Lessons of the Camel

After Israel had settled in the land of Canaan, the use of camels was not so common. But it is evident that the camel was still a familiar beast in the land until the time of the New Covenant. The camel is a cold-blooded, heavy, sullen animal, having little feeling for pain. Thistles and briars and thorns he crops and chews with more avidity than the softest green fodder; nor does he seem to feel pain from blows or pricks.
Here is a significant lesson for the Believers; regardless of what the outward circumstances of life may be and regardless of how barren a spiritual desert you live in and work in, you need not fall or succumb to temptation. (1 Cor. 4:11-13; 2 Cor. 4:8-12 and Heb. 11:32-40
The way the camel carry their heads erect, leave one with an unforgettable impression of defiance toward all other creatures, including humans. He seems to be constantly alert to everything around him. He is completely unaffected by things which cause other creatures to grow weary. Neither distance nor heat nor heavy load causes the camel to betray defeat or fatigue by the posture of his head. In this characteristic he is unique among all creatures, including man. Camels have been called “ships of the desert”. He can travel for many hours - even days - without food or water, up to 7 or 8 days without nourishment or hydration. In his body the camel has a series of cells, or sacks, in which water is stored. To fill them he consumes as much as nine or ten gallons of water at a single drink of a few minutes duration. These inward organic stomachs will supply him with water for several days’ journey. When caravans run out of water, a camel will sometimes be killed to extract water from its stomachs to save people’s lives.
The camel’s hump contains another hidden source of nutrient supply. Before a long journey they are fed as much as possible by their owners, and a fatty matter is accumulated in the hump to provide a reserve to be utilized as needed on his journey. At the beginning of the journey, the camel’s hump is normally very large and quite soft with this partially digested food. When he returns from his journey the hump is small, only an empty bag of skin hanging from its back.
Here is a lesson - we can be sustained in the trials and temptations of life because we are able to store up in our soul nourishment from the Word.
A characteristic, which is a great asset to the camel, is his surefootedness. He can travel with apparent ease and safety up and down the mountain slopes. He does not choose the path of least resistance when the going is tough, as a horse or a mule does, but seems instead to tread all the more surely and is rarely known to slip or stumble. We need to maintain a balanced walk. The camel is a common beast of burden for desert dwellers.
But because the beast is so tall, he is difficult to load or to mount. So he is taught to kneel to receive his burden, whether it is a passenger or some commodity. He first bends his forelegs and falls upon his knees and gradually settles down so that finally his breast lies solidly on the ground. A wooden frame, or saddle, usually made of cypress wood, spans his back, being girded tightly to him with either ropes or thin leather straps. Having received his load, the camel raises to his feet by revering the process he used in kneeling down. A gesture of humility and submission on the part of the camel as he kneels to have his burden placed or removed.
When the trials of life are laid on us, or when the hand of G-d places some special load or burden on us, we also must kneel in submission under His sovereign hand to accept the burden, asking Him for strength and grace to bear it, not resist or shirk those burdens and responsibilities.
We must kneel for release, at the close of our day, when the going has been hard and the burden heavy.
Another outstanding characteristic of the camel is his constant, steady gait; he continues his journey at a fixed, steady pace.
We should not be plunging and dashing, and become exhausted and fall by the wayside. One who will walk and not faint (Isa. 40:31). It is the stead fast Believer that produces fruit for the Father
The city of Damascus has a section with a very ancient wall with huge wooden gates called “needle’s eye.” The Jaffa gate in Jerusalem also has a very fine example of one of these small “needle’s eye” entrances. These gates made to allow travelers to enter or leave the city at night when the large main gates were barred. To get a camel to go through these gates, it would have to be unloaded of all of its baggage and made to kneel and literally crawl through the “needle’s eye” on his knees. Stripped bare and sown on its knees! The rich young ruler was unwilling to loosen his grip on worldly wealth and material possessions.
One needs to let go of his material wealth and humbly kneeling to the level of a poverty-stricken sinner at the feet of Y’Shua. Letting go of the burden of a guilty conscience and repent of your sinful life to join the fellowship of Y’Shua.
May we all learn the lessons of the camel and remain steady, unceasing pace like a faithful camel with endurance for the long pull.