The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. – Isaiah 1:3
At is amazing how animals can be faithful when God’s crowning creation is unfaithful.
Recently, my wife and I made a visit to Hawaii. A guide who was taking us around the island told about the whales that come to that area every year. He said they come from the cold Bering Sea, near Alaska, to mate and give birth in the warm waters of Hawaii. Then, at the same time each year, they make the trip back to the northern waters. Jokingly he said, “You wonder how those whales can find their way each year to the proper place, when some of you humans are lost if I turn you around and let you out in front of your hotel.” God has given the animals an instinct to know what they should do.
In the days of Noah, God did not have to speak twice to get the animals to go into the ark. Yet the people of that day stood by and scoffed, laughed, and refused to go in. In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, it is pitiful to see that the dogs had a better heart than the gentleman on the boulevard. The only tender treatment Lazarus had was when the dogs came and licked his sores.
In the land of Persia, we see that the lions obeyed God and showed respect to His servant, Daniel. When God told the ravens to feed Elijah, they brought the meals on time every day. When God’s chosen prophet was disobedient and decided to go in the opposite direction from that which God had told him, God sent a whale who provided a submarine ride and took Jonah where God wanted him to be. God used the mule to rebuke the willful backsliding of Balaam. So we can see that animals will often obey when man is disobedient.
Isaiah, in his rebuke to Israel, said, “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” Sometimes we think of animals as being dumb, but often they are more responsive to God’s commands than we are.
What about you? Will you obey God’s instructions? Let us take a lesson from the animals, and do as God directs.