LIONS
What comes to mind for you when you think of lions?
- King of Beasts
- A prowling Lion seeking those to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
- A creature mighty among beasts (Proverbs 30:30)
- The righteous being as bold as lions (Proverbs 28:1)
- Daniel in the Lions’ Den (Daniel 6:16-28)
- Benaiah chasing a lion into a pit and killing it…on a snowy day, no less (2 Samual 23:20)
- The Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5)
Or perhaps one of my personal favorites, from an old documentary on Lions and Hyenas, and their “blood feud”: Ntchwaidumela “He Who Greets with Fire”—The Hyena Killer
I mean, is there a more bad ass, “soiling yourself” inducing name in all of history? I think not!
Where was I?
Oh yeah…Thoughts on lions. Especially in the Bible…
For most of my young life, I knew of the majestic “King of Beasts” only as that. A powerful pack hunter that could take down any prey. Lions were not to be trifled with. They were the apex predator. There was no greater hunter in all the world. Except for man. But let’s face it, there was a time when that was not even true.
But nature shows, documentaries, and my own research, (because…nerd!) Has led me to see these certainly majestic animals in a little different light.
While lions are certainly apex predators, they are often also opportunistic scavengers and thieves. They will just as quickly steal the hard-earned kill of a Hyena clan, or loan leopard or Cheetah as kill their own prey. Now, I don’t say that to minimize the incredible beauty and power of the “King of Beasts”. They happen to be the top of the food chain, wherever they are. The other animals mentioned would do the same if given the opportunity. In point of fact, they have many times over. That’s just nature.
Lions are often seen as the peak of majesty. But to many, they are also the epitome of horror; of terror. In places where lions roam freely, they are often seen as a demonic creature to be feared, just as much as they are a majestic creature to be revered.
If you’ve ever seen the film, The Ghost and The Darkness, you know the story of two man-eaters; two brothers who together terrorized a settlement and tribe in Africa in the late 1800s. These two “demons” developed a taste for human flesh that lead them to kill over 150 human beings in their reign of terror. Now, the truth of that is that the brothers led a pride of man-eaters who, between them killed all those people. Still, that’s an impressive death toll. I’d put that in the same category as Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan.
The film portrays them as majestic and equally beautiful to behold as they were frightening. The truth of it is that man-eaters tend to have a very gnarled and mangy look about them. In place of a majestic golden mane is a frazzled and decrepit mane coupled with a maniacal look in their eyes, and a gaunt body; a creature not so much akin to the “King of Beasts”, but to a demonic walking nightmare. Once any predatory animal develops a taste for human flesh, there’s no sasciating that with what they would normally eat. Something about eating us does something to the animal. It changes them in the worst way.
So, what’s the point of this little nature lesson/horror story?
Our fascination and fear of lions has been deeply ingrained in us for thousands of years.
Look no further than the Bible to see plenty of instances that lend to both sides of the coin; lions as majestic, and lions as frightening and even evil.
Why would so many of the authors of the Bible refer so much to lions?
Well, the obvious answer is that they were a large part of the ancient world. Lions were much more prevalent in the ancient world than they are today. And they were considered even more then to be a creature to be revered and feared.
I mentioned all those verses because those are the ones that stick predominantly in my mind when I think of lions and their role in Biblical times.
So, let’s break those down a bit.
First (and in no particular order from Old to New Testament) is 1 Peter 5:8. This one doesn’t refer to actual lions and an encounter with people of the time. Rather, it refers to the devil; the enemy, as being like a prowling lion, hunting its prey to devour it.
Why use a lion to refer to the devil? Especially when Christ is later referred to as “The Lion of the tribe of Judah.” (Revelation 5:5)
This one’s easy, really. Lions are to be feared. They seek out the weak. They prey on the most helpless (so we’re clear, all predators do). Lions were known in Biblical times for attacking flocks of sheep, and picking off the weakest, and slowest among them.
What are we referred to as throughout the Bible?
Sheep!
But if you’ve even watched a nature show, you know that herds of animals have one thing to their advantage: the herd. With hundreds, even thousands of pairs of eyes, they can spot a prowling lion and sound the alarm.
But let’s face it, there are still times that the lions still find the weak and take them down.
In the same way, the devil still manages to get hold of us from time to time. The difference is we have a Shepherd standing watch over us. A Shepherd who, like David will chase down the lion who seeks to devour, and strike true with a well placed stone that will break the lion’s resolve and drive it away. Not just that, but God equips us with the weapon and armor to face the “devouring lion” and withstand his attacks.
In Proverbs, Solomon refers to the lion in a different way. In Proverbs 28:1 and 30:30, he refers to the lion as a creature to emulate. He describes the lion as one “mighty among beasts (30:30) and describes the righteous as being as “bold as lions” (28:1).
Mighty and Bold
Now, that sounds like what we know of lions. Am I right?
Solomon is a calling out to the righteous of his day, and to the righteous to come. He is calling each of us to be mighty and bold.
We have that same majesty within us. Solomon knew this. Why? Because he knew then what we have come to know through inviting Christ into our lives now. Once we are in Christ, He is in us. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is in us. As co-heirs to the throne, there now exists in each of us a lion. THE LION. So, what Solomon is doing is calling out in the righteous of his day, and to those to come that we should stand as mighty and bold as a lion; as THE LION.
How’s that for some conviction?!
The wisest human being in history called the righteous of his day, and of every generation to come to be like THE LION of the tribe of Judah.
How does that sit with you?
Think about it.
Let it marinate.
I’ll leave you to that. For now.
On to Benaiah…and Daniel.
You’re all looking puzzled like, “Who the crap is Benaiah? I know Daniel. I know his story. Who’s this other yahoo?”
I’ll tell you who Benaiah is. He’s arguably the most bad ass character in the Bible to only be mentioned in one small passage.
There’s basically one mention of Benaiah. That’s 2 Samuel 23:20.
Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, and we know all about his other exploits.
But Benaiah?
What’s so special about this cat?
This dude not only killed a lion. He purposely chased one into a pit, in the snow, and fought and killed it.
Who does that?!
No one in their right mind! Am I right?!
But Benaiah also single-handedly stomped a mudhole in the two of the mightiest warriors in Moab and walked it dry (that means he defeated them fully and killed them). He also took on a giant Egyptian warrior with a spear, while Benaiah had only a club. This guy disarmed said giant Egyptian and killed him with his own spear. That’s being as strong and bold as lion, folks!
All this was Benaiah’s audition, if you will. Benaiah had a chance to become part of David’s most trusted inner circle. But to do that; to become part of the inner circle of the most famous giant killer in history, you kinda had to up your game…like a lot.
Imagine standing before the lion and bear killer; The Goliath slayer, and being asked, “why should I choose you as part of my inner circle?”
I picture Benaiah standing boldly and stating with gusto, “Because I chased a lion into a pit and killed him. Oh, and I also killed Moab’s two mightiest warriors…and disarmed a giant Egyptian, killing him with his own spear.”
I also imagine David sitting on his throne with his jaw agape and, taken aback saying, “Uh…well…that’s impressive!…When can you start?”
So yeah…
On to Daniel in the lion’s den.
Throughout ancient history, we see lions used as a particularly brutal form of execution. The Romans used them, and other wild beasts to kill early Christians in the Roman Games.
But even before that, they were used to punish those who stood against kings (in this case King Darius). At this point in Daniel’s story, he had already been put through it. He’d seen himself and his brothers in faith suffer, and yet be raised up beyond human comprehension. He’d seen kings who saw themselves as gods, recognize his Hebrew God as one worthy of praise. And yet, as verse 16 begins, Daniel, who had gained the king’s favor found himself the victim of subterfuge at the hands of those who were jealous and fearful of his influence over the king.
A man of undying faith, Daniel would not give in to a decree the king was coerced into by his own trusted advisors. So Daniel found himself cast into a pit of lions. Not one lion, which would have been scary enough, but many. Many ravenous, razor sharp and powerful teeth and claws. But Daniel, like Benaiah had something the lions could not contend with. His faith. His unwavering faith that His God would deliver him in life, or in death.
As morning came the next day, the sealed pit was opened, and King Darius and his now surely bewildered advisors saw standing, and alive and well, Daniel. Imagine what those advisors must have thought to see not, the remains of Daniel’s carcass, ripped limb from limb, but Daniel himself standing in the midst of his would-be executioners, without a single scratch on him. I guess these guys didn’t get the memo about Daniel and his brethren, who stood in an inferno and were not even singed. I mean, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be trying to mess with old Danny, or his boys. But hey, common sense is not common to everyone.
Lions are scary, but also majestic. They can be evil (Satan, the prowling lion), or the ultimate good (Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah). They are also used as a reference point to how we, the righteous should show up, and as a means of measuring the true courage and strength of a godly warrior.
All that makes sense to me, because lions are the King of Beasts. They weren’t given that name lightly. Long before it was ever coined in more modern times, they were associated with the KING OF KINGS. I’d say that’s pretty high honor for any creature this side of heaven.
I almost forgot…
First off, thanks for reading this far.
If you have, here’s a little treat for you. It’s not particularly related to the rest of the post, but dang it, it’s just a cool story…
I mentioned a particular lion whose name, and story has fascinated me since I was 12 and first watched the documentary, Lions and Hyenas: The Blood Feud.
The story follows a particular pride of lions watched over by brothers. The older, larger brother is Mondeybu. but the little brother, if you can call him that, is who this part of the story is centered around. Little bro was dubbed Ntchwaidumela “He Who Greets with Fire” – The Hyena Killer. You’d think that name would be given to the big guy. Oh no. The older brother may have had the size. But the ferocity with which the younger brother carried out his attacks garnered him the most bad ass title I’ve ever heard.
Think about it. Would you ever mess with anyone who’s name means “He Who Greets with Fire”?
That’s a big fat NO for me.
A little more background is needed ahead of the clip at the end, though. This particular lion pride is in constant war with a hyena clan. The new Matriarch (they are one of the few pack animals who are a matriarchal society. Something else that fascinated me), continuously shows herself to be a thorn in the paw of the pride.
There’s a point early on in the documentary where a young lioness, Matsumi goes off to have her cubs, only to see them bitten and killed by a cobra, who’s molting (snakes are particularly dangerous during this time because their vision is blurred and they will strike at anything that comes near them). Matsumi is also bitten and blinded, yet she survives.Which, can we just take a second and marvel at how friggin’ much of a bad ass this lioness was for surviving the venom of a cobra? Just sayin’….
But I digress…
It’s during this time that the hyenas come in and take her dead cubs from her.
By the way, I cried my eyes out during this portion of the story.
From there, things escalate quickly. Matsumi now has a vendetta.
When tensions come to a head, the pride goes to war.
Big bro, Mondeybu decides to step away from the pride and out on his own, kind of. The pride is near enough to see him, but far enough away that he is leaving himself vulnerable should the entire hyena clan decide to attack. He decides he’s had enough of the bothersome clan. And starts a territory dispute. While this is going on Matsumi, the now battle hardened lead lioness still with the vendetta, sees her opportunity to lead her pride into battle.
The thing is the hyena clan outnumbers the lions. You’d think that would be an advantage. It’s not. And as dumb and bumbling as hyenas have long been made to seem, they are one of the most gifted and intelligent pack hunting animals on the planet. Their leader, while very brazen, is not stupid. She’s got her clan on high alert and ready to bolt should a full scale war happen.
However, In all of this, what the Matriarch and her kin fail to account for is the walking hyena killer who’s yet to make his presence known. There’s no sign of little brother, who previously killed the other Matriarch.
But he’s there. And he is waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
When little brother comes in, his focus is of a singular nature; seek out and kill the Matriarch. This is what he was born for. And he is uniquely equipped for it. He is calculated in his attack. Like Achilles seeking out the strongest amongst the Greeks’ enemies and striking a swift and precise killing blow, Ntchwaidumela locks onto the Matriarch. The hyena clan will not fight without their queen. He knows this, and so he flies in from seemingly nowhere, chases down his target and with one strike the war is over. The hyena clan is left without a Matriarch yet again.
The lions win the day.
Yeah…No….
Not ever going to piss that guy off.
Well, now that you’ve seen the clip, I feel this is a good place to end.
I hope this has not only educated you a bit on references to lions and their importance in the Bible, but entertained you with one of my favorite lion stories.
Thanks for reading!
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