8/11/2019 Bird Catching

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BIRD-CATCHING

The righteous are confronted with subtle snares, hidden traps, attractive lures,and bait placed in their path to draw them into the domain of the wicked whoseek to bring them to moral and spiritual ruin Ho 9:8 (Insightunder

Birdcatcher).

birdcatcherin Bible times first carefull! studied the peculiarities and habits ofthe t!pe of birds he wished to ensnare. Then, he devised cunning methods totrap them. "n likening #atan to a birdcatcher, the Bible helps us understand hismethods. The $evil studies us as individuals. %e notes our habits andcharacteristics and sets hidden traps in an attempt to catch us alive (W&' '*p. +).

Because of the placement of their e!es on each side of the head, most birdshave a wider range of vision than do humans. lso, some birds can discernob-ects at a distance that would reuire the use of binoculars b! men ( Insight

under Birdcatcher).Decoy-birds.The birds emplo!ed for this purpose are ver! carefull! trained andperfectl! tame, that the! ma! utter their natural call/note without an! alarm fromthe neighborhood of man The deco!/bird, in a cage, is placed in a concealedposition, while the fowler is secreted in the neighborhood, near enough tomanage his snares. 0or game/birds,a common method is to construct ofbrushwood a narrow run leading to the cage, sometimes using a sort of bag/netwithin the brushwood. This has a trap/door at the entrance, and when the dupehas entered the run, the door is dropped

The sportsman first hung the cage with his call bird on the bough of a tree,

under which, or at some convenient distance from it, he contrived to concealhimself, and when a bird, attracted b! the singing of its companion, perched onthe branches, he uietl! inserted his rod amongst the boughs, until it reached hispre!, which stuck to the lime, and was thus drawn to the ground. 1hen the treewas ver! high, or the fowler under the necessit! of taking up his position at adistance from it, the rod was made in separate -oints, like our fishing rods, so thathe could graduall! lengthen it out until it reached the ob-ect of his pursuit (RichAntiqunder rundo 23ane4).

ssociations gained over the internet could easil! be like these deco! birds, forwe do not see them close up, and so cannot know what the! reall! are, whethertrue servants of 5ehovah, or ones that onl! appear as such from a distance.

"t is good to know well an!one who claims to worship 5ehovah before makingthat one a close companion. "n that wa! we can avoid being entrapped in an!uestionable conduct, -ust as a bird is taken in a hidden cage, or enmired in bird/lime.