Jewel # 169 (March 25, 2014)

To my dear grandchildren, The Tough Badger “He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red,  and a covering of badgers' skins above that.” (Exodus 36:19) The verse refers to the tabernacle Moses was told to build as a place of worship for the Lord’s people in the wilderness. The heavy, dense fur of the badger was a shield that protected everything inside the tabernacle from storms and severe weather. Badgers are twenty pound animals with wide bodies, short necks, short legs and black feet.  They are courageous and strong, about two feet long and are covered with silver-gray fur.  The American badger, which lives in the united States and Canada, has a narrow white stripe that runs between its eyes onto its back.  It is this white marking (badge) on the face that gives these animals their name. Badgers are usually found on the open plains, prairies and deserts of the West.  Being night hunters, their food includes rodents, rabbits, birds, snakes (including rattlers), lizards and fish.  Coming across a beehive, they rip it open for the honey with no fear of the bees, which cannot sting through the badgers’ dense fur.  Badgers are very clean.  They don’t bring food into their dens. The Creator has provided several means of protection for badgers.  If unable to otherwise escape from an enemy, being an excellent digger, it can dig itself completely underground in less that a minute with its sharp claws.  Actually they have few enemies to fear.  Although timid, they are quite capable of routing dogs or coyotes with their claws and powerful teeth.  Also, being low to the ground, an attacker cannot get at their throats without being bitten first. In the cold of winter, they sleep in a den about twenty-five feet from their runway entrance, sometimes even sharing their den with a fox. Two furry babies are born in the spring and are blind for a month.  The mother raises the playful youngsters, training them to hunt and care for themselves.  By summer’s end they leave her. The activities of these interesting animals are beneficial.  Besides eating destructive rodents, their digging loosens the soil, making it water absorbent, which helps to prevent flooding. When underground, badgers know that they are hidden from everything.  But what they can't know is that an all-wise Creator sees them, for His eyes are always on every living thing. The Bible tells us, “HIs eyes are upon the ways of man, and he sees all his goings.  There is no darkness . . . where the workers of iniquity [sin] may hide themselves” (Job 34:21-22). Rather than foolishly trying to hide from God, He invites you to come with an open heart to Him.  He says, “Those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17), and, “The way of a fool is is right in his own eyes: but he that listens to counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).  Which group are you in? Love you all, Grandpa