It seems there are many rabbits alive and well…

6rabbitMy yard has been full of tracks, and in the snow it is so easy to see the unique shape of the rabbit when sauntering along, nibbling on grass… And then to see them lengthen in stride as they run from predators.

All around the dogs special yard, and even in their pen you can see their shortcut tracks as they brave the wolf wanna-be’s…

Up and down the drive, almost to where I know for a certain the stray cat has been sleeping. In fact, I’m sure that the brier patch is full of rabbit nesting grounds! I know I’ve seen 10 or more at one time and when they begin to run you have no idea which way they will go!

We wondered why the cat would go one way when obvious dinner choices are headed the other way…and there are many diverging paths that the rabbits seem to go. We surmise, perhaps, he doesn’t care for rabbit today!

But not the dogs! Rabbits run…dogs chase… Seldom do the two get close to each other!

When you are reading something in sequence and then you find a multitude of pathways seemingly diverging in multiple directions, it makes you pause and wonder. What? I’ve found this to be true in books, speakers, songs, poems, and even preachers who seem to always know where they are going but the rest of us struggle with following their path.

Sometimes, like Robert Frost, the trail splits. The author goes one way, the followers go the other way!

Solomon seems to do this in Proverbs, Chapter 6. He’s chugging along with Chapter 5, and then it seems like he throws 4 main rabbit trails for one to consider, and never succinctly picks up the story in the next chapter. Chapter 6 is popular for certain portions of scriptures, but it seems to be a hodgepodge of other pieces of information. In fact, there are some obvious pastures that are stand-alone pieces of information that a rabbit can hang around in for a few hours.

(1) surety (security) (Pro. 6:1-5);
(2) sloth (Pro. 6:6-11);
(3) malice (Pro. 6:12-19); and
(4) adultery (Pro. 6:20 to the end).

One very popular portion of scripture is found in the sloth section.

Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8 NKJV)

And then it is wrapped up with another popular thought dealing with malice. Six things… the Lord hates… Wait. But Seven are an abomination! So, Solomon lists out seven things.

These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NKJV)

Think on it. Selah.

Do not be like the sloth…rather, the ant… Lay up for yourselves when the winter and bad times set in…. AND… What the Lord hates, we must hate. What is an abomination to him, then it must be an abomination to us. We walk in his footsteps. David said, “My soul follows close behind you!” (Psalms 63:8)

By Michael Gurley

Making Sense of Life, One Thought at a Time!