Last week we looked at some of the unusual characteristics of snakes; today we will examine a few more closely. Almost all snakes are beautifully patterned in a wide range of colors, stripes and unusual markings. But some, like the eastern green mamba, are just one solid color.
The most common snake in North America is the garter snake. All have plain dark coloring, often with yellow or green stripes down the sides and back, which makes them rather pretty. These are harmless and try to hurry away if a person comes near them. Their main foods include worms, insects, tadpoles, small frogs and fish.
The common boa of South America may grow to fourteen feet long, but most are smaller. They live primarily in trees, and their food is usually birds and rodents. These snakes have narrow white heads and patches of white and dark coloring over the rest of their bodies.
A boa in the southwestern United States is called the rubber boa, because that’s what it looks like. Most of these are solid black, but others are yellow, brown, or rather pretty combinations of color.
The cobra of India and South China is one of the most poisonous. Some are plain black, but most are a speckled orange or brownish olive or often a variety of several mixed colors. Snake charmers in India train cobras to entertain people.
The Western Hemisphere has several varieties of coral snakes. All are poisonous and have beautiful color patterns, including rings of black or dark purple, red and yellow or white circling their entire bodies. They are quite a contrast to copperhead snakes of the eastern United States. These are well named for quick identity since copper is the only color on their heads. The rest of their bodies have a beautiful pattern of copper, brown and beige. They are also poisonous.
There is a great variety of other species, such as vipers, pythons, puff adders, bushmasters and many more. You would find it interesting to study some of these in more detail in a public library.
Because sin has marred much of God’s perfect creation, snakes are now associated with evil, but there is a time coming, called the millennium, when the world will be a happy, peaceful place. The Bible tells us that then “the [small] child shall play on the hole of the asp [poisonous snake] and the [older] child shall put his hand in the cockatrice’ [poisonous snake’s] den” (Isaiah 11:88And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. (Isaiah 11:8)).
But before that takes place, God will have called to heaven those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, and these will have the joy of looking down on that happy millennial scene. Will you be one of those who will be in heaven?
ML-06/10/2007