(READ: Gen. 24:61-64; 37: 23-2861And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. 62And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country. 63And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. (Genesis 24:61‑64); 1 SAM. 30:16, 1716And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. (1 Samuel 30:16‑17); 1 Kings 10:22And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. (1 Kings 10:2); ISA. 30:66The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. (Isaiah 30:6); MATT. 19:21-26; 23: 23, 2421Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:21‑26); John 4:10-1410Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:10‑14).)
EN 24:61-64{7:23-28{SA 30:16-17{KI 10:2{SA 30:6{AT 19:21-26{AT 23:23-24{OH 4:10-14{
THE CAMEL was an animal often used in Palestine, for it was specially fitted to carry loads across desert country. The number of camels a man had was a means of telling how rich he was, and as nowadays we might hear some one say that Mr. Smith is worth ten thousand pounds, in olden days it would have been said that he owned so many camels.
In the history of Job we find that among his possessions were three thousand camels, and after he had been tested by Satan he lost all his wealth. But God taught him many a lesson of trust and confidence, and when he had learned that not only could he trust God fully, but could even bless Him for all his troubles, then his wealth returned to him doubly, for we read that he had six thousand camels. (Job 42)
The camel is often spoken of as the "ship of the desert," for just as we embark on a steamer when we want to cross the ocean, in a similar manner when a man desires to cross the desert sand he employs a camel for the purpose. In several of the Bible stories we read of the camel. We know that when Abraham sent for Rebekah, who was to be the wife of Isaac, camels were used for the journey. When Isaac was in the field looking for the return of his servant, in the distance he sees Rebekah riding on her camel, and when she sees him she gets off, they meet, and soon after are married.
The next Bible story in which the camel has a place is not so happy a one, for it is the well-known one of Joseph being sold by his brothers. They had thrown him into a pit, and while he was there, a company of Ishmaelites ride by on their camels, and are stopped by the wicked brothers, who sell the poor boy, who is lifted up on to one of the camels, and is soon on his way to Egypt, where he will one day be able to save his cruel brothers from a terrible death of starvation. I should like to suggest four different points in connection with the camel which it may be helpful for us to talk about for a short time: (1)Its load.
Its speed.
Its endurance.
Its size.
(1)the Camel's Load
The camel was one of the first animals to be used by man for carrying not only goods, but also themselves. We have thought of Rebekah and Joseph traveling on their backs, and in other places we read of the camel's "furniture," this being the frame that is put on its back for the load to be put on, while the prophet Isaiah speaks of the "bunches" of camels, or as we should now say, "humps," and on them was to be found treasure.
What wonderful things were found on the camel's hump! Think of the queen of Sheba coming to visit the great and wise king Solomon, with numerous camels all bearing spices and other choice things as a present for the king, and to show him how highly she thought of him, and how she felt he was worth the very best presents that a rich queen could bring.
And so the camel was always being useful to man, he was doing for him things that could not be done by himself, carrying burdens that would be too heavy for man, that would break his back. It is a very great thing to be able to help some one else. We are told, "Bear ye one another's burdens," that is, help one another.
A poor old woman trudging along with a bundle of logs she had spent some time gathering for her fire, and feeling very weary, was seen by a schoolboy, who was also tired after an afternoon's football. He felt he must help, and cheerfully carried her load, and she was so grateful to him, while he had the joy of knowing that he was helping to bear her burden.
If you should see some one who is sad, some one in trouble, and you can cheer and comfort them, and speak to them of a Savior's love, you too will be bearing their burden! What a terrible burden Christian had on his back, those of you who have read the "Pilgrim's Progress" will remember, and how he lost it all when he came to the cross. This was only possible because the Lord Himself had borne the burden, and so those who believe in Him are freed of all the burden of sin, for "surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”
(2)the Camel's Speed Movement Is Necessary to Keep Us Alive. It Is by a Brisk Walk That We Make the Blood Flow Freely in Our Veins, While If We Stood Still in the Cold, We Should Get Colder and Colder, and in the End Get Frozen to Death. Many People Have Died When They Might Have Lived If Only They Had Kept Moving. It Is so With the Christian, Who Should Not Stand Still, for He Should Not Be Content to Remain to-Day Where He Was Yesterday, He Should Want to Draw Closer to His Savior and Advance Along That Pathway That Leads up to God. I Like to Think of the Apostle Paul, Who Compared Himself to a Man Running a Race and Pressing Towards the Mark. He Did Not Look Back, but Was Always Looking Forward to the Day When He Would Have Completed His Earthly Journey and Be Forever With the Lord He Loved.
Then there is another kind of movement, a getting away from all that is displeasing to God, fleeing from bad companions, avoiding all evil, and certainly if we have not the power to overcome evil it is safer and better to run right away from it.
You may say I am forgetting all about the camel, but it is not so, for I have had him in mind all the time, and I fancy I see him hurrying over the desert, not even stopping to eat, but just snapping up mouthfuls of the coarse grass as he hastens on, one thing and one thing only before him, and that being to reach the end of the journey. How swiftly he goes! Do you ask me what reason I have for saying this? Let us prove it from the Bible, and look up Jer. 2:2323How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; (Jeremiah 2:23), where we shall read of the dromedary (a sort of camel) as being swift, and we find a similar statement in Isa. 66:2020And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. (Isaiah 66:20).
There is a story in the Bible, one I have asked you to read, which proves the speed of the camel, for we read that the only Amalekites who escaped from David were those who were fortunate enough to be able to mount camels, and so hasten to a place of safety. There was no delay, they fled, stopping for nothing. And so I hope we shall flee from evil with the speed of the camel, and flee to the right place saying, in the language of scripture, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." (John 6:6868Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (John 6:68).) Let us hasten to our Lord, who will care for us and keep us from all harm.
(3)the Camel's Endurance the Camel Is Particularly Fitted for Its Work of Crossing the Desert by the Provision God Has Made for It, in That It Can Go for Days Without Drinking. It Takes Water When It Can and Then Makes Use of It Little by Little During Its Tiring Journey Over the Desert. If It Only Drank Enough for Its Immediate Needs It Would Fail Miserably When It Came to the Severe Test of the Desert With Its Lack of Supplies. It Would Be a Poor Steamer Which Left Its Home Port Without Enough Coal for the Voyage, and Our "Ship of the Desert" Is Well Prepared When It Starts on the Journey.
You have read the true story in John 4 of the poor woman who went day by day to the well of Sychar to get water for her needs. When our Lord addressed her He spoke of giving water that would prevent all future thirst! What wonderful water! He called it living water. In the last chapter of the Bible we read these words, "And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev. 22:1717And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17).) I think this speaks to us of daily refreshment, and the more we read the words of the Lord, the more we think about Him, and follow in His footsteps, the more we shall know what this living water is, and the more we shall enjoy it.
It has sometimes been said that this world is like a desert to the true Christian, who is told to "love not the world," and if for a moment we think of it as a desert that we are crossing we can ask ourselves whether we have enough living water to enable us to make the journey. Have we put our trust in God? Can we rely on His guidance? May each of my young readers know what it is to be able fully to trust a Savior's love.
(4)the Camel's Size Perhaps When You Have Been at the Zoo, and Seen a Camel With Children on Its Back, You Have Thought What a Big Beast It Is. but Size Is Not Everything, and Our Lord Said That Unless the Great and Wise of the Earth Became As Little Children They Could Not Enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our friend the camel is used as an object lesson, to show us how different God's thoughts are from ours. We should all naturally think more of a rich man than a poor one, and yet if you read your Bible carefully you cannot fail to notice that it is generally the poor who come in for the blessing. Do you remember how the young man who wanted to follow the Lord Jesus could not decide to say good-bye to all his wealth, for when he was told to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, he turned away sadly and we read of him no more. Sadder still was the case of that other rich man who thought only of his own happiness and comfort, but God called him a fool and told him that that very night his soul would be required of him. No wonder that our Lord, turning to His disciples, said that it was extremely difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He went on to say a very strange thing, which was, that it was "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Some people think that He spoke of a small gate into Jerusalem known as the "Needle's Eye," through which a camel could just squeeze by going down on his knees, when all the riches on its "furniture" had been removed!
"Humble we must be, if to heaven we'd go,
High is the roof there, but the door is low.”
Yes! wealth will be of no use to us, but "with God all things are possible," and the redeeming love of the Lord Jesus has opened the way into heaven.
When next you long to be richer, think of the words of our Lord in the sermon on the mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," and then instead of wishing to be richer you will want to be like the man that God wants to serve Him, for He says, "to this man will I look, even to him that is poor." (Isa. 66:22For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (Isaiah 66:2).)
We may learn yet one more lesson from the size of the camel, and that is to be real, not to pretend to be better than we are and not to find fault with others when we are really worse ourselves. Our Lord spoke very severely of the scribes and Pharisees, calling them "hypocrites," that is, they pretended to be something that they were not, and He said they "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." This may seem difficult to understand, but it meant that they were very, very careful about the little things which really did not matter so much, and then did something that was really very wicked, and were not even sorry for it. Outwardly they might seem all right, but inwardly they were all wrong, and God looks at the heart. You might appear very religious, you might seem to be listening carefully to all a preacher was saying, and yet have your thoughts far away, you might be a hypocrite. Whatever you are, be real!
If we carefully read over the passages we have read, I think we shall be glad God has told us so much about the camel, and I trust we shall want to be helping others, bearing their burdens, and always remembering how our blessed Lord has "borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”