The big bad wolf!

Do you remember those childhood stories about the big bad wolf? There are many narratives featuring this almost universally feared animal. The three little pigs had a run-in with him, as did the poor little girl in the red cape. A mother goat and her seven kids were on the menu for one bold, but eventually very dead, wolf. 

There are countless local variations on these archetypical tales; usually they end with the messy death of canis lupis (Mr. Wolfie to us unscientific types) 

The wolf has such a bad reputation that an often fatal autoimmune disease, lupus erythematosus, literally “the destroyer” is named after it. When this disease was first recognized in the 18th century it was thought that it was caused by the bite of a wolf. This may have been because of the distinctive rash characteristic of lupus. When the rash heals from the inside out, it leaves a bite-like imprint. 

Wolves have had a very long association with humanity, and yet it’s not been until comparatively recent times that we have begun to appreciate them as anything other than the progenitor of our modern canine “best friend”, the pampered pooch. 

The fearsome and rapacious notoriety of the wolf is not entirely undeserved, and their nerve tingling habit of howling at the moon has only served to embellish their “horror movie” status. In an old National Geographic magazine article a photographic journalist described how a seven-member pack of wolves had targeted several musk-oxen calves that were guarded by eleven adults.  As the wolves approached their quarry, the musk-oxen bunched in an impenetrable semicircle, their deadly rear hooves facing out, and the calves remained safe during a long standoff with the enemy. 

It was not until a single ox broke rank and the herd scattered into nervous little groups.  A skirmish ensued, and the adults finally fled in panic, leaving the calves to the mercy of the predators.  Not a single calf survived.

The Apostle Paul likened “traitors to the cause” to wolves: “Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for Himself] with His own blood. I know that after I am gone, ferocious wolves will get in among you, not sparing the flock; Even from among your own selves men will come to the front who, by saying perverse (distorted and corrupt) things, will endeavor to draw away the disciples after them [to their own party]. Acts 20:28-30

Jesus compared false prophets to wolves, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves Matthew 7:15
 

Not all biblical "illustrations" of wolves are necessarily bad, evil or portents of ill, Benjamin was as labelled one… “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at night dividing the spoil.” This was not an insult, but was rather a prophetic insight into the nature of the tribe that bore his name, because of the courage and ferocity which they invariably displayed, particularly in their civil war with the other tribes, in which they killed more men than all of their own numbers combined. In one legendary battle 26,000 Benjamites defeated 400,000 sword-welding infantry. (Judges 20) King David’s closest friend, Jonathan and the Apostle Paul were Benjamites, and both of these men displayed a ferocious courage.

There is a time coming when the wolf will no longer inspire fear and dread. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy Mount [Zion], says the Lord.” Isaiah 65:25 Amplified Bible

However, until that day we are be vigilant in our associations with non believers, whom the Bible likens to big bad wolf of childhood literature.  “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves; be wary and *wise as serpents, and be innocent (harmless, guileless, and without falsity) as doves.” Matthew 10:16 Amplified Bible

Quoting Jamieson, Fausset & Brown’s commentary, on this verse we read “To be left exposed, as sheep to wolves, would have been startling enough; but that the sheep should be sent among the wolves would sound strange indeed. No wonder this announcement begins with the exclamation, “Behold”

As I often say, we do indeed belong to an “up-side-down kingdom”. 

 *The reference that Jesus made to being as wise as serpents most likely draws attention to the cautious nature of snakes, they are very adept at avoiding danger, and in the ancient world were a universal symbol of cunning and wisdom. A little known fact about snakes is that they have no eyelids, therefore they never actually close their eyes, even when asleep.