"For the Lord is a great God.... The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Psa. 95:3-6.
Only a few hundred people, known as Polar Eskimos, live in the snow and ice-covered regions of Greenland. This is farther north than where any other people of the world live! They patiently wait through the cold winter for the return of the short June-through August summer when they can fish and hunt again. They catch many fish, seals and an occasional polar bear, but what they look forward excitedly to each summer is the return of the gray and white narwhals. These, because of their long, lance-like horn carried in front of them, are called "the unicorns of the whales."
A big narwhal may weigh more than a ton and measure 20 feet long (not counting its horn). They are hunted, not only for their delicious vitamin-rich meat, but for the valuable oil in their bodies. Of greatest value are the long, ivory horns (or tusks) of the males which may measure eight or nine feet long, spiraled all the way from the upper jaw out to their pointed tips. '
A choice horn will weigh as much as twenty pounds and is not only a trophy for the hunter, but can bet sold for a high price. If it's in good condition such a prize will sell for nearly one thousand dollars. This means a great deal to the Eskimos, who, except for the fish they sell and a few furs, have little opportunity to earn money.
In the short summer there is a very rapid growth of aquatic life in the salt water on which many kin&—of fish thrive. In ways which only He could devise, the Lord God, the Creator, lets the narwhals know when this will take place. They gather in great numbers at the edges of ice-bound bays and fiords, waiting for the ice to break up so they can get at this food. At such times the Polar Eskimos make the most of their hunting skills in thrilling, dangerous hunts.
Like porpoises, narwhals are peaceful, lively and playful and are not known to do any harm with their pointed horns. But they are also wary and swift and easily escape when alarmed. So when going after them in kayaks (Eskimo boats) absolute silence is needed no outboard motors are allowed or any talking above a whisper. But even so, most narwhals escape being caught by the hunters.
If these Eskimos read the Bible they will find in its very first chapter that fish and narwhals are all part of God's creation. In further reading they will find that mankind is more important to Him than anything else. Reading on they will come to this wonderful verse: "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." John 3:16.
We hope that many of these hardy Eskimos have accepted this loving invitation. What about you?