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Animals of the Bible
The Lion
THE KING OF beasts is an apt description of the lion (Panthera Leo). It is
referred to in the Bible more than any other wild animal. The two species of
lion, the African lion and the Asiatic lion, both inhabited Bible lands. The
African lion roamed Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula and the Asiatic lion wandered
through Palestine, Arabia, Babylon, Assyria and Persia.
However the lion in the wild has virtually disappeared from Bible lands. The
last known encounter in Israel was at the time of the Crusades when one was
killed near Megiddo.
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Some of the early archaeological expeditions to ancient Biblical sites reported seeing lions in Syria around 1850 and when Layard was working on excavations in Babylon and Nineveh (Iraq) in the same period, he tells how their tracks were seen frequently.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A LION
The writers of 37 of the Bible’s 66 books mention the lion some 157 times. We
find that they use the lion’s attributes and characteristics quite often in
their literature. They may be referring to actual events involving a lion, or to
illustrate a point they are making in their message, or sometimes they use the
lion as a symbol.
In the book of Proverbs, King Solomon refers to those who are ‘majestic in pace’
and ‘stately in walk: A lion, which is mighty among beasts and does not turn
away from any’ [Proverbs 30.30 NKJV].
The lion’s habits are often referred to in Scripture: ‘…it is night, in which
all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey,
and seek food from God’ [Psalm 104.20,21 NKJV]. The writer of another Psalm
refers to an evil person who preys on others: ‘His eyes are secretly fixed on
the helpless. He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den…So he crouches, he
lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength’ [Psalm 10.8-10 NKJV].
For the people of Bible times, the presence of the lion was a real threat to
their daily lives. The first mention in the Bible of a person being attacked by
a lion, is when Samson went into Philistine country, to Timnah: ‘Now to his
surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came
mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a
young goat, though he had nothing in his hand’ [Judges 14.5,6 NKJV]. This event
in Samson’s life highlights the dangers that the people of those times faced
from wild animals. There are other instances recorded in the Bible where people
were killed and devoured by lions (see 1 Kings 13.24 and 2 Kings 17.25,26).
David the future king of Israel, as a youth, told King Saul about an encounter
he had with a lion: ‘David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s
sheep, and when a lion…came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after
it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose
against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it”’ [1 Samuel
17.34,35 NKJV].
David was relating this story to Saul to persuade the king to let him go into
battle against Goliath, the Philistine giant. But we note here the sort of man
David was; he was not boasting of, or relying on his own strength or prowess as
a warrior: ‘Moreover David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the
lion .. he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine”’ [1 Samuel 17.37
NKJV].
THE LION AS A SYMBOL
David’s faith is seen later when he compares his enemies to the lions: ‘O
LORD my God, in you I put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; and
deliver me, Lest they tear me like a lion, Rending me in pieces, while there is
none to deliver’ [Psalm 7.1,2 NKJV]. It was this sort of faith that enabled
another of God’s servants to brave out a frightening ordeal with lions. The
prophet Daniel, who was living in Babylon as a servant of the Persian king
Darius, was thrown into a den of lions and survived a whole night amongst these
ferocious animals. Daniel too had no doubt who delivered him: ‘“My God sent his
angel and shut the lion’s mouths, so that they have not hurt me”…So Daniel was
taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he
believed in his God’ [Daniel 6.22,23 NKJV].
Daniel, in his prophecies, uses the lion as a symbol of the Babylonian Empire.
In one of his visions he describes four great beasts: ‘The first was like a
lion, and had eagle’s wings’ [Daniel 7.4 NKJV]. Further on in this chapter
Daniel tells us: ‘Those great beasts...are four kings which arise out of the
earth’ [verse 17]. A study of Daniel’s prophecies shows us that by Divine
revelation and by the use of these symbols of beasts, such as the lion, he
vividly foretold the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian and Roman
Empires.
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| Human-headed winged Lion from Nimrud in Assyria 9th Century BC. |
More than once the nation of Israel found itself was punished by God at the hands of these nations and so we read, ‘Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones’ [Jeremiah 50.17 NKJV].
THE LION OF JUDAH
We also find in God’s Word that the characteristics of the lion are used
symbolically to describe Jesus himself and point to his future role on earth. In
the first book of the Bible are recorded the blessings that Jacob gave to his
sons. He said to Judah: ‘Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise…Your
father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the
prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a
lion, who shall rouse him? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah...’ [Genesis
49.8-10 NKJV]
These prophetic words show the purpose of God through the ‘lion-like’ tribe of
Judah. The tribe of Judah became the royal line when David became king. The
Sceptre will be passed on to Jesus Christ. ‘He will be great.. and the Lord God
will give him the throne of his father David’ [Luke 1.32 NKJV]. Jesus is
described in the last book of the Bible as, ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David’ [Revelation 5.5 NKJV].
Jesus, ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ is coming back to this earth to take the
throne of David and to rule over the restored kingdom of Israel in Jerusalem and
from there his rulership will extend over the whole earth. The Bible teaches us
that Jesus came the first time as ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world’ [John 1.29 NKJV]. However, in contrast, his second coming will be with
lion-like characteristics, to break the nations in pieces and take vengeance on
those who do not know God or obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (See Psalm 2 and 2
Thessalonians chapter 1)
Those who listen to the call of the gospel and obey its vital message, will have
the opportunity to be with Jesus in his coming kingdom, to help him bring
justice and peace to this troubled world. There are many prophetic word pictures
which tell us about the great blessings of Christ’s reign. Isaiah wrote
concerning Judah’s royal lion: ‘The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding…with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with
the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his
waist’ [Isaiah 11.2,4,5 NKJV].
The prophet also foretold the wonderful change that will come upon the natural
world. ‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...the calf and the young lion
and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the
bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall
eat straw like the ox’ [Isaiah 11.6,7].
During this reign of the ‘Lion of the Tribe of Judah’ the nations will be at
peace. From him ‘the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness’ [Isaiah
26.9 NKJV]. When the nations have learnt God’s laws, the whole world will
experience a time of peace and tranquillity. The Creation will be at rest, and
the ferocity of evil men like that exhibited by the lion will be a thing of the
past.
Ken Dennis
Kent, England.