Coney: The biter
The coney is another unclean animal that the Hebrews did not eat. When Adam named the coney, he must have seen the coney take a treasure into his den. Then he watched it return to the opening to defend it with bared teeth. His name means ‘hide the treasure’ but it also means ‘mystery of the biting teeth’. The coney is a symbol of a teacher who hides the Gospel.
In the Bible, God tells us that he is both holy and love. Law and judgement describe holiness. Judgement expresses that his ways are not our ways. The law shows that his thoughts are not like our thoughts. [1] *
A teacher bites us like a coney with teeth, if we only hear the law. [2] The treasure in God’s word is his love. The teacher who hides the love acts like a coney.
The coney is like the teacher who always tells you what you did wrong, and never tells you how much Christ loves you. You can’t find the treasure.
The Gospel is this: God shows himself through the cross of Christ. He teaches that he is holy because he punishes sin. He teaches that he is love, because Jesus volunteered to take our punishment. This would be like your mother punishing herself when she caught you doing something bad.
The coney-like teacher uses the Bible as a weapon. They never tell you how to receive the love of God.
You receive his love by ‘eating his body’; a symbol for learning from the cross where he died because he loves you. [3]
coney shaphan שפן - hide, treasure
coney shaphan שפן - mystery פ of the biting teeth ש()ן
