God’s Obedient Wild Kingdom (Part I)

      Our Creator God has  and continues to use all kinds of people to accomplish His purposes throughout the ages.  Imagine His use of the raven and then a dove to serve as indicators of the floodwaters’ recession after the global flood—for the sake of His servant Noah and his family—and that of the preserved animals, tool!  (Genesis 8:6-12)  Only our omniscient Creator would possess the divine forethought to create birds so diverse in purpose that some would be primarily scavengers, (eg. ravens), who would not be as prone to return so timely to the ark, as opposed to the dove, a bird with a far more selective palate.  Its return to Noah after its second land-seeking mission informed him of the proximity of a disembarkment spot.
       
     We get an unmistakable picture of our Creator’s exhaustive patience with rebellious folks when we read of His diversified chastisement of Pharaoh in the book of Exodus.  Consider God’s unleashing of swarms of locusts, frogs, and flies against that defiant and arrogant leader. Talk about man’s extremity being God’s OPPORTUNITY! When the backs of His people were against the wall, El Shaddai summoned the animal (and insect) world to press His point against the enemy!  In the book of Numbers (22:28), we read that God miraculously empowered a donkey to speak to a man named Balaam because the latter, on a mission to badmouth God’s people, needed his eyes supernaturally opened to see the Angel of the LORD wielding a sword in the middle of the road, poised to slay both that donkey AND Balaam!  (Way to look out, smart donkey!)

       You’ve undoubtedly read about God’s use of a huge fish to “persuade” Jonah the reluctant prophet-evangelist, who wanted God to ZAP those foolish and cruel Ninevites (Jonah 1:17).  And let’s not forget the BEARS of 2 Kings 2:23, 24!  God sent out a couple of she-bears to teach forty-two  young men to respect Elisha, His hand-picked prophet and successor to Elijah.  (They’d been cruelly teasing the prophet, calling him ’baldy,’ as he was en route to Bethel to begin his Lord’s special assignment).  I’m glad that our holy and ever-gracious heavenly Father lets us read about, and sometimes SEE, His being El Nekamoth --the God who avenges (Ps. 18:47; Rom. 12:19).  What a MIGHTY God we serve!
 
PRAYER:  Dear Abba, help us to recognize afresh that You have indeed made ALL things—including both animals and habitually unrepentant human beings-- to fulfill Your divine purposes.  Thank You in Jesus’ name—amen!
By Sis. Denise Diggs