BULL
Believe it or not, I heard my dad say only one foul word his entire life. At the time, as a freckle faced kid, I thought for sure it was the worst four letter word ever spoken.
I remember we were getting out of the truck in front of our house and dad was upset about something and out of his mouth comes one word, “Bull”.
I was in absolute shock.
Dad was a tough construction worker, who loved sports and racing cars. He sure looked the part of someone who would drop some foul language. Even before he found Christ as his savior, when he was going to the local pool haul to play pool and sports gamble, I still never heard a foul word come out of his mouth.
Truth is, dad didn’t say much at all, but when he did, everyone listened. He spoke more with his eyes than his mouth as one glare could easily cause a grown men to drop his head.
For some reason God has spoken to me in numerous ways the last couple weeks about that word dad dropped that day. Just so you know where the word “Bull” originated. It is an ox, also known as a bullock, a male bovine trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration inhibits testosterone and aggression, which makes the males docile and safer to work with.
So what happens when you don’t castrate a Bull, but instead breed and train these massive giants to use their primal instincts?
I have been to a PBR rodeo and sat just a few feet from the stall where an absolute crazy cowboy was inching himself onto one of the most intimidating creatures on earth. Many of these mammoth beast go over 1500 lbs of solid muscle.
I actually have cousins who raise some of the top bucking bulls in the country and are blessed for their hard work. Not only does a successful breeder make good money, but so do successful bull riders. Legendary bull rider J.B. Mauney has made nearly 7.5 million dollars in his career for staying on these beast for just 8 seconds at a time.
Fearless is something I chase, but you won’t find me on the back of a bull named twister anytime soon! I have the utmost respect for any cowboy bold enough to ride a bull and for the breeders who raise, train, and haul these magnificent creatures all over the country for people to enjoy.
I’m guessing you are wondering where I am going with this post spiritually.
Let’s flip script and talk about bullfighting for a minute. This so-called entertainment was my next study.
Spain is the Mecca of Bullfighting and according to “Frommer’s Travel Guide,” bullfighting in Spain traces its origins to 711 A.D., with the first official bullfight, or “corrida de toros,” being held in honor of the coronation of King Alfonso VIII. Once part of the Roman Empire, Spain owes its bullfighting tradition in part to gladiator games. Bullfighting traces its roots to prehistoric bull worship and sacrifice in Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean region. … bullfighting is often linked to Rome, where many human-versus-animal events were held as competition and entertainment.
I found it very interesting that nearly every religion in history has a connection in some way to the bull. My focus will be on Christianity and what the Bible has to say about a bull or oxen, things like avoiding being unequally yoked in marriage.
Before digging into the Biblical aspect, I want to mention my findings regarding modern day Spanish Bullfighting. Contrary to my respect for modern day bull riding, what I found when researching bullfighting was the exact opposite.
Yes, on occasion a matador, who can make $100,000 in one performance, gets hurt and even killed, but bull sacrifice is a much better name for this fallacy, than bullfighting.
The notes in quotations below came from the article “The Truth about Bull Fighting” by worldanimalfoundation.com. I found basically the same information in almost everything I read.
There is no bull fight, at least not a fair fight. “Every year, approximately 35,000 bulls are tormented and killed in bullfights in Spain alone. Spanish and Mexican bullfight advertisers lure American tourists with mystique. They claim the fight is festive, artistic, and a fair competition between skill and force. What they do not reveal is that the bull never has a chance to defend himself, much less survive.”
I am no animal rights activist and love me some steak, but I am calling “Bull Crap” on this one! Bull fighting is nothing but savage torture and sacrifice, much like abortion!
“Many prominent former bullfighters report that the bull is intentionally debilitated with tranquilizers and laxatives, beatings to the kidneys, petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes to blur vision, heavy weights hung around their neck for weeks before the fight, and confinement in darkness for hours before being released into the bright arena.”
“A well-known bullfight veterinarian, Dr. Manuel Sanz, reports that in 1987 more than 90 percent of bulls killed in fights had their horns “shaved” before the fight. Horn shaving involves sawing off several inches of the horns so the bull misses his thrusts at the altered angle.”
Two picadors on horses enter first and stab the bull in the neck muscles with a spear repeatedly when he enters the ring. This is followed by other men coming in and stabbing the bull in the neck with weighted polls that hang from his neck and with every move of the bull the blades slice and cut into his muscles in his neck.
After the bull has been completely weakened by fear, blood loss, and exhaustion, the matador enters like a hero and attempts to make a clean kill with a sword to the heart. The bull may still be fully conscious but paralyzed when his ears and tail are cut off as the final show of “victory.”
I have watched clips of the running of the bulls and however festive or cultural this is supposed to be, I will always cheer for the bull and consider this nothing more than an animal sacrifice ritual. There is a reason it is illegal in almost every country.
Why is this different than Old Testament animal sacrifice?
Solomon sacrificed 22,000 bulls at one time as a praise offering to God! There are discrepancies about interpretation of scripture on whether David sacrificed a bull & a fatted calf after just the first 6 paces or whether there was a sacrifice made after every 6 paces on the path from Obed-Edom’s house to Mt. Zion, which is between 12-15 km making it about 30 000 paces. If the latter is accurate, then David and the whole nation stopped and sacrificed a bull and a calf over 3500 times!
The tabernacle offerings were a grisly reminder that sin has terrible consequences, and the only remedy for it is the shedding of blood.
God set up a system of animal sacrifice for the Israelites in the Old Testament. To impress upon them the seriousness of sin, he required that the person offering the sacrifice lay his hands upon the animal to symbolize that it stood for him.
Only certain “clean” land animals were allowed for sacrifice: oxen or cattle; sheep; and goats. These animals had cloven or split hooves and chewed the cud. Doves or young pigeons were included for poor people who could not afford bigger animals.
God explained to Moses why blood had to be shed for sin: For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. ( Leviticus 17:11, NIV)
How awesome is it that Jesus changed everything for us with His own blood? We should thank God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ non-stop for providing a way out of Levitical law and the old blood covenant.
Jesus came much like the bulls of Spain. How ironic is it that most of these bulls come from what is called a lineage of a Royal Herd. The King of Kings, the most powerful sacrifice of all time allowed men to torture, whip, cut, spear, and weaken Him publicly to the point he could hardly be recognized as human. At any moment, Jesus could have called on His Father and angel armies to end the torture. Instead in Luke 23:24 He cried out, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!”
I challenge you to read the rest of story in chapter 23, because out of the darkness our Savior Jesus Christ arose from the grave the greatest Victor of all-time and that’s “No Bull”!
Photo by Jared Schwitzke on Unsplash