THE goat, although not quite so attractive as the sheep, is nevertheless a very interesting creature. It belonged to the flock of the Orient, and its milk was always esteemed more than any other in Eastern countries; hence the promise to the careful and diligent man: “Thou shalt have goat’s milk enough for thy food.” Prov. 27:2727And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. (Proverbs 27:27).
Goats are very frequently spoken of in the Bible. You remember Joseph’s brethren dipped “his coat of many colors in the blood of a kid of the goats.” This animal was also frequently sacrificed as an offering unto the Lord, and as a sin offering on behalf of the people.
But, did you ever hear of a goat becoming so fond of her master as to follow him about just in the same manner as a dog follows his master? That is what Frisky did, the timid creature shown in our picture. She belonged to a missionary in the far away island of Lewis in the north of Scotland. She was called Frisky because when just a kid, she loved to frolic and play with her master. Frisky grew up and gave “milk enough for food.”
There was one very noticeable thing about interesting Frisky, she would not obey, nor yet follow, any other person but her own master, who cared for her, supplied all her wants, and when chilly winds blew, made her comfortable in the little house at the end of the garden. And how she loved him in return, bleating her thankfulness timidly the while, and rubbing her little white head against his hand. She knew a stranger immediately and scampered away terrified. Goats are like sheep in this respect. Sheep only hear the shepherd’s voice, and Frisky only heard the voice of the one who was kind to her.
We love to study the habits of animals. They have so many characteristics peculiar to boys and girls, and I am sure there are many young folks just like the missionary’s goat, who return their love because of what they get. The Bible says “For if ye love them which love you what thank have ye?” Luke 6:3232For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. (Luke 6:32). Think of God’s love for sinful creatures: “God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).
How sad it is that “God is not in all [our] thoughts,” Psa. 10:44The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (Psalm 10:4). Yet He attends to all our needs; “Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” Psa. 145:1616Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:16). His gentle rain from heaven falls upon the just and the unjust; the genial rays of the sun carry joy to all, good and bad alike, but the love of God as manifested in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the highest and grandest manifestation of love ever known.
God loved you and me without a cause. We were His enemies, separated from Him because of sin, but by the offering of Jesus Christ once for all (of whom the sacrificial goat was a shadow), God can now pardon every sinner.
Dear reader, can you say, “Jesus loved ME and gave Himself for ME"?
ML-02/14/1960