Among four "little things," described as "very wise," are "the conies" (Proverbs 30:24, 26, NIV; "coneys," Psalm 104:18, NIV; "rock badgers," NKJV). Conies (also called "pikas" or "rock rabbits") "are not mighty folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks" where the "cliffs are a refuge" (Psalm 104:18; Proverbs 30:26, NASV).

I. A SMALL ANIMAL

The cony is a small animal "of the same order as rabbits," from 5 to 12 inches long, weighing from 3.5 to 14 ounces, and are slightly larger than prairie dogs (ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA). They have short, rounded ears and no visible tail. They "feed on plants," and also cut vegetation and pile it "in the sun to make hay," preparing "for winter" (ibid.).

Conies live "gregariously" (Gesenius), in clans and colonies, indicating they are fond of the company of others, and are sociable. They make a quiet, bleating noise. Their warning cry "is ventriloquial" (ibid.), a whistling or piping sound seemingly coming from the belly.

Their color is "gray, the color of rocks" (CHRISTIANITY TODAY, 4-27-92). As long as a cony is on a rock sunning, it is almost impossible to see" (ibid.), giving them a camouflage covering. When a predator comes to attack, the cony, knowing he is not strong, does not fight, but runs into a hole in the rock. "If a vulture or eagle wants to sweep down on the" cony, "it has to knock down a mountain to get at it" (ibid.).

The Hebrew word for a cony is shaphan, meaning to "hide," which they literalize, hiding in rock dens. They do not live in valleys, but only in mountainous areas, "where rocks offer them adequate shelter" (ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA). They are "remarkable for" their "cunning" (Gesenius).

Conies are found not only in Bible lands, but also in North America. Tourists in Cascade Canyon, below the "Hidden Falls," in the Teton National Park, see conies.

The application for a commercial rock quarry in the Columbia River gorge has met opposition because the conies, "the pika there," living in "colonies," would be endangered (THE SKAMANIA COUNTY PIONEER, 5-27-98).

II. LEARNING FROM A SMALL ANIMAL

The Bible tells human beings about the "very wise" conies so that they too may become wise. In at least seven ways conies are examples worth imitating:

1. Conies understand that they are "a feeble folk" (Proverbs 30:26, KJV) physically. So a wise man says,

2. Somehow conies know that, following summer, winter always comes, when plant food is not available, and so they prepare in the summer for the coming winter. Only a foolish man does not work and prepare for his next meal (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Parents save "for their children" (2 Corinthians 12:14). Only a foolish man does not make preparation in this life for life beyond the cemetery:

An old wise man asked a young man what were his plans for his life. The young man replied, "I want to finish college and start a business." "What then?," asked the old man. The young man replied, "I want to marry, have children, and enjoy my family." "What then?," asked the old man. The young man replied, "Then I hope to retire, and rest in my rocking chair." The old man asked, "What then?" The young man replied, "I have no plans beyond my retirement." The old man said, "You have left unplanned the most important part of your life, your life beyond the cemetery." A cony looks ahead from summer to winter, and a wise man looks ahead to life’s fulfillment in a better world than this. The young man had not looked far enough in the future.

3. As the conies will not live in valleys where dangers lie, but high on a cliff where there is safety, so wise people do not live in a worldly environment, for they love not "the world, neither the things in the world" (1 John 2:15), but they "seek the things above" and "set their affections on things above" (Colossians 3:1-2). They turn "away from every form of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

4. As conies never start a battle and are not combative, so wise men do their best to "live in peace with all people" (Romans 12:18). Wise men, if hit "on the right cheek," turn "the other" to the aggressor (Matthew 5:39). Wise men are never "quarrelsome," but "kind to all, able in teaching, patient, gently correcting the opponents" (2 Timothy 2:24).

5. As conies live "gregariously," so wise people are not loners: "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment" (Proverbs 18:1). Wise people strive to be both salt and light wherever they live (Matthew 5:13-16). They "encourage" fellow Christians, "and build each other up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11). They look forward to the assembly of the church, "cheering up one another, and so much the more as" they "see the" Lord’s day "approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

6. As conies (shepannim, "hiders") never forget their hiding places, so wise men never forget their one hiding place:

7. As conies know the safety of a den in a rock, so wise men hold on securely to "the Rock of Ages" (Tsur `Olamim, Isaiah 26:4). Each one prays, "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:2). They happily exclaim to fellow Christians, "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation" (Psalm 95:1).

III. WISDOM AND INTELLIGENCE

Except in a few cases (as Solomon, 1 Kings 3:7-12), human wisdom has to be achieved. Christians are to pray for wisdom (James 1:5-8), but, like praying for bread (Matthew 6:11), God does not give wisdom without human effort (Proverbs 1:1-6).

Conies are born with wisdom. On the other hand, normal people are born with intelligence, and they have to decide whether or not they will apply themselves to become as wise as the conies (Joshua 24:15; Matthew 11:28; Revelation 22:17).

When a professor of biology says that (1) the flesh and bones in the body of a cony and (2) the cony’s life and (3) the cony’s wisdom originated by accident in a primordial pool of stagnant water, is the professor a man of "knowledge" (gnosis) or of "knowledge falsely so called" (gnosis pseudonumos, 1 Timothy 6:20)?

That a "big bang" of imaginary exploding hydrogen gas produced our beautiful and orderly universe is as likely, somebody said, as "a tornado going through a junk yard" and making "a Boeing 747." "Fools say in their hearts, "There is no god’" (Psalm 14:1; 53:1).