The Unicorns
Have you ever wondered why there are no unicorns on the earth today? The answer could be very simple but one which we can perhaps take advantage of.
We should begin by setting the scenario from the book of Genesis. The Lord God had reached the point where He had decided to remove corruption from the earth by removing mankind and his corrupted seed. However, He wanted to try and preserve mankind, or else He would have destroyed all of it when Adam and Eve fell. But, He knew that to do so He would have to find a righteous man who could carry this out. He found Noah to be such a person and gave him the task of gathering together pairs of “every living thing of all flesh”, then building an ark to contain them. He planned to preserve all seeds and replant them when all corruption had been eradicated.
(Gen 6:19) And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
(Gen 6:20) Of fowls after their kind, and cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
(Gen 6:22) Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
(Gen 7:9) There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
And, of course, this would have included unicorns….
Back in 1968, there was an Irish singing group called “The Bachelors” who sang a song about the unicorns. Part of the lyrics of the song specifically addresses where God gives instructions to Noah and reminds him not to forget unicorns. At the time Noah began to gather the animals into the ark, the unicorns were supposedly playing and not really paying attention to him. He continued to call them even as the rain began to fall but they never came into the ark because, as the story goes, they were still splashing around and continuing to play silly games. Eventually, Noah had little choice but to close the door of the ark as the waters rose higher and higher, risking the sinking of the vessel. The Bible tells us that the whole world was flooded and all of those creatures who were not aboard the ark perished.
It is sad to think that this might have happened but there is a lesson to be learned here:
The essence of this lesson is simply that the unicorns did not pay attention to God’s messenger (via Noah), and suffered the consequences of ignoring the forewarning of what was about to happen and which, was, in fact, their disobedience toward God.
If we choose not to pay attention to God’s word, which is, in fact, disobedience to Him, the consequences can also be devastating. If we do pay attention to God’s word, believe it, and act upon it, then the conclusions to those consequences will always be beneficial to us. This is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. It is also a matter of faith in God and His word and then acting upon it.
King Solomon is credited with writing the book of Proverbs, and, he was very specific about the use of knowledge and the importance of wisdom taken from it.
(Pro 1:1) The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
(Pro 1:2) To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
(Pro 1:3) To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
(Pro 1:4) To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
(Pro 1:5) A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
(Pro 1:6) To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
(Pro 1:7) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon the English preacher (1834 – 1892) is quoted as saying:-
“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
It doesn’t matter how much reading of the Bible you have achieved, that knowledge will remain nothing but dormant facts until you put them to use. Just like a seed remains dormant and is planted then becomes something that produces fruit. Be it a tree or potato, etc.
The simple lesson here is “Don’t be a silly unicorn!“. They did not board the ark and so, perished. If we view this in a different light, we can understand that what the unicorns did was to reject their salvation. They died in the flood and, are no more. When you liken this to the offer of our salvation the Lord has told us that by this rejection, we will be separated from Him for eternity and one live in torment in hell. But He is so gracious that, even to the last breath that you might take He will still take you unto Him. No matter what, He will accept you. No matter what you have done, no matter how many sins you have committed. They will be forgiven and you will have a place in heaven with Him. So, don’t be like the unicorns, get into the ark!
The Bible encourages us to study it and to become approved.
(2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.)
That the approval comes when God’s Word is taken in faith and is “put to work.”
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Further Teaching
Check out the teaching entitled “Prevention, Cure, and Maintenance.” This teaching will enhance and offer examples of how and why wisdom can be applied.