Living in the hot, dry regions of southern Africa, gemsboks are a beautiful member of the oryx family. They are about the size of a donkey and are related to antelopes. They have a velvety-gray or tan body with a black stripe down the back, and a black and white face, complemented by their black and white belly and legs, and a long bushy tail. Between their large, black and white ears is a pair of nearly straight, sharply pointed horns. These grow to about 33 inches long and slant slightly backward. They provide a weapon that any animal would be foolish to challenge. Gemsboks have been known to kill lions with these sharp horns.
Because of their heavy bodies, gemsboks are not particularly fast runners. They are an example of the Creator’s wisdom when He placed them in hot, dry areas, for they can go a long time without water. They live in bands of about 10 to 40 animals and roam dry, grassy plains and areas of low vegetation.
Although related to the gemsbok and living in the same area, the beautiful springbok is a sharp contrast. It is slender and graceful and a little shorter than its relative. The most common species has golden-brown hair with a snow-white stripe down the back, a white face with black stripes, and white on its underside and the inside of its legs. They have much smaller horns than the gemsbok, about 14 to 20 inches long, which curve back and in.
Though not found in big herds now, in the 1800s springboks occasionally made migrations in groups of millions, searching for water, which they very rarely need to drink. Sadly, their goal was the ocean, as it was also the death of many of them, because its salt water killed them by the thousands.
The search of the springboks for water that killed them reminds me of the search of humans for happiness. In our opening verse, we read how the Lord Jesus said that if we drink of the water He gives, we’ll never thirst. Sadly, most people of this earth seek the refreshment they need in the pleasures of this earth, which not only don’t satisfy, but lead to eternal death if they are chosen and the Lord Jesus is rejected. If you are a Christian, where do you look for your joy in this life? Listen to the loving invitation of the Lord Jesus: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:3737In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37)). Only in Him is found the love and peace and joy that truly satisfy our human hearts.
Messages of God’s Love 2/12/2023