Bears and Giants

One of my main tasks here at mom's is to shop for daily and weekly food needs. I often walk several blocks to the nearest food store and take my recycling bags for whatever I buy and try to catch the city bus home.

Today it was a beautiful and glorious day. Not so hot like we have been having all summer and now into the Fall. I was grateful for the respite from the heat and took some time to savour the scenery along the way. Let me share some of the views I had on my short walk.

[Beautiful sun peeking through the trees]

[It is such a glorious day and a sky to match]

[Strolling along the sidewalk on to my destination]

[Roadside flora ~a hint of yellow in a sea of green]

[Pine branches]

[More roadside flora]

[A lovely hint of orange]

In addition to all the lovely flora I saw today, it seems there was a bear theme going on.

First, I came upon this lovely carving of a bear looking for honey ~

Next,

I came upon this wonderful panda bear eating his bamboo leaves ~

I thought the bears were cute and it prompted me to see what the Bible has to say about bears. I found this little story about bears in bible tools for teaching children about the animals in scripture.

The bear loves its young ones more than almost any other animal does, as this little story will show you.

A bear with two cubs or young ones once came over the ice near to a ship where the sailors had just killed a large animal. The bears were very hungry, and the sailors threw over some pieces of flesh for them; the old bear would tear them up, giving most of the meat to the cubs, and keeping but little for herself. Presently some one in the ship cruelly shot both the young ones. Then their mother was full of sorrow. She had been hurt herself by the guns, but she crawled along to her cubs, put her paw upon them, and tried to have them get up; and when she found that they did not move, she went a few steps off, and then looked back with a sad, moaning noise, as though she expected them to get up and follow her.

When she saw that all her efforts were useless, she walked around them several times, turned towards the vessel with a terrible growl for she was angry enough to tear in pieces the men who had killed her young. Then she lay down between her cubs and died. This story helps give meaning and understanding of the following scriptures from the books of Samuel and Hosea:

"For thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps (or cubs) in the field."

2 Samuel 17: 8

-and this also,

"I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps."

Hosea 13:8

Verses such as these show that the writers of the Bible were acquainted with the habits of different animals and we never find any mistakes in what they say about them. Solomon says in his Proverbs, "As a roaring lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people."
When young David was trying to persuade King Saul to let him go and fight with the great giant Goliath, Saul thought he was too young, and not strong enough.

David told Saul,

"Thy servant was keeping his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, and thy servant slew both the lion and the bear." He said also, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."

You see why David was not afraid to meet the giant. It was not because he felt strong of himself, but he believed that God would be near to help him.

After reading these scriptures and stories it gave me a better understanding of the love bears have for their young ones. I often see them playing and caring for their cubs on television documentaries. I also know from living in a country of bountiful wildlife that bears can be very ferocious animals, yet young David was able to slay them through the help of God.

It reminded me how the bear can be a symbol of the heavy challenges and burdens we face, yet with God we can slay the bears and overcome the challenges in our own lives. God will deliver us and give us strength and He is ever near to help us.