It’s Sunday evening, I have just gotten up from my afternoon nap. My
children are gathered on the bed around me. As we lay around, we are
simply enjoying one another’s company. While the family is talking,
I pick up the Lectionary Passage for the coming week. The Old Testament
reading comes from the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verses 8 through 11. I
read the passage to myself and just kind of giggle. I then read the
passage out loud to my family. By the time I am through reading, we are
all laughing hysterically as we envision some guy in a white cotton gown,
dancing through a field of flowers not unlike Tiny Tim. Listen to the
words.
“The voice of my beloved. Look, he comes, leaping upon the
mountain, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young
stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and
come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and
gone.’”
Well, maybe you just had to be there. But then a strange thought hit me.
This passage is about deer. I just received my deer hunting packet from
the Delta National Forest. Deer season is just around the corner. Could
there possible be a biblical tie to hunting in general and deer hunting in
particular? Was deer hunting important in Old Testament or New Testament
Times? I thought to myself, “Why not find out?” Deer hunting
might be fun for a sermon topic. So, hold on to your rifles, here we go!
Let’s start our deer hunt in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy
which is the last book in the Law of Moses. The word Deuteronomy means
“repetition of the law”. So, Deuteronomy is an integral part
of God’s law that was recorded by Moses. Moreover, Jesus himself
quotes Deuteronomy as law. In fact, there are almost 100 quotations and
references to Deuteronomy in the New Testament. Therefore, we can be
assured that Deuteronomy is not just Old Testament Law, but is, instead,
God’s law for both the Old and New Testaments.
Now, as we begin our reading in Deuteronomy, we find Moses and the
Israelites in the territory of Moab. Moses is delivering his farewell
speeches in order to prepare the people for their entrance into Canaan.
Moses is readdressing God’s covenant with the Israelites and is
emphasizing the laws that will be needed in their journey into the
promised land. Let’s see what Moses has to say about deer in the
12th chapter, 15th verse of Deuteronomy.
“Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns
and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer,
according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you.”
In this passage, God tells the Israelites that they can slaughter and eat
as much meat as they want, just as if it were gazelle or deer meat. Does
this mean that we can eat as much deer meat and gazelle meat as we want?
Let’s look at the 22nd verse of chapter 12.
“Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially clean
and unclean may eat.”
Seems to me that God has given us permission to hunt deer and gazelle. And
God has given us permission to eat of it as much as we want. But, are
their other animals which we may hunt? Listen to Deuteronomy 14:4.
“These are the animals you may eat; the ox, the sheep, the goat,
the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the Ibex, the
antelope, and the mountain sheep.”
Now, even though we are told that we may eat of these other animals, there
seems to be a special significance to deer and gazelle. In the 15th
chapter of Deuteronomy, God tells the Israelites to set aside the first
born of their flocks and to eat them in His presence as if they were
gazelle or deer. As you can plainly see, Deer and gazelle hunting have
been with us since the time of Moses. Maybe this is the reason that deer
hunting has always been important with church folk. And Deer hunting seems
to have been a significant part of the lives of many biblical characters.
Listen to the words of King David in the 42nd Psalm.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you,
O God.”
In this Psalm, David makes the deer the symbol for the soul’s
longing for God. And it is because of this one passage, deer have become
the symbol for purity, and the pursuit of intimacy with God. Because of
this passage, Deer are often found on baptismal fonts and Eucharist Cups,
symbolizing the soul’s desire for baptism and Holy Communion.
Let’s look, now, at the 2nd chapter of Song of Songs, verses 16 and
17.
“My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies. Until
the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my love and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag on the hills of Bether.”
As I read these words, visions of past deer hunts floated across my mind.
Surely, the author of these powerful images has watched deer feeding
across the hills of Bether. Surely, every hunter upon hearing these words,
can recall the wonders of God’s design as we watched the deer feed
across the patches of our memory. And did you know that, throughout church
history, Christ is said to have appeared in the form of a deer. In fact,
in some religions, the deer’s actions as leader of the herd are
reminders of Christ’s role as protector and guide of the church. And
in many literary works, Deer have represented our soul’s longing for
Christ, and also Christ’s longing for the salvation of our souls.
But as I recall the beauty of the deer, I cannot help but reflect back on
the ugliness. I recall those so called hunters that shoot anything that
moves. I recall those so called hunters that shoot baby deer and leave
them in the woods to rot. I recall those so called hunters who ride the
roads at night only to shoot the deer stunned by their headlights. I
recall those so called hunters that take the deer horns and the back strap
and leave the rest of the deer where it dropped.
Hunting is a part of our legacy. But it has not always been a legacy of
which we can be proud. How many hunters have we known that get drunk every
night and shoot up the woods during the day. How many Christians turn
heathen upon their arrival at the deer camp? How many times have we
forgotten God in our hunting experience?
There’s a church that I know of in north Alabama that always puts
God in their hunts. Why, every year, they sponsor a Coon hunt for Christ.
The Pastor says the object of the coon hunt is to teach the children Christian
values. I wonder what kind of Christian values we teach by releasing a
pack of dogs on a racoon only to sent it to eternity with a shotgun.
I’ve really tried to think of a Biblical connection between Jesus
and coon hunting. I’ve even searched my memory for passages
referring to racoons roaming the hills of Galilee and Judea. Somehow, I
just can’t remember any significant coon stories in the Bible.
However, I think I can remember God saying something like this to Moses.
These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And
thou shalt teach them unto thy children, and thou shalt talk of them when
thou comest in and when thou goest out, and especially when thou goest
coon hunting.
Well, I can’t remember exactly where in the Bible I read that
passage. You know, if I can’t remember where God talked about coon
hunting in the Old Testament, maybe Jesus talked about coons in the New
Testament. I am sure that Jesus touched on coon hunting during one of his
sermons on the mount. Didn’t Jesus say something like:
Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will take you
coon hunting. Or maybe he said there is a time to reap and a time to sow,
and a time for every racoon under heaven.
You know, I spent all day searching my Biblical concordance and I just
couldn’t find those verses. Maybe, I’ll have better luck
looking up the parable about the lost racoon. You know the story.
It’s the story where Jesus left the 99 racoons and went after the
racoon that got lost. No, if memory serves me right, Jesus went after a
sheep. And when he had found that sheep, he brought it back home and
rejoiced with his friends. I don’t remember him using a 12 gauge
shotgun, but you know how your memory fades when you get old.
You know, as I set and think a spell, the Bible seems to be more concerned
with sheep than with racoons. I wonder why that church in Alabama
doesn’t spread the gospel by turning a lamb loose in the hills and
letting the young people go and find it. What possible use does the church
have for a bunch of dead racoons? I’ve heard, but I don’t
really know for sure, didn’t those golden racoon arches go out of
business?
And you know, now that I think about it, Hardies hasn’t had a good
coon burger in it seems like forever. I just don’t know why they
don’t serve a good coon burger. Why, I’ve been told that if
racoon is cooked just right, and you have a strong imagination, and
you’re hungry enough, racoon tastes just like chicken. Boy,
don’t that sound good?
I’m getting myself excited. I need to make a note to myself to clean
my shotgun, and to check my ammunition, double ought buck I believe. I
need to try on the latest hunting clothes before “coon season”
catches me unprepared. I know that the camouflage is expensive. But, after
all, $150.00 for a genuine Gortex hunting cap is a necessity. Maw and the
kids can eat next week. I said, Maw and the kids can eat next week. But
first, I need to finish writing this sermon.
Anyway, if you are traveling up North Alabama way, and you see some folks
with coonskin hats, you might want to stop for awhile. After all,
they’re just plain old Christian folks, killing a few coons for
Christ. And who knows, maybe one day, they’ll kill chickens for
Christ? Or maybe they’ll tie strings of firecrackers Bobcats for
Christ? Lord knows they won’t need a revival in that church for
quite some time.
Listen. Don’t get me wrong. I think hunting is an essential part of
who we are as a people. As we have seen this morning, Jews and Gentiles
have been hunters throughout history, and with God’s blessing.
Ethical hunters provide from improvement in the game and the game habitat.
They provide food for the hungry. They pass on a love of nature to their
children. And they provide food for their families.
I don’t have a problem with hunters. I don’t even have a
problem with people who hunt on Sundays as long as they make it to church.
But, after all, if you can’t give God an hour of your time during
hunting season, can God really give you eternal life? Everything has
it’s season. And pretty soon, it will be the season for deer. But
now is the season for worship. Now is the time for Communion, the time for
Holy Communion with God. And now, King David’s words have meaning.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you,
O God.”
This is God’s word for God’s people. Blessed be the name of
the Lord.
