property that will one day perish anyway and many lose their lives. Animals can sense when a volcano is about to erupt. Prior to Mt. St. Helens erupting in 1980 the deer and other wildlife began to leave as they could sense the danger. They left to protect their lives yet one man Harry Truman (not the president) was not even as wise as these animals and he refused to evacuate his home and he perished when the volcano erupted.
Scripture also uses some animals to show us how not to be. The fox is a clever, but deceitful animal and this should be a lesson for Christians not to try and trick people especially their fellow believers. Too many professing Christians are deceitful like the fox. Jesus called Herod a fox. (Luke 13:31-32) False prophets as well as those who try to destroy the church are compared to wolves. (Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.) Just as swine (pigs) enjoy wallowing in the mud, people enjoy wallowing in sin. Just like the swine who is cleaned up will return to the mud so will the sinner unless they are washed in the blood of Jesus and given proper teaching by God. Just as the swine will return to mud so does the dog to its vomit, again representing the unrepentant unsaved sinner as well as backslidden Christians. Dogs in scripture are always negative and represent unholy sinners. We do not want to be like dogs or swine. (II 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.) Fowls in scripture represent devils that snatch away the word of God when it is planted by a Christian. (Matthew 13:4, et cetera) We need to be aware of such birds who will do this. Many are professing Christians in the church who do not want to see people saved. Goats in scripture often represent the unsaved such as the unsaved nations in the sheep and goat judgment that Jesus will divide the nations into after the end of the great tribulation.
We see how God uses animals to teach man as they have rejected the teachings of God. God tries to show how foolish man is in that animals are wiser than people. God is not condoning worshipping animals. It is just the opposite in that God wants man to see how he needs to learn from the animals and listen to God instead of themselves. These animals all have the wisdom that they have because God created them with it. God also gave man wisdom, but he rejected it. God wants all people to turn to his Son Jesus and be saved and once again receive the wisdom that was intended by God. Animals listen to God and now man needs to. Even the lowest of God’s creation are wiser than most men. It is complete foolishness to reject the wisdom of God. For those who lack wisdom ask God for it and he will give it to you willingly and liberally in abundance. He will not hold back. (James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.) Call upon Jesus today if you have learned from the animals and what scripture has to say.
