Elephants

“Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet…” [Daniel 7:19]

The elephant is the largest land mammal left on Earth. Throughout history elephants have been revered, honored, and prized for their great size and strength. On the battlefield, soldiers with elephants have terrified and trampled enemies. Elephants also have been trained to carry heavy supplies through jungles and to haul huge logs from the forests where they once lived.

The most obvious characteristic of elephants, besides their massive size, is their trunk. An elephant’s trunk is nothing more than an elongation of their nose and upper lip, but it is the most versatile of all mammalian creations. The trunk is composed of an estimated 150,000 muscles and is employed as a nose, arm, hand, and multipurpose tool to pull branches off trees, uproot grass, pluck fruit, and to place food in their mouths. The trunk is also used for smelling, trumpeting, drinking, greeting, or throwing dust for dust baths.

Elephant tusks are elongated upper incisors and are the largest and heaviest teeth of any living animal. The tusks are used for digging for roots and water, stripping the bark off trees for food, defense from predators, and fighting each other during mating season. Elephant tusks grow continuously throughout the elephant’s life. They can grow as long as 10 feet and weigh as much as 150 pounds each. This ivory, also known as “white gold,” was used at one time in the manufacture of piano keys, billiard balls, and other objects. Over the years hunters have slaughtered thousands of these magnificent animals just for their tusks. At the turn of the 20th century, elephants numbered from 5 million to 10 million, but widespread hunting and habitat destruction reduced their numbers to an estimated 600,000. Ivory poaching has almost driven elephants into extinction.

Did you know the Bible predicts that in the last days real Christians will be hunted because they obey God’s commandments? “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12). There is only one thing more frightening than being charged by an angry elephant, and that is to have the devil come after you. But in Christ we can find refuge.