What Do the Animals Teach Us?

Last week, during the Sabbath service, I talked about springtime and I talked about the new babies which are being born. Dale talked about the new calves they've had on their place. And on our ranch, we've had two Icelandic mares that have foamed thus far this spring. And it's always exciting to see that process. You know, it's exciting to watch as the foals hit the ground and literally within a matter of minutes, this little wobbly-kneed foal is up on their feet and they're searching to nurse from their mother. I mean, it's just instinctive and it's just striking to me just how strong that draw and that instinct is. So just in a few minutes, they're nursing and then in a few hours, at least these babies, they're running loops around the backyard. And you think, you know, that was just inside its mother a few hours ago and it's exploring the world. It's running loops. Mom's chasing kind of frantically behind saying, big scary world, big scary world, you know, and trying to keep it away from anything and everything that could be perceived as a threat. Of course, horses are herd animals, so we don't actually turn a baby immediately out into the pasture with the other horses. But we have, again, our backyard is sort of fenced off from the pasture that goes out from there. But all the other horses, they want to see what's going on. And they're social and so pretty quick, they're all lining the fence looking over at the new baby and they're knickering and they're talking and they're calling to the baby. And the new mom is very sure to let them know just whose baby that is. You know, she's tossing her head up. She's, you know, let's go stand in this corner just as far away from the rest of them as we can. This last week, Darla turned out the newest foal into the pasture, her little filly. And again, to just watch and see them settle into the herd, to see the social order that takes place is just fun to just sit back and observe. And we have a colt that was born about a month ago now, so he's a little bit bigger and you want to watch and make sure he's not playing too rough with the baby that's just a week old. And of course, he's tipping towing over wanting to meet the new one. He's excited for something his size out there, being the only foal. And of course, mother is telling him to keep his distance and should he get too excited, we have the other mares who have had foals. And they're sort of like, as Dale was talking about, they're the grandmothers in the herd. And if they think this baby's getting a little too rambunctious with the other, they'll just kind of cut in there and cut him out almost like, you know, a cow cutting type of maneuver.

So it's fun to watch in the springtime as these things take place. It's fun to observe the pecking order. We have one mare that is, you know, she stands watch over the pasture and if a neighbor dog comes wandering in or too many geese landed into the pasture, she's on the move and she's chasing them out, anything she might perceive as a threat. You know, the complexity and the instinct and the relationships that God has designed into the animal world is amazing to watch.

It's amazing to just consider and meditate on. And frankly, it's important to learn from as well. There's a lot of lessons that God has designed into the animal world around us that if we just have our eyes open and we'll look, there are lessons we can learn that apply directly to our lives today.

But as human beings, we can tend to get so busy with everyday life. You know, we have a living to make, we're things to do, places to be, and we can almost just, you know, at 80 miles an hour, blow by what's going on out here in the pasture on the side of the interstate or what's happening even in our own backyard. And I'd like to encourage us not to. I'd like to encourage us to slow down, you know, to take a look around, to consider God's creation as he's designed it into the animal world.

Because there are important lessons that we can learn by simply observing them. And in fact, there's important attributes about God himself that we can learn by observing the creation and the animal creation he has set around us. So my message today is titled, What do the animals teach us? It's a question, and we'll delve into the Bible, and we'll at least scratch on the surface of that answer today. What do the animals teach us? To begin with, I want to see what the Bible shows is man's proper relationship to the animals.

You know, in this pecking order, if I can use that term, where's man and where's the animal and what is our responsibility towards the animals that God has created. I want to begin in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26 today. It's always amazing to me how many roads lead to Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, but in this case, it is instructive to our relationship to the animals. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26 says, Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.

It says, Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God gave man dominion, and He gave them oversight over the animal creation. Verse 27, So God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created him male and female, He created them. Then God blessed them, and He said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Again, dominion over the animals. It doesn't mean a heavy-handed or an abusive approach. But it does mean dominion. Dominion is a position of responsibility. It's a position of care. And it's what we would call stewardship. Stewardship is something, essentially, in this case where God says, You know what? I've created it, and it is mine, and you're going to care for what is mine. He says, I've placed mankind into a position of oversight and dominion over something that is mine. And I want you to care for it in a very special way.

God created man as the pinnacle of His creation. And He created the animals as well to be under man's proper management. Mankind has not always done well with that process, have we? You know, coming up with a long rifle so that you can get out at a great distance and behind a hill and just pick off the buffalo one by one by one by the thousands, you know, ultimately. And sit there, and if you got out of range with that long rifle so they didn't hear the shot, and if they didn't bell or when they went down, the herd wasn't spooked.

And people could just drop them one by one by one by one and take the hide. And God did permit us and does, and allow us to use the animals for food, to use them for clothing and aright and proper in a balanced way. But there is responsibility to these things, and it must be done as God intended from the beginning.

Man is to care well for the state of the animal world, and in doing so, we actually learn a thing or two about the character of God along the way as well. As we interact with the animals, as we fulfill our responsibility towards them that God has given us, we're going to learn something about God in the process. I want to notice the care that God Himself keeps over the animal world first. Let's look at Psalm chapter 147, verse 7.

Psalm 147 and beginning in verse 7, because again, what we do is what God has given us to do, but ultimately He is the one that maintains oversight overall. Psalm 147 in verse 7 says, sings to the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praises on the harp to our God. Notice, who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. Verse 9 says, He gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens who cry. And so God is a merciful provider to the animals of the earth. He's created an ecosystem, an environment where the rains come down and the grass grows, and it's food for the animals, and He's created it in a proper balance from the beginning that these would be well cared for.

Psalm 104 in verse 10. See a little more of how His oversight is managed. Psalm 104 in verse 10, it says, He sends the springs into the valleys. They flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. Verse 12, By them the birds of heaven have their home. They sing among the branches.

It says, God waters the hills from His upper chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works. It says, He causes the grass to grow for the cattle and the vegetation for the service of man, that He may bring forth food from the earth and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make His face shine and bread, which strengthens man's heart. Verse 16, The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which He planted, where the birds make their nests. The stork has her home in the fir trees. It says, The high hills are for the wild goats.

The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers. We'll come back to the rock badgers in a while.

Verse 19, it says, He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows it's going down. He says, You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. Again, there's a system that's been designed, but it was designed by God, and ultimately it is God who provides and feeds the animals in this way. The lion, they seek their food from God. Verse 22, When the sun rises, they gather together and lie down in their dens, and man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. And so these verses express God's bountiful provisions for both man and beast.

By his hand there is an order in the creation, and through that order God provides for all.

As we observe the animal world around us, it should teach us to trust. Trust in what? Well, to trust in the care and the provision from God. When we see what God has done and does do to provide for the animals, how much more will he not do for us? He made human beings the pinnacle of his creation, right, in his image. He's called us for a purpose to be a part of his divine family. If God of heaven cares for the beasts of the field and those in the mountains, the wild animals that roam about, how much more will he not provide for and care what we need and provide for us day by day?

It's an important lesson that we learn by observing simply the order of the animal realm around us and the provision that God provides. Let's notice Jesus' words in this regard in Matthew 6. Matthew 6 and verse 25. Again, in perspective of what God does for the creation simply by his natural order, what much more would he do for us, whom he's bringing along for his divine purpose?

Matthew 6 and verse 25 here are the words of Jesus Christ. Now, breaking into the context, he says, therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? He says, look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Jesus Christ says, you know, you do need to make a living. I mean, that is part of our life and other scriptures show. If a man doesn't work, he doesn't ease. But if your life is swallowed up in the pursuit of those things, and it's like, you know, I don't even have energy and time for God, because I have to put this roof over my head and provide this food. We do have to have roof over our head and food on our table. But trusting God for once you have done what you've done in its proper measure, that he will do what he has promised to do. You are of more valuable than the birds.

If you go to another verse I didn't put in my notes, but later on in Matthew, you know, five sparrows are sold for two copper coins, basically a couple of pennies, and yet, you know, it's not apart from God's understanding, and he's counted the hairs on your head. So again, how much more will he not provide for you as the focus of his creation? We are very precious in his sight. The overall context here of Matthew 6 is found in the concluding verse 33.

It says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. That's the focus, and that's what we're to put our intention on first and foremost. We must never doubt that God is the great provider who will give us what we need in order to accomplish the calling that he set before us all. So if we're running to and fro, and we're taking our eyes off him, and we're doing these things at the exclusion of God, then slow down. Consider the birds of the air. Consider the birds. Consider what God does. Consider what he is willing to do for you if you seek first his kingdom and seek to put on by his blessing his righteousness. You have more value than birds will be provided for in an incredible way. God's care for the animals, brethren, proves his care for us. And that's an important lesson that we can receive by just looking around at the creation. Again, seeing how it functions, God's care for the animals proves his care for us.

Now when it comes to observing specific animals, the Bible does give us examples of animals that we can look to in the world around us that give us instruction. That if we'll see just how they conduct themselves and go about their routines, we'll learn something that we can apply in our life in a productive way as well. One of those animals is the ant. Right? The ant. It's a very, very tiny animal. You know, the ones we like to eradicate and spray and keep out of our houses. The ant. I've slept the many nights with ants in West Africa. But ants, though, are things you can learn. And honestly, watching them in my hotel and other places have been times that has actually fascinated me. The pattern by which they move and the work that they do. But ants do have lessons they can teach us. Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 6. Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 6.

You're a book of wisdom. And in verse 6 it says, Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. So there's a lesson that a lazy person can learn from the ants. And there's lessons that the rest of us as well, lazy or not, can learn from observing the ants also. Just as they go about in their natural realm of behavior. Verse 7, it says, which having no captain or overseer or ruler provides her supplies in the summer, gathers her food in the harvest. Verse 9 says, How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an armed man. The contrast that set here between the sluggard and the ant is remarkable. And it's dramatic. Because you see, the sluggard is one who will come to poverty, as it says, due to inaction. But the ant is one who will be well provided for and have provision due to its diligence. Ants are energetic.

I don't know if you've ever taken time just to study them. When I was a kid, I used to kind of level their mounds. I suppose it wasn't very kind, but I loved to just watch the way thousands of ants would go in a hundred directions and be busy rebuilding it. Kids, please don't do that.

It was something to see and to watch, and they are busy, and they are active, and they have a purpose. They're energetic, and they're industrious. Ants are self-motivated. They don't have a captain ordering them to work. They just automatically go about doing what needs to be done. And you know what? They do it in the season that it must be done. Right? That's a big part of the lesson as well. They don't wake up in the middle of winter when everything is frozen over and say, okay, let's get to work. They do it in the season in which it needs to be done. And we can learn a lesson from them. They store up their food for the harvest. They store it up at the harvest, okay, for the winter. Again, ants in Africa, by my observation, have been especially good at this.

There was a trip last year that I was on with Henry Aikens in Ghana, and we went up north to the farthest north congregation that we have of Yeji in Ghana. It was kind of a long road trip.

We were on the road for a lot of hours. We had made some stops and visits along the way, and we eventually arrived in Yeji, hot, dusty, dropped our bags off where we'd be staying, and somebody, probably me, made a recommendation that there's got to be a watering hole somewhere around here. So we went and found a little spot we'd actually been to before and ordered a beer and sat down just to kind of unwind and decompress a little bit before bed.

Something I've discovered quite a while ago was that Henry likes corn nuts.

There's little, just salted corn nuts, and I've started bringing those over with me.

We're sitting there with a beer in front of us, and I whip out this package of corn nuts, and I rip them open and tear the foil down the side, and three or four fall on the ground underneath the table. I just left them, and we went on our conversation, and about 10 minutes later, I glanced under the table because I didn't want to, I was going to pick them up, I didn't want to be just smashing them on the floor there, and they were gone. Like, where'd the corn nuts go? And I look out, and about 10 feet away, across the room, here's the corn nuts heading out in the line, and they have legs. They have legs, because the ants had found them. They say, what are these, and they're marching, and I went over there, and I had to take a look, and here each corn nut's got, probably, I remember, like five or six ants underneath, and they're kind of struggling, and the corn nuts spinning like this as they're walking, because they're trying to walk it forward, but it was the time of harvest, right? And they're taking prime advantage while it was there.

That's the lesson of the ant. They're industrious, and they work in the proper season, and they store up for time of need. The slugger, on the other hand, sleeps too much, and he sleeps at the wrong time, right? He lacks motivation in the season in which he should be motivated to get out there and be productive. He's not a self-starter, and so he misses out on the opportunities of life that would result in a full supply house, a full storehouse. And we don't want to be that person physically, definitely, but even more so, we don't want to be that person spiritually.

We don't want to be the person that fails to wake up. Isn't that what the Bible tells us? Wake up.

Paul says, now is the time to awake out of sleep, and we're to be doing something spiritually. We're to be storing up. Frankly, there are troubles coming, brethren, in difficult times. Times detest men's souls, and if you consider the ten virgins, five or wise, and actually stored up not just what they needed in their lamp at the moment, but they had oil in their vessels with their lamp. They had a spiritual reserve that helped to bring them through the difficult times and to keep their lamp from going out. This is the season to build our strength of relationship with God and to build that strong relationship because, again, times are coming to test those things. And when the time of test is here, isn't the time to go back and prepare? You better have already been prepared.

Go to the ant, learn her ways, and be wise. What other animals does the Bible tell us we can learn from? Let's go to Proverbs chapter 30 verse 24. Proverbs 30 and verse 24. We have a few of them listed here. Proverbs chapter 30 and verse 24. Again, a book of wisdom. What will we learn from the lesson? Verse 24 says, there are four things which are little on earth, but they are exceedingly wise. You know, four things that you would look at and say, that's nothing. You know, just squash it and you're on your way. But it says exceedingly wise. So before you squash it, maybe you should take a look and consider. Verse 25 says, the ants, again, are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer. We've covered the ants here, I think, sufficiently. Verse 26 says, the rock badgers. The rock badgers are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags.

They are feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. What can we learn from the rock badger?

Well, the rock badger is a weak creature, and it's not significant. It's not going to stand its ground necessarily in an incredible defense of and by itself. But the rock badger knows where its strength and security comes from. And that's its advantage. It knows where its strength and security comes from. It's not of himself, but it comes through a relationship with the rock.

The rock badger's advantage comes with a relationship with the rock. When predators seek his life, the rock badger hides in the cleft of the rock, in the cracks of the rock. It kind of gets in there where a predator can't reach in and grab it and pull it out.

Maybe when it's out doing whatever it does during the day or hunting, it's actually got a camouflage and it blends with the rock. So you have the hawks flying overhead, maybe the owls that would even come out at night, and yet nothing by and large is going to detect it. At least it's close to the rock, but it blends. And so there's camouflage and there's safety and security at the rock, and that is its strength. The rock badger sticks close to the rock.

To venture away from the rock puts the rock badger into a perilous position where death could easily result. He's in the open, he's exposed, and now he can get picked off with in order to hide for refuge. And it's an important lesson for us to learn as well. The lesson is, never try to stand your own ground apart from our spiritual rock. Never try to stand on your own, brethren, apart from our spiritual rock. Run to the rock is the lesson. Hide yourself in the clefts of the rock. Run there for security because the rock is your refuge. It is your spiritual protection. It is the strength that God himself provides to you. Cling to the rock is just as the rock badger does for that protection because we would all be exposed and we would all be subject to death apart from our spiritual rock, Jesus Christ. Right apart from him, we are all under the penalty of death and exposed to him, but life comes through the rock of the sacrifice that God has provided.

Next animal, verse 27, says, the locust. The locust have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. They have no king, yet they all advanced in ranks. What can we learn from the locust?

Well, the locust succeed through unity, through organization, and through cooperation. They all advance in ranks. Let's pick off a lowly grasshopper. He's really not a lot to be contended with. You know, he's not going to do much against you, but what does a whole swarm do? What does a locust plague do? You know, have you ever read the Little House on the Prairie books? They witnessed a locust plague that came through the nation at that time, and the sun went to darkness. And it was like night because this cloud moved in and descended, and the chewing locust ate everything in sight that was green, and is described kind of like a marching army that went through. And it's very much, if you go to the book of Joel, how the Day of the Lord is described. Joel actually takes a locust plague, which took place sometime historically in Israel, and uses it as a type of a descriptor of what the Day of the Lord will be like. And it's like this army that just goes marching through and devours everything before it, green before it, like the Garden of Eden, and yet it's just desolate behind.

That's what a lot of locusts can do as they come together in their unity, organization, and cooperation. Likewise, when people band together in unity and cooperation, things get done, don't they?

We had a work party out at Bev Lafferty's place last week, and a large number of adults showed up.

And it was a blessing, and a lot got done in a short period of time. When you put your efforts together, things get done. And when the people of God band together in this unity by God's Spirit, they are unstoppable, too. You're not going to stand in the way of a locust plague and just sort of hold your hand up and hold back the tide and order them to stop. They will do what they will do, and by God's blessing and by His Spirit, His people will be unstoppable in His service as well. And that's a lesson that we can learn by observing the locust. Verse 28 now, again, still Proverbs 30 and verse 28, it says, the spider skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in King's palace's spiders. Who doesn't? What's your reaction to a spider?

Probably to get your shoe and make short work of him, right? So again, it says that the spider skillfully grasps with his hands, and it's in King's palaces. Some Bible translations might say lizard here. There's a little back and forth on whether it's spider or lizard, but let's say spider for the sake of discussion here. I kind of was struggling to think what can we learn from the spider, but it's in the King's palaces. It's in these royal palaces, right? So what do we do? I mean, it's in there in my house. They're probably in your house. I saw a statistic, I think, something to the effect of 55,000 spiders per square acre. So they're around, all right? And you can spray for them. You can put out traps for them. You can do whatever, but if a spider is wise, he will be in your house. And if a spider is wise, he'll be in the King's palace, right? The most royal place that he could be. So what about the people of God? If we want to maybe draw a comparison today, we are coming again into an age where what the people of God stand for will be despised by the world we live in. There will actually arise a religious and political system that would seek to exterminate, okay, the people of God. And yet, if we are wise, if we are led by God's Spirit and are under God's protection, and we receive his blessing, we will dwell in the King's palace as a result, right? Those whom the world would despise and seek to eradicate at the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I think that's a lesson perhaps we could draw from the spider. But again, he skillfully grasps with his hands. And remember, this book is wisdom, and the four little things on the earth that we're talking about are exceedingly wise. So this is the execution of wisdom. Things we can learn from these animals. One other animal that is popular around our house, again I keep coming back to it, though. It's kind of got a special place in our heart because there's more of them than us.

And that's horses, right? And there's horses. The book of Job actually has some high praise for the qualities of the horse, and we can learn quite a few things from them as well. Job chapter 39 in verse 19. Job 39 in verse 19. The context of this section of Job is essentially God's answer to Job.

Job's going through this great trial, wondering why, asking questions, questioning God. And God has a response for Job, which is basically like, well, where were you in the beginning when I did these things? When I laid the foundation of the earth? When I brought these things to pass? Let's make sure we have a proper perspective of who God is and Job who you are. And so it's in the midst of this conversation that we find Job 39 in verse 19. God says, have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder? Can you frighten him like a locust? You know, can you just cause him, even this bold brave horse, to jump out of his place like a locust? He says, his majestic snorting strikes terror. His paws in the valley and he rejoices in his strength. He gallops into the clash of arms. So we're not talking about any ordinary horse here or wild horse out on the range. We're talking about a war horse. Okay, a horse that has been brought into subjection and trained and now this is a horse that is a war horse that will charge into battle without fear. It says, he gallops into the clash of arms. Verse 22, he mocks at fear and is not frightened, nor does he turn back from the sword. The quiver rattles against him, the glistering spear and the javelin. He devours the distance with fierceness and rage. You know, he closes the gap between him and the enemy very, very quickly. Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded. At the blast of the trumpet he says, ah, and smells the battle from afar, the thunder of captains and shouting. This is describing a very great and a very powerful animal here. You know, many horses, because I asked Darla about this, many horses by nature are actually flight animals. You know, an explosion goes off by them, they turn and run. You know, loud noise, you can, you actually have to work with training. As she works with her horses, she'll get them out, and eventually where you can ride them by the highway, and a semi can go downhill with their jake break on, and the horse doesn't bock or jump or shy. But generally that takes training, but it's still within, I would say, the character of the horse, but maybe it needs to be brought out. Many horses with the right training can be brave and bold and fearless, as God's describing here. You know, think of police riot horses. Have you seen them on TV? You have this sea of people, and this crowd, and the police that are trying to hold the line, or maybe even push people back, and they're on horseback. What do those horses have to be ready for? I mean, they're pushing into a sea of people, and sometimes it's an angry mob, and people are shouting, right? They're waving their arms, they're hollering, they're doing various things, they're trying to get the horse to throw the rider off, and yet the horse has to be rock solid and tough as steel. And they're throwing bottles at the horses, they're doing all kinds of things. That is training for them to hold their ground. As God's people, we're instructed to take on those same qualities as well.

2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, not a spirit of turn and run at resistance, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind.

Proverbs chapter 28 verse 1 says, The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. You know, just stand up to the resistance and stand your ground. No matter the obstacle, no matter the aggression against you, when it is right, you hold your position.

The horse described here in the book of Job is not a wild animal. Again, it's been brought into subjection by man. It's part of man's dominion over them. He has brought him and he has now trained him. And this horse devotes its strength, its boldness, and its courage to serving its master. And brethren, so must we. So must we.

One of my favorite stories of horse bravery surrounds a little mayor of Mongolian descent known as Sergeant Reckless. Perhaps you've heard of her, Sergeant Reckless. You can go online and Google. There's a number of articles and my write-up on her. I've just kind of pulled information from various places and put it together. I will quote an article or portion of an article about her shortly, but I want to share some of her story. Sergeant Reckless, because to me it's inspiring.

Reckless, once known as Flame by her original owner, was purchased in October 1952 by members of the United States Marine Corps from the racetrack in Seoul, Korea. The Korean War was raging at the time as Flame was trained to be a pack horse for the recoilless rifle platoon anti-tank company, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. She was trained to be a pack horse and she was going to be used actually in combat, bringing arms and bringing actually the ammunition for the recoilless guns to the front lines. That would be her job.

Says Flame was a young chestnut colored mare. She was about three years old. She stood just at 14 hands tall, so really not a large horse by any means. She had a white blaze, three white stockings, and a willing heart of gold. She was named Reckless by her division members and was trained to carry up to nine 24-pound shells needed to supply the recoilless rifles that the unit used in the field. So these recoilless rifles shot big rounds and when you had the rounds that were packed with gunpowder or whatever the explosive was, they were about 24, 20 to 24 pounds each. And she was trained to pack nine of them at a time to resupply the division.

It says, because they were fighting in rugged and mountain terrain, the horse was best suited to carry far more ammunition in less time than men on foot. Reckless was quite intelligent. She only needed to be shown a supply route two or three times with somebody leading her before she could run the route on her own. So she would be trained to go out and where the outposts were, and she would be loaded up in the day and she would be sent off, and she would go to the first outpost, they would unload, and she would go to the next outpost and come back at the end of the day again alone, running those mountain trails without a handler and running that circuit.

She was taught battlefield survival skills, which would preserve her life throughout the numerous bouts of action that she saw. Reckless was trained to navigate through barbed wire without becoming entangled. She was trained not to panic at the explosion of nearby munitions. I mean, you have bombs that came in, you had people that stepped on landmines and they went off, and you had the recoilless rifles which fired, which were incredibly loud, sending fire back in return as well. So she was taught not to turn and bolt at the sound of those unexpected noises, not to panic. She was taught to lie down when personally under fire, even ducking into the trenches with the troops and keeping her head down at times of incoming fire. When in camp, she learned to run for the bunker whenever hearing the shout, incoming. So, you know, incoming. Here comes, you know, a mortar shell or something into the camp, or there an explosion went off. She would automatically just run for the bunker with the troops. It says, Reckless quickly won the hearts of her fellow troops, and in return the men she served with became her herd. She was allowed to roam freely about the camp and to enter the tents, even to sleep with the troops on cold nights.

She enjoyed eating with the men as well. She often entertained them by consuming scrambled eggs and toast with morning coffee. You can imagine, I mean, this was a service member alongside them, but, you know, they have a little fun with an animal now and then, and apparently she was game. She liked peanut butter sandwiches and mashed potatoes, and she cannot be left with food unattended around her. A camp rule limited her to two bottles of Coca-Cola per day. You gotta not make the horse sick, you know, even if she's game. She was known to enjoy an occasional beer or two with the men, even a shot of whiskey, and she even once ate $30 worth of game-winning poker chips. You know, you figure a poker night in the camp after a couple of rounds, perhaps she got a little carried away. I suppose if they wanted to wait long enough, they could always recover their winnings. Reckless, most significant accomplishment came at the Battle of Outpost Vegas during the waning months of the Korean War. Her fellow platoon members were engaged in a fierce firefight, attempting to repel the Chinese forces, pounding that mountaintop Outpost. Outpost Vegas sat up at the top of a ridge. More than 500 mortar and artillery rounds per minute rained down on their position. The 5th Marine Regiment's defense of that ridge depended heavily on supplies conveyed to them on the back of a horse named Reckless. I want to quote for you from an article. It's posted on a website, horsestarshallofaim.org. Horsestarshallofaim.org is put up by the Equus Foundation.

On that website, under the heading of inductees list, because they have all these horses of note that are part of their inductees list now in their Hall of Fame, under the inductees list, the heading Staff Sergeant Reckless is this article. It's quoted with permission. Again, horsestarshallofaim.org. You can go look up the complete article and even watch video with pictures on Reckless. It says, quote, by January 1953, Reckless had been promoted to corporal and was routinely was packing ammunition when the recoilless rifle squads engaged in scrimmages and firefights and longer planned operations. It says, but brave and steadfast as she was in combat from the start it was the savage battle for outpost Vegas in April of 1953 that revealed the true extent of her courage and resilience. It says, for the better parts of three days and nights she hauled ammunition to the recoilless rifles by day and the mortar crews by night with periodic breaks for water and feed and short periods of sleep. Trained to travel by herself, she prompted one marine to observe that she was so fast no handler could have kept up with her anyway. She was wounded twice in that battle. As you can imagine, again, so much artillery was coming in, so much was being shot out, and some of the writings said, you know, there was so much that it was just a blur on the radar screen you couldn't determine and munitions collided in midair. There was so much metal flying through the air, so she was wounded twice, probably by, you know, just metal flying around. She was patched up and she resumed her work without hesitation. Time and again, her fellow marines marveled at her resoluteness as she maneuvered across areas where shrapnel was falling and ran along the narrow berms beside the rice paddies, never stepping off into the mine-laden bogs. In one day alone, during that terrible April siege, she made 51 trips to the recoilless rifle sites, in all traveling more than 35 miles. In one day, again, the map and the elevation, it was a 45-degree climb from where she was picking up the munitions and taking them up the hill. So, I mean, she was literally leaning into the hill on each trip, carrying them up and making the return.

51 trips, more than 35 miles. So, she carried 386 of the heavy shells, each weighing 20 to 23 pounds, depending on their content, a total of over 9,000 pounds of explosives, again, in one day.

Then, descending the ridge to reload, she carried back down the wounded or the dead on her back.

It is acknowledged that because of what reckless accomplished in the battle, many Marines came home who might not have otherwise. Simply put, she was one of them.

Her buddies cut her no slack, yet protected her with their lives, at times taking off their flak jackets to cover her instead. They were bound together by an amazing, as an amazing unit, that accomplished more than either she or her fellow Marines could have done alone.

She was also their friend, if only for a few minutes at a time, raising their spirits and making them laugh. End quote. Horses are flight animals, again. This is a quote from Robin Hutton, who is the author of a book titled, Sargent Reckless, America's War Horse. Hutton says, horses are flight animals, but reckless ran toward the danger because she knew the guys needed her. Quite a remarkable story. What an animal can be trained to do, but you know, it's more than just training its heart. And it's something I think we can all take a lesson from.

What can we learn from this remarkable horse? How about the importance of training?

Right? Okay, so Reckless went through what they called hoof camp. It's kind of like boot camp, but it's for horses. Hoof camp. And she was trained. Trained in battlefield techniques, trained to stay alive, trained to protect the men around her and how to respond in certain conditions, and following through and sticking with her training kept her alive. And it probably kept others alive, and it definitely did, along the way as well. Brethren, as a result of our calling, we're in training. Right? And again, challenging times are coming, but we are trained by God day by day, week by week, by His Spirit that's in us, by His Word that is before us. And what is essential to us in difficult times of opposition is remember your training. Training's important.

If you stick with your training, indeed, when times get tough, it is something that can preserve your life. Another thing we can learn from this horse as well is stamina. You know, bending into that, leaning into that 45 degree hill, 51 trips time after time, load after load. You have to be in shape, you have to be in fit, and you have to be able to stand when the time comes. Another lesson is mental fortitude and focus. Mental fortitude and focus. You say, well, it's just an animal. That's true, but it's an animal that could have turned and bolted, and there you go. But she didn't. And she stayed focused on her training. She knew where to go, where to come back. The bombs were exploding around her, and one description within the book describes the fact that, you know, eyewitness accounts say it sounded like 100 tornadoes at one time just tearing the mountain apart. So the explosions, the smoke, the noise, the debris, mental fortitude and focus, she could not waive her from what her mission was. And frankly, neither can you and I. Our focus must be clear as the people of God. Loyalty is another lesson we could learn from this horse. This was her company. This was her herd. These were the men that she had trained with and the ones that she had served this whole time. And there was actually loyalty between this horse and the men, and in return, back from the men to the horse. And that loyalty and that bond kept them together as a unit. And again, it saved lives. And finally, you know, we could come up with many more bravery.

Right? Bravery, just a willingness to step forward when the bombs were exploding around her.

One eyewitness account described it as, time after time, this horse would emerge from the smoke. And it just, like, brought cheer to everybody because you're about out of ammunition, the horse has been gone however long it's been gone, you know, running the route. And you're getting firebombed up on the hill, and this horse emerges from the smoke with the pack on its back in the ammunition. And one described it as, it was like an angel was riding this horse. And, but again, courage and bravery to push forward. As you can imagine, Reckless quickly became a media star. She was shipped to the United States in 1954. It was actually a promise, right, that the whole group would come home, including the horse that had served with them. She retired with the official military rank of Staff Sergeant. So I guess if you were a corporal, you've saluted the horse, and rightly so. Retired as a military rank Staff Sergeant in 1960. She was stabled at Camp Pendleton, California, until her death in 1968. Due to her outstanding service in the United States Marine Corps, Sergeant Reckless was awarded the following words. She received two Purple Hearts for the wounds received during the Battle of Vegas. She received a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.

She received a Presidential Unit Citation with Bronze Star. She received the National Defense Service Medal. She received a Korean Service Medal. She received the United States Korea Medal. She received a Navy Unit Commendation, and she received a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. You know, clearly she was quite an incredible horse to consider. But again, we can learn many lessons from the animals that God has placed in the world around us.

Another quote from the article, HorseStarsHaulofFame.org on Sergeant Reckless, it says, Today Reckless statue stands at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia. In stride, that's her formation, she stretched out and leaning into the hill in stride, four shells strapped on her back. She again climbs a hill to supply the Reckless Rifles. Acquired by the Reckless Rifle platoon to haul ammunition to the front lines, she did that and so much more, packing ammunition beyond what anyone thought possible, saving lives, raising spirits, and winning the love and respect of all who knew her. End quote. And again, if you want to see pictures or the video, you can go to horsestarshauloffame.org and I'll actually post the the link to the summary of the sermon. If you'd like to go later, I received written permission to two years of our article and I want to give them proper credit in that way. But again, this was clearly a horse to consider. So many animals in God's creation have amazing characteristics to reflect upon and they each teach us valuable lessons. Did you know that honeybees can flap their wings 200 times per second? It's like 1-1,000 and that's the time frame. 200 times, I can't even...how is that even possible? Did you know that reindeer eyeballs turn blue in the winter to help them see at lower light levels? You know, it's like night vision that's been created into them.

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards for any length of time. They're just... their wings are incredible. They can actually maneuver them, tilt them at different angles. Hummingbirds, they can fly backwards, forwards, side to side. They can hover and they can even flip over and fly upside down. Just an incredible, incredible bird to consider. Did you know the stripes on a zebra act as a natural insect repellent? Disorients the visual acuity of certain insects, the black and white. Do you know that a flea can jump up to 200 times its own height?

You know, that's equal to a man jumping the Empire State Building. So, pretty, pretty incredible.

Did you know that the wood frog produces a glucose-based antifreeze, which allows it to be encased in solid ice for seven months in the Alaska winter? And it allows it to wake up just in time for the mating season. You know, pretty, pretty incredible. How many of man's modern innovations have been developed by simply, you know, observing the animal world, considering what it is that God has already created and then trying to copy that then for ourselves? Would we even have airplanes if birds didn't exist? You know, I wonder. Not only do these animals have amazing qualities, but they also declare the glory of God. They reveal His majesty and His awesomeness, and they reveal the mind of the Creator behind them that set these processes into motion to begin with. Indeed, the mind of God is awesome, and it should be mind-blowing to us. We see it simply by observing the natural creation around us. Going back to the concept of having dominion over the animals. You know, many of us have pets, and people have cats and dogs, some have horses, some have cows, some have goats, some have lizards. Well, one that I know of has lizards. But you know what? God has given us a responsibility through them as human beings to exercise the same kind of care over the animals that He exercises. Again, we consume animals for food. We use animals in our clothing. There has to be a proper balance in these things. But when you have the responsibility to care for a live animal, it is to be as God cares for them. And through that, we come to learn important things.

King David was a shepherd of sheep. Before he became king of Israel, right? You recall, he was out tending his father's flocks. And it was that understanding of the interactions between the shepherd and the sheep, which he drew upon to write one of the most beloved and well-known psalms that we have recorded in the Bible. It was because of his understanding of the interaction and the close relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. David learned that among the flocks.

So let's conclude over in Psalm chapter 23. Psalm chapter 23. Again, the stewardship, the dominion that we have over the animals and how we interact with them teaches us a lot about them, teaches us a lot about ourselves, but also teaches us a lot about the God we worship. And indeed, some things of how he looks on us and how we must respond to them, to him. Psalm chapter 23. I'm getting the right book. Psalm chapter 23, verse 1, a psalm of David, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me to lie down and green pastures. He leads me beside distilled waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. David here is describing the Lord as his shepherd. And you know what? That was a relationship he knew. That's a relationship, again, he understood very quickly as he had been in the relationship to the sheep that he tended as their shepherd. And he understood what it meant to be now on both sides of that equation. Verse 4, yea though I walk to the valley of the shadow of death, he says, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. King David came to more fully understand a part of God's nature and part of God's character towards him because he himself had been a shepherd of the sheep. And David could identify very personally with that quality of care, that compassion, that protection that God provided to him because he himself had provided it to the flocks that he tended, those flocks of his fathers in the wilderness. At one point David told King Saul, he said, your servant used to keep his father's sheep. And when a lion or bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and I struck it and delivered the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose against me, I caught it by its beard and struck it and killed it. He killed it. That was 1 Samuel chapter 17 verse 34 through 36. David understood what it meant to protect and preserve the flock and to give his being for the flock that he loved and was given charge to tend.

And that experience allowed him to see God as his shepherd and to see him as someone who kept watch over him, as someone who defended him, as someone who provided care and nurture for him, and the one that brought him to a place of peace where he could graze, as we would say, in green pastures and lie down besides still waters. That is the blessing for all of us to understand, as the Lord is our shepherd as well. To our domesticated animals and to our pets, human beings are very much like God. And I don't mean that in a disrespectful way, but human beings are very much like God to our animals, to our horse herd. Darla is like God because she cares for them, she feeds them, they know her voice, she goes out and whistles for them, and they come running.

A couple days ago, she went out and whistled out across the pasture. The herd was at the back, and they come running, and who do you think was leading the charge? It was the two brand new babies leading the charge for mama, right? But again, her relationship with the horses then give her insight into the love and the care and the provision that God has towards her. So these are lessons that we can learn through the interactions that God has provided. And it's an important aspect of exercising dominion over the animals. We learn to incorporate certain characteristics of God into our own behavior, as in we express that care and provision for what He has given under the authority of our hand. There really is, brethren, so much we can learn from the animals. We've only scratched the surface today, but I hope maybe it's pricked your thought process to look around a little more closely to consider. I know a number of you here deal with animals day by day, and you know those lessons and how they work, but let's never get too busy to stop and appreciate what God has built into the creation around us. The heavens declare the glory of God. All creation declares the glory of God, including the animals. And by observing them, we can learn a lot about them, a lot about the God we serve, and a lot about ourselves as well. Indeed, it is a wonderful blessing that God has provided. Let's not pass by. Let us consider the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, and then let our response be praised to God, because the glory always goes to Him.