St Mark is not one to waste words, and his account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is much briefer than that of Matthew and Luke. Unlike them, he says nothing about what the temptations faced by our Lord actually were. Nevertheless, he makes a point of telling us that Jesus was “with the wild beasts” (Mark 1: 13).

I have written already in this series about the lions and bears that still roamed the Holy Land in New Testament times. Hyenas, wolves and leopards were also present. A man alone in the wilderness faced the real danger of attack by such predatory animals. Yet Jesus spent forty days and nights among them.

Many commentators connect Mark’s words with Isaiah 11: 6 – 9, which reads thus:

“Wolves and sheep will live together in peace, and leopards will lie down with young goats. Calves and lion cubs will feed together,
and little children will take care of them. Cows and bears will eat together,

and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace.
Lions will eat straw as cattle do.
Even a baby will not be harmed if it plays near a poisonous snake. On Zion, God’s sacred hill,

there will be nothing harmful or evil.
The land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the seas are full of water.” (Good News Bible)

This vision of humanity and nature at peace with one another and with themselves is what seems to be in Mark’s mind when he speaks of Jesus living unharmed out among the wild beasts. Isaiah’s words come from a prophecy about a new king in the line of David who will rule with justice and equity. Mark is indicating that Jesus is that long awaited king.

In Romans 8: 18 – 25, St Paul writes of all creation longing to be set free from its slavery to decay and sharing “the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Jesus came to redeem not only the human race but everything God has made, and Paul is looking forward to the time when God’s plan for humanity and all creation is finally made clear, and all things are brought together in Christ (see also Colossians 1: 20).

We join in looking forward to that day, but in the meantime, let us treat our fellow creatures on this earth with kindness and respect. God has a purpose for us all.

A prayer:

Lord, may I love all Thy creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. May I love every leaf, every ray of Thy light. May I love the animals; Thou hast given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Let me not trouble it, let me not harass them, let me not deprive them of their happiness, let me not work against Thine intent.

For I acknowledge unto Thee that all is like an ocean, all is flowing and blending, and that to withhold any measure of love from anything in Thy universe is to withhold that same measure from Thee. AMEN

(Adapted from Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1821 – 1881)

Rev John Barnett

Image: Christ with the wild beasts in the wilderness (artist unknown)

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine, With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,  Sandalwood, cedarwood and sweet white wine.

I wonder if, like me, you remember reciting in your schooldays those lines from John Masefield’s poem, “Cargoes”? Masefield’s inspiration for that verse came from 1 Kings 10: 22, which in the Authorised Version reads “… once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” The same words are repeated in 2 Chronicles 9: 21, the only other place where apes are referred to in the Bible.

Ophir is mentioned in the same chapters, but nobody is sure where it was. One suggestion is that it was somewhere in India or Sri Lanka. In the Tamil language spoken in both these countries the names for apes, ivory and peacocks are similar to those in Hebrew. It may well be that the people of Solomon’s kingdom imported the names along with the othertreasures. Their ships would have travelled southwards through the Red Sea and eastwards across the Indian Ocean to trade with these lands.

The animals mentioned in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles were almost certainly not true Asian apes like orangutans or gibbons, but monkeys like the Indian rhesus or langur. Kophim, the

Hebrew word for “apes” is a general term which also includes monkeys. In fact, some modern translations of the Bible read “apes and monkeys” rather than “apes and peacocks.” Presumably they were brought to be kept as pets or a status symbol for the wealthy. Some people keep exotic animals for similar reasons today.

Neither monkeys nor apes were native to the Biblical lands, but no doubt the Israelites knew of these creatures quite early in their history, for the nearby Egyptians kept several kinds of monkeys. They were clearly prized by their owners, because some have been found mummified. Examination of these mummies has revealed that some suffered from rickets , which is caused by vitamin deficiency. This was no doubt because of the unnatural diets on which they were fed. Others had tuberculosis, the result of being kept in close proximity to humans, and therefore in contact with human diseases.

It is sad when wild animals, particularly highly intelligent primates, are kept as playthings or symbols of wealth. I give thanks for animal rescue centres and for the dedicated people who nurse ill-treated “pets” back to health and, whenever possible, rehabilitate them so they can be released into the wild places where they belong.

A prayer:

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that will be put to death.

We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion, and gentle hands and kindly words.

Make us ourselves, to be true friends to animals, and so to share the blessings of the merciful. AMEN

(Albert Schweitzer, 1875-1965)

– Rev John Barnett
Image: Langur monkeys, India (photo: Pete Wildman)

The male Red Deer, called the “hart” in the Authorised Version, is mentioned 11 times in the Bible, and the female, or “hind” 10 times. It seems evident from these references that it was both plentiful and valuable in the Old Testament period. Only the male is referred to as a food item, which is possibly an example of good conservation practice. The females will bear a fawn each year, whilst only a small number of males are needed for breeding purposes. They were regularly on the menu in Solomon’s palace (1 Kings 4: 23)

In the UK today, the Red Deer is most common in Scotland, where there is no lack of water, but in the Middle East water can become scarce in times of drought, and streams can dry up completely. This was in the mind of the writer of Psalm 42, which, in the Good News Bible, begins, “As a deer longs for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for you, the living God; when can I go and worship in your presence?” In the original Hebrew the Psalmist uses a word that refers to the bleating sound made by the deer when they were in an agony of thirst during a drought.

Read on in this Psalm and it becomes clear that the writer was longing to worship in the Temple, but was far away from Jerusalem. Maybe he was living during a time of war, or was one of the exiles in Babylon, we cannot be sure. “My heart breaks when I remember the past“, he writes, “when I went with the crowds to the house of God…” (verse 4). Maybe youhave sometimes felt like that when Covid-19 restrictions have kept you from attending your usual place of worship. I was recently listening to a recording of the organ of West Kirby Methodist Church and felt a sudden pang of longing to be back in its familiar surroundings with my fellow worshippers once again.

Psalms 42 and 43 appear to be two parts of the same Psalm, and there is a refrain that is repeated twice in the former and once in the latter. “Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise Him, my saviour and my God.” Let those words comfort us as we look forward to the time when we can return with our friends to our beloved places of worship. Never forget, though, that God is still with us, here and now, wherever we may be.

A Prayer:

As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.
You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.
You alone are my strength, my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you. AMEN

(Singing the Faith 544, Martin J. Nystrom, b. 1956)

– Rev John Barnett

Image: Hürriyet Daily News, Turkey

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Not only did David have to contend with lions in his shepherding days, but bears were also a threat to his flock (I Samuel chapter 17 verses 34 – 37). They were quite common in the Middle East in Old Testament times, when much more of the land was forested than in the present day.

A strange incident involving bears is recorded in 2 Kings, chapter 2, verses 23 and 24. The prophet Elisha cursed some boys who were mocking him and calling him “Baldy”. Two she- bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces. Having little hair on top myself, I have a degree of sympathy with Elisha, but calling down a curse like this upon the boys seems an over-reaction, to say the least.

Seriously, it is hard to imagine a man of God acting in such a vindictive manner towards some cheeky youngsters. I suspect this story got into 2 Kings because it was told by parents to their children as a warning against making fun of their elders. In a similar way, many cultures around the world have legends about fearsome lake dwelling monsters, which were probably told at first to stop children playing too close to the water. The story also shows the awe and respect with which a prophet was regarded: this was a man you messed with at your peril!

We must remember, too, that the Old Testament gives us an account of a developing relationship between a people and their God. It contains some wonderful insights into His being and His nature, but at times its writers convey an understanding of God that appears to conflict with the full revelation given to us by Jesus Christ.

How different is the reaction attributed to Elisha in the 2 Kings story to that of Jesus recorded in the Gospel according to St Luke, chapter 9, verses 51 – 55. When the people of a Samaritan village refused to receive Him, he rebuked James and John for wanting to call down fire upon them. St Luke also records, in chapter 23, verse 34, that even as Jesus was being crucified, rather than cursing His tormentors, He prayed that they might be forgiven.

A prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, I admit that I am a sinner. I confess my sins to you, especially those upon my conscience. I firmly believe that you died for me to take away my sins. And now, according to your promise, I open my heart to you. Come in, Lord Jesus, and be my Saviour and Friend for ever. AMEN

(source unknown)

Image: Syrian brown bear (pixabay.com)

In Old Testament times, lions were to be found throughout the Middle East, and they feature in a number of Bible stories. Samson killed one with his bare hands, and later found a swarm of bees had made their home inside its carcass (Judges, chapter 14). He told the Philistines a riddle about it, “Out of the strong came forth sweetness”, which Abram Lyle adopted in 1883 as a trade mark for his Golden Syrup, along with the picture of the dead lion and the bees which still appears on Lyle’s Golden Syrup tins and bottles today.

David defended his sheep from lions (1 Samuel 17, verses 34 – 37), and Daniel spent a night in a pit with several of them (Daniel chapter 6). Lions were still present in the Holy Land in New Testament times, but much rarer. They were not completely eradicated there until the time of the Crusades, and some survived in Iraq and Iran until the early 1900s. All these lions belonged to a distinct Asiatic sub-species, which is now only found wild in the Gir Forest reserve in Gujarat, India. Some are also kept in captive collections, including at Chester Zoo.

In the Revelation to St John, chapter 5, Christ is called “The lion of Judah” (verse 5). This title goes back to Jacob’s final blessing of his sons, in Genesis chapter 49, where he declares “Judah is like a lion” (verse 9). In John’s vision, however, Christ, though announced as a lion, appears as a lamb bearing the marks of slaughter. We are presented with the great mystery of the Incarnation, the “meekness and majesty”, as Graham Kendrick puts it, of “the man who is God” (Singing the Faith 362).

C. S. Lewis used the lion imagery from Revelation in his Narnia stories. In “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” Aslan the lion is killed by his enemies, but comes back to life and puts an end to Narnia’s long winter. We can rejoice that the power of God has been revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who in apparent weakness conquered the powers of darkness, and death itself, for ever.

A prayer:

Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which you have won for us,
for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly, day by day. AMEN

(Richard of Chichester, 1197 – 1253)

Image: Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup tin (photo Pete Wildman)

The camel, like the ox, often finds its way into pictures of the Nativity, especially on Christmas cards depicting the Wise Men. Also like the ox, it is nowhere mentioned in the Gospel stories of the birth of Jesus. It is quite likely, however, that wealthy travellers like the Magi would have ridden camels.

We saw last week how the ox became part of the traditional Nativity scene because of a text in the first chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. For a similar reason the camel found its place in depictions of the journey and arrival of the Wise Men. In Isaiah chapter 60, verse 6, we read “A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” Because gold and frankincense are mentioned, this prophesy about the nations coming to worship the God of Israel became associated with the story of the Magi coming to bow down before the infant Messiah.

The Lord Jesus Himself referred to the camel after His meeting with the man who is often referred to as “The Rich Young Ruler”. He declared, “It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (Mark chapter 10, verse 25). Some commentators have suggested that He had in mind a small gate called “The Needle’s Eye” in the city wall of Jerusalem. It could be opened to let someone in after the large main gates had been closed for the night. A camel was just able to pass

through it, but not if it was carrying a load. Understood this way, the parable tells us that money and possessions must not be allowed to dominate our lives. We have to put Jesus first and be ready to drop all the baggage that keeps us from walking in His Narrow Way. That was what the Rich Young Ruler was unwilling to do.

A prayer:

Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold…take my love; my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure-store; take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee. AMEN

(From Singing the Faith 566, by Frances Ridley Havergal, 1836 – 1879)

– Rev John Barnett
Image: camels in the desert (photo by Pete Wildman)