Jewel # 424 (Nov. 18, 2020)

 "And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My Jewels.”

Malachi 3:17

To my dear  grandchildren

Those Pesky Rats (Part 3)

”The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto 

the going down thereof.” Psalm 50:1  

In preceding issues, we have mentioned rats in many places of the world.  One species that lives in Australia is known as the stick-nest rat because it makes its home out of great piles of sticks, sometimes three feet high and as much as four feet wide.  In windy areas they place stones on top to hold it all together.  The instincts God has given them taught them to do this.

Another that lives in Australia is the water rat, which has partially webbed feet.  It doesn’t bother people much, relying more on fish, frogs, water birds and shellfish for food.  Its strong jaws can break most shells.  However, if some are too tough, it lays them out in the hot sun, which soon causes then to open, and the rat then eats the exposed food.

Part of the damage done by rats is due to their constant gnawing—chewing on books, furniture, walls, lead pipes, plastics and even elecetrical wires (on which they sometime electrocute themselves).  The reason for all this is not so much to eat what they gnaw on, but because their front teeth keep growing just like a beaver’s do and if these teeth were not worn down by constant gnawing, they would grow too big for their mouths.

All rats seem clever in avoiding poisons and traps, but their numbers are partly controlled by such means.  In addition, they are a prey for dogs and cats, foxes, coyotes, weasels, hawks, owls, snakes and other animals and birds.  If this were not the case, their numbers would soon overrun the world.

Do you wonder why God allows these rodents to thrive, multiply and be such spoilers?  One reason definitely is that they provide a much needed food supply for the other creatures mentioned above.  Another reason might be to reminds that sin is responsible for all the evil throughout the world, just as rats and mice are present in all lands.  These undesirable little animals come under the term “unclean” as defined in the Bible  (Leviticus 11:27-29).  God’s people in Bible times were instructed to avoid them.  This tells us that God is not pleased when a person is involved with evil things.  If tempted by evil things, the Bible instructs us to “enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away”  (Proverbs 4:14-15).  These are two important verses for all of us.

The time is coming (known as the millennium) when these animals will no longer be filthy or destructive, but instead a happy part of God’s creation.  Those who now love the Lord Jesus and know Him as their Saviour will be taken before then into heaven where sin can never come, and they will look down on a cleansed earth, rejoicing that it, too, is enjoying the light of His love and goodness.

Will you be included with those in heaven?

Love you all - Grandpa