I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land

"Protect Us From The Beasts"

Maybe these kinds of things have been happening all along and I'm just now hearing about them.  Or maybe the animal kingdom is taking an ugly turn toward humans.  It's hard not to notice something of a trend as I scan the headlines on a site I often go to.  Several of today's stories center on animals, and how they're making life difficult for people.

One headline reads "Ohio Woman 'Prisoner' In Own Home Due To Deer Attacks".  Just down the page is another heading: "Bear Takes A Dip [in a swimming pool!] As It Roams Foothill Suburb Of Los Angeles".  A little further down is this one: "Kenya Nationwide Blackout Caused By Monkey Tripping Transformer".

Of course, critters have long been a cause for caution.  A walk in the woods calls for alertness to snakes or hornets' nests.  Those who might take a swim in the Amazon should know about the presence of piranhas.  Even a cookout on the back deck puts us in the domain of the dreaded mosquito!  People may aim for peaceful coexistence, but the beasts around us have not read that memo.

When Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land, God vowed to provide a peaceful place to live.  If they would abide by His covenant, He promised, "I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land" (Leviticus 26).

Later the Lord spoke of the plan to take the land of Canaan: "And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you" (Deuteronomy 7:22).

God certainly has the power to protect us from dangerous beasts; He clearly did so when Noah and his family shared cramped living quarters with animals of all kinds for over a year.  But the world we live in is not a perfect world.  One consequence of sin (in my opinion) is that the peaceful coexistence between man and beast was broken.

The beast we should fear most, however, is not reptile, mammal, or arachnid; he is spiritual in nature.  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).  The damage done by a bear or a rattlesnake may be significant, but it won't last into eternity.  Satan's bite, though, can lead (if untreated) to eternal destruction.

Here's the good news: "Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).  God has always held power over all wild beasts.  He knows how to deliver us from the clutches of Satan.

Come to the light God offers!  Study His word, the Bible.  Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).  Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.

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Copyright, 2016, Timothy D. Hall