“Behold now [the elephant], which I made... he eateth grass as an ox... his bones are like bars of iron... the shady trees cover him... he drinketh up a river... his nose pierceth through snares.” Job 40:15-24.
Except for whales, African elephants are the largest creatures on earth, some weighing five or six tons. Those in India are smaller.
When a baby elephant is born the excited herd groups around the mother to protect her, and an “aunty” comes to help with the baby. The 250-pound baby cannot walk immediately after it is born. It has to be helped to its feet over and over again until it can stand alone. It grows to full size in about 20 years and may live to be 70 years old or more.
The elephant is a very friendly and curious animal. It eats leaves, grass, roots, water plants, etc. Sometimes fresh tree fruit may be shaken to the ground and eaten. Each day an adult eats at least 400 pounds of food and drinks 50 gallons or more of water. The Lord God, in His care over all He has created, placed them where there is plenty of food for these huge animals to eat.
Although elephants have thick skin it is very sensitive to touch. An elephant trainer will demonstrate this by lying down and allowing an elephant to place a foot on his chest. The elephant can do this gently, although its enormous weight could easily crush him to death. Its ivory tusks are often several feet long and may weigh 200 pounds or more. God compensated for the weight of the tusks by lightening the head bones with numerous air pockets. The tusks can push heavy objects out of the way, dig for roots and even become weapons when the elephant is angry.
The elephant’s trunk is an amazing structure. It has 2500 muscles and is really a stretched-out nose and lip. With it the elephant can pluck a single blade of grass, uproot a large tree, or pick up water, dust or mud to spray on itself when it is hot or bothered by insects. It is also used as a trumpet to call its companions. When the occasion arises it becomes a weapon, and sometimes is used for spanking a baby.
An African elephant’s ears are three times the size of its cousin’s ears in India. When the elephant is angry its ears stand out threateningly, but they have also been given a more practical use by the Creator. An elephant is not cooled by perspiring like most other animals. Instead, it cools itself by waving these big ears back and forth. An entire herd doing this is an impressive sight.
The elephant not only follows its God-given instincts, but it is very intelligent, too. However, no matter how smart these and other creatures are, it cannot be said of them what is said of man: "(His) spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7. Man’s spirit will never die and will either go to heaven or hell, depending on what each individual’s decision is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36. In which group will you be?
ML-03/07/1982