Buffalos and Lions by Randy Rowley, 1/31/08 ©

 

 

On the first weekend of June 2007 Jim McGee and I hunted hogs on the 300-acre Wild Hog Hunting Ranch near Gonzales.  Hunting during the day was done by stalking.  The outfitter paired hunters up and dropped them off at various locations.  We saw deer, elk, and buffalo but no pigs.  We stalked until about 6:00 PM and then came back in for a dinner of chopped barbecue beef on top of humongous baked potatoes.

They didn't take us to the stands until after dark (if you're not equipped for night hunting this is not the place for you).  When we got to our stand we were dismayed to find that a herd of nine buffalo, including two young ones, had taken up residence where we had put out our corn.  Not having the option to hunt another stand, we decided to let them be, hoping that they would eventually move on.

The sky was mostly clear and we had a full moon.  We were able to see the buffalos’ dark shapes without having to use our spot lights.  At around 11:00 PM, a buffalo suddenly charged something!  It ran for about 30 yards.  Initially I thought that two buffalos had gotten into a fight but a check with my night vision monocular revealed that 14 new and much smaller shapes had joined the party - hogs!

All but one brave little pig ran off after another charge by the buffalo.  This audacious (or stupid) pig maneuvered into the herd of buffalo and feasted of corn for about five minutes.  We knew that if we shot him we would not get any more swine visitors that night, so we let him be, hoping that a larger hog would present itself.

We stayed out until a little after 2:00 AM.  We had hogs return eight times but never could get a shot (the hogs would come out, see the buffalo were still there, and then quickly fade back into the brush).

There are two meanings of the word buffaloed.  The first meaning is to intimidate or frighten.  That herd of hogs certainly was buffaloed by the charging buffalo.  He (or she) certainly was displaying his power and protective instinct.  I’m not sure if the buffalo was just trying to frighten the hogs away from the young buffalo, didn't want to share the corn with them, or really was trying to hurt them but the hogs certainly were buffaloed by it.  The second meaning of buffaloed is to puzzle, baffle, confuse or mystify (e.g., he was buffaloed by the problem).

Did you know that our adversary is called the father of lies?  In John Chapter 8 Jesus had a long conversation with the Pharisees.  In verse 44 (condensed), “Jesus said to them, “…He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan is credited by many scholars as being the serpent in the story of the fall of man.  In Genesis 3:1–19 (condensed) Moses recorded, “…He (the serpent) said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The woman said…, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said…  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil…”"  You know the rest of the story.  Satan’s first encounter with man was filled with lies and he’s been lying to us ever since.

Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 14:33 (condensed), “For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace,…”  The author of confusion is Satan.  He wants to buffalo us.

Just like he did to Eve, Satan whispers lies in our ears that sound sweet at the time but eventually (sometimes quickly) lead to our destruction.

Some of question lies that Satan tries to buffalo us with today include:

Some of the suggestion lies that Satan tries to buffalo us with today include:

Satan not only wants to buffalo us - he wants to devour us!  Peter described him in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self‑controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Satan despises us Christians because we have switched sides.  We no longer belong to him.  He cannot take away our salvation, but he will do everything in his power to make us ineffective as Christians.  He wants to take away our joy, peace, and abundant life.  He will do everything he can to confuse and depress us, get us mired in sin, and make us doubt who we are in Christ.  He wants to make us like the man described in Matthew 13:22, “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”

He knows that a confused, depressed, or doubting Christian, or one who is struggling with sin, will not want to share the gospel, teach others, serve the Lord in any capacity, and associate with people who remind him of the fruits of the spirit that are absent from his life.

Many examples of the tactics that Satan uses are found in Proverbs.  In 7:8–23 (condensed) Solomon wrote, “He was going down the street near her corner…Then out came a woman to meet him,…She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: “…I looked for you and have found you!...Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love!...With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.  All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter…little knowing it will cost him his life.”

Satan used this woman to cause this young man to sin.  But the fault is not all hers – the man had a choice.  He could have reacted like Joseph and ran away like he did when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him (see Genesis 39:6–20).  He could have done as Paul commanded in 1 Corinthians 6:18 (condensed) “Flee from sexual immorality...”

Like this man, when Satan tries to buffalo us with lies, confusion, and accusations we have a choice too.  We can choose to submit to God and resist Satan.  James tells us Christians in 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  This is one of the great mathematical promises of the Bible: Submit to God + Resist the devil = Satan will flee.  The first step is absolutely essential.  If we try to resist Satan without first submitting to God we will fail.  Submission to God gives us the strength to resist the devil.

James wrote his letter to the “twelve tribes scattered abroad” (James 1:1) – Jews who lived outside the land of Palestine.  He used the word “brethren” nineteen times.  He clarified that he was addressing brothers in the Lord as opposed to brothers generically in James 2:1, "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism."  So when he exhorts us to submit to God and resist the devil he was not addressing those who do not know the Lord.  Such people have no hope of resisting the devil.

Such people also have no hope in casting Satan out.  In Acts 19:13–16 (condensed) Luke wrote, “Some Jews…tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon‑possessed.  They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”  …One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”  Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all…”  These Jews knew about Jesus but didn’t know Him personally and belong to Him.  They were not filled with the Holy Spirit and, therefore, had no power or authority over Satan.

Fortunately God has given Christians armor and weapons for us to use to resist Satan.  Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:13 (NLT), “Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.”  God has given us the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness (verse 14), the gospel of peace for shoes (verse 15), the shield of faith (verse 16), and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (verse 17).

The word of God was exactly what Jesus used when He was tempted three times by the devil in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1–10). Jesus answered every temptation from Satan with scripture.

As Christians we should also stand on the fact that the Holy Spirit is more powerful than Satan.  In 1 John 4:1-4 (condensed) John wrote, "Dear friends...many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God...You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.".

Yes, there is an enemy out there who wants to buffalo us and devour us like a lion, but Praise God, he can be defeated by resisting him, the armor of God, and the Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us!

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