“God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth.”
Genesis 1:21
Blue whales are the largest and fastest-swimming whale. A newborn blue whale may be twenty-three feet long and weigh three tons at birth. That is one huge baby! But the mother herself may be one hundred feet long and weigh one hundred fifty tons!
Whales of all kinds are found throughout the world’s oceans. Many of them spend summers in the Arctic where they are protected from the cold water by a layer of blubber about two feet thick. Before winter comes, large groups migrate thousands of miles south where the calves are born. In spring, they return north.
Although they look like huge fish, whales are mammals and breathe air. They can dive three thousand feet and stay underwater as long as an hour, but they will drown if they are trapped underwater. While underwater, their bodies use oxygen very efficiently; their hearts beat slowly and blood circulation is reduced. When they finally come up for air, they exhale through “blowholes” as they reach the surface, causing a spout of water and vapor to rise twenty feet or more in the air.
Some whales have teeth and eat solid food, including fish, squid, octopus and turtles. These are called toothed whales. Others, like the blue whale, have no teeth and are called baleen whales. When they open their mouths as they swim, seawater passes over hundreds of “baleen plates,” hanging down from the upper jaw. When they expel the water, these plates strain out the plankton and a few fish which the whales swallow.
Like porpoises, whales are usually quite sociable. They often leap out of the water, play tag and circle boats. The mothers have the help of “aunties” in raising their young. By use of a remarkable sonar system, whales communicate, even miles apart, by a series of whistles, clicks and grunts. A wounded whale is never deserted. Others stay with it until it recovers or dies.
Whether we look at these, the largest of all living creatures on earth, or use a microscope to examine the smallest, the handiwork of God is always evident. Each has its purpose in creation and has been made for His pleasure. Yet, except for one, none are aware of God their Creator or of His care over them.
The exception is mankind, who has been given both intelligence and conscience, as well as the Scriptures. These all tell him of God, not only as Creator, but also of his responsibility to Him and the need of having his sins forgiven. In His love, God desires to forgive our sins and offers eternal life to all who accept His promise and show “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Have you done this?
ML-03/17/2002