Like A Beast

 I have said in a previous post, the Bible uses a lot of symbolic language many times to convey deeper spiritual truth if we have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. One example of this is with the use of animals to describe men, or their behaviors. In Revelation we see Jesus being referred to as a lamb. Rev. 13:8 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."  While most people have no problem understanding the figurative use of a lamb for Jesus, yet most think the book mentioned here is literal which is an unreasonable interpretation, and inconsistent with truth.

Anyway, in Psalm 73 we find the psalmist writes in verse 22 "So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee." He describes himself as a beast in response to his complaining about the prosperity of the wicked before getting a Spiritual perspective and understanding when he says in verse 17 "Until I went into the sanctuary of God;"  The literalist would say he went into a physical building being a literal Temple, the figurativist would  see the symbolism and of course understand YOU are the sanctuary of God! I agree with Paul when he says: "Know ye not that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit"!

Your beast nature is your lower nature. It is your carnal, natural, Adamic man. And as long as you live out from your beast nature, you will only have the understanding of a beast regarding Spiritual truths. Once you see things with spiritual eyes rather than your natural eyes, then you will abhor what came out of your mouth otherwise! You would react like Job in 38:4 "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth."

While many commentators are divided over whether the book of Job is a literal story or a figurative one, I side with the view it is figurative. Even so, this story still provides a great many insights into the Nature and Character of our Father God, and His relationship with each one of us.

That all being said, we find in the book of Job, after God has detailed His creation; by which I said in the last post, that He was putting Job in remembrance to his actually having been there when it happened; we can see in the final chapter, Job 42 1-3 from the Amplified bible: "THEN JOB said to the Lord, I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted. [You said to me] Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge? Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." It is my conviction, that these truths were hidden from Job's natural man, and he was being woken up to a revelation of Spiritual understanding.

How hard is that to relate to? Not hard at all. I do not have to think back very far to find many times I have spoken as a beast without knowledge, only to hear a word from the Lord in a message being preached, or something I read, or even an inner witness where the reality of the truth of the matter was made clear by  revelation knowledge! The most glaring example would be a comparison between your understanding before you were saved, and  then after you were saved. You can even consider the last time you judged the situation with your beast nature, only to realize that you did not have all of the facts; that your judgement was only based on your lower emotions, and not on a Spiritually eternal perspective.

Look now at Job 42: 5 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee."  Is it clear now that Job is not talking about literally "seeing" God, but rather that it is with Spiritual eyes? And once you get it, you can never unget it, if there is such a term. Once you see something, you can't unsee it! And having seen it, it will change your life forever! It does not matter how many people try to convince you otherwise; it does not matter if you cannot convince anyone else of what you know. Others can tell you, that you are deceived, or mistaken, or led astray, but once you have a one on one encounter with the Creator of the universe, then let all the naysayers bray like the beast they are, while you discover "... what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Eph. 3:19).