Chapter 2 - The Counsel

The eleventh hour was approaching, and it was almost time for the seven animals to arrive! Elijah had set his alarm clock for 11:00PM, and he was counting down the minutes. Even though Elijah had been staring at his alarm clock for three hours straight, when the alarm finally went off it scared him. “Aaahhh!” he screeched as he jumped about his nest with feathers ruffled. Quickly regaining his senses, Elijah then turned off his alarm clock. As soon as he did this, he heard a knocking sound coming from the bottom of the Great Oak. Then he heard a voice calling up to him.

“Umm, excuse me, Mr. Eagle sir,” a voice from below began. “I hate to interrupt you at such a late hour, but could you please tell me if this is the Great Oak? I, and apparently some others down here, recently received a note in the mail and were told by Jesus to come to the Great Oak at 11:00PM on this night for a meeting.”

Elijah peeked out over his nest and saw that it was a turtle speaking. “Yes, you have indeed reached the Great Oak,” Elijah answered from his nest. “Jesus told me that I should expect seven visitors tonight at this time.” Then grabbing the jar with the envelopes in it with his beak, Elijah flew out of his nest and down to the ground. “Welcome, dear friends,” he then continued. “My name is Elijah the Eagle. I live here at the top of this Great Oak tree. Servants of the living God, what are your names, and where have you come from?”

The first to answer was a young skunk. “My name is Sammy the Skunk,” the skunk said cheerfully. “I have come from a den located in a hollow tree about twenty miles east of here.”

Next a young turtle introduced herself. “I am Tanya the Turtle,” the turtle said very slowly. “I really don’t come from anywhere, and yet I seem to come from everywhere. You see, I live in a mobile home of sorts. This shell goes with me wherever I go. Inside it I keep my sunglasses, my toothbrush, and my tennis shoes.”

 “Nice to meet you, Tanya,” a poky porcupine then began. “My name is Paul the Porcupine. I live in a tunnel in the ground about fifteen miles south of here, not too far from Pine Tree Creek.”

 “Hey, I’ve been to Pine Tree Creek several times!” a bullfrog exclaimed in a low, croaky voice. “I have an uncle there named Frederick Floppy-Frog the Third. They call him Frederick the Floppy Frog because after ten years of croaking as a professional on Lily-Pad Row in Frogville, he finally lost his singing voice. So, instead of croaking on the Lily-pad, he started flopping on it instead. He quickly became famous as an expert frog-flopper and became the flop artist for a small band of tap-dancing toads. Ever since I was a little tadpole surfing the pond-scum, Uncle Frederick has been my favorite uncle. Anyway, as for me, my name is Billy the Bullfrog, though some call me by my nickname, Jeremiah.”

 “Hmm…Jeremiah the bullfrog…” a stick bug began to wonder out loud as he scratched his chin. “Hey, haven’t I heard a famous song about you somewhere?!”

“Actually,” Jeremiah replied, “that song was about my thirty-seventh cousin Jeremiah the Friendly. He was indeed a good friend of many—and of mine.”

“Oh, I see,” the stick bug said. “Well, my name is Wilbert the Walking Stick Bug. I usually perch myself on a tree about five miles west of here. Because I look like a stick, even if you have passed that way before you probably didn’t notice me. I really don’t stick out much.”

 “Well, I think it is really cool how you look like a stick, Wilbert,” a smiling little squirrel said quickly with a jittery voice. “My name is Sally the Squirrel. I am in charge of a nut-gathering operation about 9 miles to the southeast of here.”

“Wow, I’ve heard about how many nuts you squirrels gather over in that area each year,” a beaver responded enthusiastically. “Pretty impressive, I must say. Anyhow, my name is Barbara the Beaver. I make my lodge down near the river.”

When the skunk, the turtle, the porcupine, the bullfrog, the stick bug, the squirrel, and the beaver had all finished introducing themselves, Elijah the Eagle just stared at this odd mixture of animals for a few moments in silence. Quite honestly, he was a bit surprised by the ones God had chosen to be part of this meeting. “Lord,” he began to pray quietly in his head, “are You sure these are the right animals for the job? Who would ever take a stinky skunk seriously? Who would ever think that a poky porcupine would have something important to say? Who would ever listen to a homeless, slow-moving turtle? Who would ever give the time of day to a croaking bullfrog, or a jittery squirrel, or a buck-toothed beaver? Who would ever notice a little stick bug that blended in so easily with the trees? Would it not be better to use some big, majestic buck deer to do Your work? Or what about some elk, or some moose, with huge antlers? Surely beautiful antlers would command the attention of an audience, wouldn’t they?”

As Elijah was asking the Lord these questions, immediately the Holy Spirit brought two Bible verses to his mind. The first verse that popped into his head was 1 Samuel 16:7, which says, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The second verse was 1 Corinthians 1:27: “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the wise.” As Elijah thought about these verses, he then understood what God was up to. In His wisdom, God had intentionally invited to the council animals that seemed weak, foolish, and lowly in the eyes of the other animals of the Western Woods. By choosing to speak His truth through messengers that no one would normally take seriously, God was about to test whether it was truth, or the praise of man, that His family in the Western Woods really loved.

 “My friends,” Elijah then said, “I welcome you to the Great Oak. Jesus has summoned you here because He has very important jobs for all of you to do.” Then Elijah showed the seven council members the jar with the seven envelopes in it. “In this jar,” the eagle continued, “are seven envelopes, one for each of you. On the back of these envelopes are Jesus’ instructions to you.” Then with his beak Elijah handed each of the animals their envelope. “Jesus told me,” Elijah said, “to make sure to tell you that you must follow the directions on your envelope exactly as He has given them. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like each of you to read your assignments out loud. Sammy, would you like to start?”

 “Sure, no problem,” Sammy the Skunk replied. “Dear Sammy, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope is a letter that I want you to go and read to the turkeys of the Western Woods. I love them very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and the turkeys are in great need of My discipline. Sammy, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I want you to warn My turkeys. Some may gobble at you with fancy words, and others may say that you and your message stink. However, don’t be afraid of them, for I am with you. Please wait until you get to the turkeys before you open the envelope and read the letter inside.”

Next it was Tanya the Turtle’s turn. “Dear Tanya, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope is a letter that I want you to go and read to the foxes of the Western Woods. I love them very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and the foxes are in great need of My discipline. Tanya, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I want you to warn My foxes. Some may criticize your life as a homeless wanderer, and others may say that your message is not up to speed with the modern world. Some may say that your methods are too weak, your pace too slow, and your systems too simple. Others might call you irrelevant. However, don’t be afraid of them, for I am with you. Please wait until you get to the foxes before you open the envelope and read the letter inside.”

Paul the Porcupine went next. “Dear Paul, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope is a letter that I want you to go and read to the raccoons of the Western Woods. I love them very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and the raccoons are in great need of My discipline. Paul, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I want you to warn My raccoons. Some may say that your message is too poky for them and makes them feel uncomfortable, and others may snarl their teeth at you and swipe at you with their claws. However, don’t be afraid of them, for I am with you. Please wait until you get to the raccoons before you open the envelope and read it to them.”

Billy the Bullfrog was next. “Dear Billy, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope is a letter that I want you to go and read to the sloths of the Western Woods. I love them very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and the sloths are in great need of My discipline. Billy, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I want you to warn My sloths. Some may say that all your croaking is unnecessary, and others may fall asleep on you. However, don’t be afraid of them, for I am with you. Please wait until you get to the sloths before you open the envelope and read the letter inside.”

Then Wilbert the Walking Stick Bug began to read the instructions on his envelope. “Dear Wilbert, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope is a letter that I want you to go and read to the opossums of the Western Woods. I love them very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and the opossums are in great need of My discipline. Billy, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I want you to warn My opossums. Some may accuse your message as being of the devil, and others might call you a stick-in-the-mud. However, don’t be afraid of them, for I am with you. Please wait until you get to the opossums before you open the envelope and read the letter inside.”

Then Sally the Squirrel read the instructions on the back of her envelope. “Dear Sally, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope is a letter that I want you to take back home and read to the other squirrels. The letter will tell you about a very important job I want you all to do. Sally, I love My family in the Western Woods very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and My family is in great need of My discipline. Sally, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I will test the hearts of all My creatures. However, though I wound, I will also heal. The assignment I have given you squirrels will be like the Balm of Gilead. Work at it, therefore, with all your hearts.”

Finally, Barbara the Beaver read the back of her envelope. “Dear Barbara, I love you,” the instructions began. “In this envelope are pictures that will show you how to build something very important to Me. Barbara, I love My family in the Western Woods very much, and they are dear to Me. Those whom I love, whom I consider sons and daughters, I discipline, and My family is in great need of My discipline. Barbara, I am going to send fire to the Western Woods, and I will test the hearts of all My creatures. Once they have been humbled, I will meet them here at the Great Oak and give them the only compass that can see them through the storms of the end of the age. Barbara, I want you to stay here at the Great Oak. When all the other animals have left, you may open your envelope and then begin the work I have entrusted to you. The job I have given you, My friend—work at it with all your heart.”

When all of the animals finished reading the instructions that Jesus had written on the back of their envelopes, Elijah the Eagle looked up toward his nest and noticed the time on his alarm clock. It was 12:00am. Faster than anyone had expected, the eleventh hour had passed and it was now midnight. Sammy the Skunk, Tanya the Turtle, Paul the Porcupine, Billy the Bullfrog, Wilbert the Walking Stick Bug, Sally the Squirrel, and Barbara the Beaver knew that they had all been entrusted with very important tasks. They knew that the hour was urgent and that the time of the Bridegroom’s arrival was sooner than anyone had realized. They also knew that Jesus was very serious about purifying His Bride before His return. They knew that just as Jesus entered into His glory only after carrying His cross, so too in this age His Bride must go through many hardships before receiving glory at the Second Coming. After praying with Elijah the Eagle, the seven animals immediately set about their missions. There was no time to waste.