Page 106 - Through New Eyes

100 THROUGH NEW EYES
Birds are associated with the ‘heavens above .“ Thus, they are
frequently symbols of spirits, clean or unclean. The dove can
symbolize the Spirit of God, Who hovered over the creation in
Genesis 1 and over our Lord at His baptism (Matthew 3:16).
The dove’s flying over the waters of the Flood while it receded is
an image of a new creation (Genesis 8:8-12). Unclean birds can
thus be associated with the demonic realm (Revelation 18:2; Isa-
iah 34:8-15).
I’ish are associated with the “waters under the earth.” In Bib-
lical imagery, the seas are generally the world of the Gentiles.
Israel is a people of the land, and throughout the Old Testa-
ment, the important people of God were farmers and herdsmen,
not fishermen. Jonah traveled by sea to get to Gentile Nineveh,
and Gentile Tyre is pictured as a vast ship of state sailing on the
seas (Ezekiel 27: 25-36). In the New Covenant, however, all is
changed. The Apostles were largely fishermen. Jesus fed the
crowds with fish. Paul carried the Gospel abroad over water. All
this indicates a shift from land to sea, from Israel to the nations.
Dwne.stic animals are those that live with men, and thus are
somewhat dependent on man for life. They are man’s closest
helpers, and most closely image the life of man. Cats and dogs
and sheep and cattle and horses are much more “human” than
are armadillos, possums, and bears. Such domestic animals
come to represent Israel, God’s domestic people.
Wild animals are those that live by themselves, without man’s
help. Such wild animals often represent Gentiles, especially con-
verted and ennobled Gentiles, who may not live in Israel, but
who are still admirable.
Finally, the creeping things are those that live in the dirt. After
the ground was cursed, these came to be associated with the ser-
pent, and with evil men (Genesis 3:14, 15, 17). 11

Clean and Unclean Animals
What was it that made some animals clean and others un-
clean during the Old Covenant ? Some have suggested that it
was the food value of their meat, but this cannot be so. The dis-
tinction between clean and unclean was known before the Flood,
when men apparently did not yet eat meat. After the Flood, God
gave Noah permission to eat the flesh of all animals, without re-