2. The Coney – Building Wisely

“The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks”

(Proverbs 30:26)

Image: Stolz, Gary M./USFWS

Here is an animal which is a bit of a puzzle. What exactly is the ‘coney’? Some have identified it with the rabbit and others with the badger. But both of these animals are burrowers: they dig a hole in the earth and make a home for themselves there. By contrast the coney makes its home “in the rocks.”

There is an animal found in Palestine which fits this description. It is known in science as the hyrax. The hyrax is similar in size and colour to the rabbit but its shape is more like that of the guinea-pig. It has no tail and has long, bristly hairs among its short fur. It was designed by God to live in rocky crevices and it shows us how we should make our spiritual home. What can we learn from the coney?

We must say first of all that the coney is weak. The most significant thing for us about the coney is its feet. Its toes are soft with flat nails and this means that the coney cannot dig into the earth with its paws. So unlike some other animals the coney is unable to burrow and to build itself a home.

How like ourselves with salvation and an eternal home! We cannot prepare it by our own efforts, although many try to. Sin you see has corrupted us and has disabled us from performing our duties to God and from doing any good in his sight. We sit as did the lame man at the gate of the temple and like him we can only beg for help (Acts 3:2). Even when we become true Christians we have weak and tender ‘paws’ and all our good works fall far short of the obedience God requires.

The coney however is very wise, as Solomon noted in his proverb. Aware of its own inability the coney makes use of a home which has already been prepared for it by the Lord! Feeble in itself the coney finds a dwelling in the mighty rocks. What the coney lacks in strength it makes up for in wisdom.

Through the preaching of the gospel God gives wisdom to poor and needy sinners that they may abandon every other help and go to Jesus Christ, the only Saviour from sin. Is not he “the rock of our salvation” (Psa.95:1)? If you are truly wise you will say to yourself like the prodigal son, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee” (Luke 15:18). You will pray to the Lord like the psalmist, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psa.61:2).

The believer does not literally make his house “in the rocks.” Some have tried doing just that. They have gone into deserts and mountains and other far away places to get away from the world and its temptations. But that is not really being wise. The world is also in our hearts and we cannot escape its attractions so easily. No, the believer instead makes his house on the Rock. This he does by repenting of his sins and trusting in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

The coney is also naturally shy. A quiet, gentle creature, it only comes out of its dwelling during the day, while it is light. It loves to bask in the sun but it is always cautious in its movements, watching the shadows, fearful in case a passing bird may swoop down upon it and make of it a prey.

Are you careful to avoid spiritual danger? Do you keep away from those places and that company which would lead you into sin? The place where the Christian desires to be, like the coney, is “in the light,” or wherever truth and righteousness are found, for that is where God himself is to be found (1John 1:7). Never go where you would be ashamed to ask Christ to go with you!

Finally, the coney is quite secure. Its home in the rocks is well-suited to it and provides it with a shelter from some powerful enemies. The coney is often the target of eagles and hawks, birds which are swift and strong. But, “the high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies” (Psa.104:18).

If you are a true Christian, you too will have enemies here. There is a wicked world around you, a sinful heart within you and Satan after you with his fiery darts. To fight against these foes and to cope with the ups and downs and twists and turns of life you need to take yourself to God, who is our refuge and strength (Psa.46:1). Pray continually for his grace that you may stand firm and overcome at the last.

How we should praise God for Jesus Christ, the solid rock on which the church is built (Matt.16:18)! In him we are safe from the wrath of God against sin and from the rage of wicked men. Kept by him we may dwell here peacefully and joyfully, waiting for that call of God which will take us to our heavenly mansion, prepared for us by Jesus. That will certainly be the best home of all.