A Whale of a Time
By Pastor Mitch
February 20, 2012
The humpback whale is a magnificent creature. With adults growing in length up to 16 metres long and weighing approximately 36 tons, it is quite a sight to see these agile mammals breech out of the water. The name “humpback” describes the motion the whale makes as it arches its back out of the water in preparation for a dive. Its heart can weigh up to 195 kg, which is almost equivalent to the weight of three men. The humpback whales typically travel about 25,000 kilometres each year along it migratory routes. The male humpback can produce intricate whale songs that can last 20 minutes long and they can sing it continually for hours. Basically, this sea mammal feeds during the summer and depend on its fat reserves during the winter. This is what Wikipedia has to say about one of its feeding techniques.
“The humpback has the most diverse feeding repertoire of all baleen whales. Its most inventive technique is known as bubble net feeding: a group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the ‘net’, mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fishes in one gulp.”
During such feeding moments, they must be having a whale of a time.
IN WISDOM YOU HAVE MADE THEM ALL
“O Lord. how manifold are your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions – This great and wide sea, in which innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great.”
– Psalm 104:24-25
God created all great sea creatures and every living thing in the oceans and they were created based on His infinite wisdom. The Psalmist, as he reflected on the Lord’s creation, could not help but extolled Him. The whole earth is covered with all of the His creatures…oceans teeming with endless schools of fishes. They display the greatness of the Lord’s abundant works. They reveal the wonder of the Lord’s wisdom.
THESE ALL WAIT FOR YOU
These innumerable fishes and living creatures in the great oceans and seas provide food for mankind and for all creatures like the whale. Man and all animals learn an important universal principle of waiting on God for their provision.
“These all wait for You, that you may give them their food in due season.”
– Psalm 104:27
God made animals with the instinct to depend on a higher being for their food. If animals can recognize this, by a greater degree, we should too. Man with the faculty of the mind should be able to do much better. They must also learn to recognise that all provision come from the Lord. They should be able to exercise faith in depending on God for all things. Young people, let’s learn to wait upon the Lord to provide for all our needs in life.
