Fifteenth Sunday of Pentecost

Ninevah Has Many Cattle

Jonah 4: 11

All cattle, world-wide, seem to be descended from the wild aurochs, which became extinct in the 17th century.

Cattle need more grass to eat than sheep do, and unlike sheep, they cannot climb steep hills or scramble over rocks, so not all of the Bible lands could support cattle.

The bulls below are ancient art from Ur (Abraham's father lived in Ur) and the clay bull comes from ancient Mycenae, a city in southern Greece. Ur was about 300 miles overland from Ninevah, so their cattle may have been somewhat alike.

Just as they are today, cattle were valuable for producing milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter, as well as for being used as draft animals for hauling and plowing.

And wherever cattle thrived, certain calves would be selected to be fattened on grain (like we do in feedlots today) to be butchered for large feasts - the father of the Prodigal Son gave that sort of feast, where the whole calf was roasted and everyone could eat as much beef as they wanted, an extraordinary luxury in that day and time.

Shape the cow or bull from bakeable clay (a finished size of 3-1/2 inches tall by 5 inches long is good), bake the clay according to the package directions, and paint appropriate markings on the cow.

And remember that even the cows of Ninevah cried out to God for healing and salvation.

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