Grandpa's farm was several acres. A lot of it was in pastures for his farm animals. Beyond the pastures laid the cornfield. Majestically rising above the farm was a ridge line full of woods. Trees of all sorts. Pine trees, Oak trees. Maple trees. Cedar trees. Under them laid a layer of underbrush that in some places even a rabbit could not get through.
The trees were all heights. In the trees were nests of all kinds of birds and squirrels. Under the trees nearest the cornfield on the southeast corner laid an outcropping of rocks.
Grandpa said for us to be extra careful there. I asked him why?
He said, "Proverbs 30:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid."
Down upon the rocks on a sunny day, you will find snakes warming themselves. He said, “You know there are two kinds of snakes down there/ There are those that make noise (rattlesnakes) and those that don't (copperheads.) One will let you know not to come close, the other only lets you know after it bites you.
"When you are near the rocks, be extra quiet. No talking. Ecclesiastes 10:11 - Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. If you are near the rocks and just babbling, you wont hear the noisy ones. Be careful. Be quiet and if you hear a noise, be still. See where it comes from and then choose wisely a way to go."
He said, "If you are moving about, you are like digging a ditch with your feet or at least breaking the ground. Don't trample the grass on the rocks, for if you do, you will get bitten. Ecclesiastes 10:8 - He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him."
He followed by saying, "Before you get to the outcropping of rocks, look to the trees. Looks for the birds. If there are in there nest and singing, there will be no snakes. But if you see them darting downward and squawking, toward the rocks, they are fighting off a snake. It maybe a silent snake, so they are letting you know danger is near. Genesis 3:14 - And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: That will be the time to back away and find a new direction."
Grandpa said that life was a lot like those woods and rocks. There would be times when obstacles like the underbrush would seem impassable to get through. Things like sickness disease, death, loss of job, loss of marriage and loss of friends.
Then there would be times of love and joy. Just as there would be joy when the birds would be singing in the tree tops. There would also be danger on the rocks as in the snakes. Danger as in sin. Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Sin that sometime makes a noise and other times is so silent, it destroys us before we even know it.
Grandpa said, "But if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, and we have accepted Him as our Lord and Protector, He will defeat the serpent and we shall be with Jesus for eternity. Revelations 12-9 - And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
Grandpa said, "You kids know that snakes are like thieves. John 10:10 - The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
"You know God loves you and wants to protect you. Just believe and accept. John 3-16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The snakes of your life will then be cast out and destroyed. Your birds will then sing and praise.
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Charles Finney
ccfinney@yahoo.com