Farmyard

Old MacDonald

We all know the very  famous nursery rhyme recounting the many animals on Old MacDonald’s farm. To our sophisticated, twenty-first century ears the scene probably sounds quite quaint. However, just the other day, my father was reminiscing about how in our small town in the days of his childhood most people had some chickens, a couple of hogs and even a milk cow in their backyard right there in town. Even today, downtown Shirley, Arkansas is about as rural as anywhere that you would consider country or backwoods. But the point is that people once commonly kept a few animals to provide for their own family and maybe share or trade with a few neighbors. 

Today, a resurgence has risen trying to recapture something of this kind of self reliance. The modern homesteading movement is an example of people wanting both the challenge and the benefits of this way of life that was actually rather common just a few generations ago. Also, remember that before the industrial revolution this lifestyle was almost universal throughout human history and habitation. 

Because these animals were always so common throughout most people's experience they provide the context for many of the teachings of the Lord Jesus and His apostles. In this post I would like to consider some of the different analogies the Bible uses of animals.

Dogs & Hogs

First, swine are considered unclean according to the old covenant law (Deuteronomy 14:7-8) and they are mentioned also in the New Testament. One new testament account is of Jesus allowing the demons inhabiting the demoniac to go into the herd of pigs which subsequently ran into the lake and drowned (Matthew 8:28-34). While this is a real story, the point does include the separation under the Old Covenant between the “clean” Jews and the “unclean” gentiles. 

The Bible also pairs dogs and hogs together in a couple of illustrative examples. In Jesus’ commonly referred to Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:6, He teaches that no one would cast that which is sacred and precious on the ground for dogs and hogs to trample and then turn to attack the person. The context shows that righteous judgment is necessary when dealing with people concerning sacred and precious things of God.

The other place is in 2 Peter 2:22. In this example, Peter uses a proverb about pups and pigs to illustrate that what a person truly is will eventually become evident.

Sheep & Goats

The use of these two animals in just the New Testament is far too vast a survey for this simple post, but Jesus does use these to animals to show the division and distinction between the believers and the unbelievers who are in the world (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus will sort the people of this world as a master herdsman sorts the sheep and the goats into their proper places and for their proper purposes.

Sheep are also one of Jesus’ favorite ways of referring to His followers. Jesus is Himself the good Shepherd and His sheep will hear Him and will follow Him (John 10). Sheep were probably the most important animal of all in the Old Covenant context and so Jesus' emphasis on the sheep is essential to help us understand nature and the extent of Jesus' relationship to us as His people.

Lion & Lamb

But it is not only Jesus’ followers that are metaphorically referred to as sheep. Jesus Himself is called the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In this context it is important that it is a lamb and not just any sheep because the picture is of the pure and spotless lamb which is innocent and precious but becomes the necessary sacrifice to cover the sins of the family. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice who cleanses by His blood the sins of all the household of God.

But Jesus is also pictured as a lion, one who rules with regal authority. In Jesus’ revelation to the Apostle John, He is called “the lion of the tribe of Judah” who is the only one worthy to break the seals on the scroll. What is even more interesting is that while He is called a lion, what John sees in the vision is a lamb that looks like it has already been slain and sacrificed (Revelation 5).

Jesus is our King who has purchased by His own sacrificial offering and has secured us through His sovereign authority!

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