Isaiah 13:6
Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
We didn't have any cats or dogs growing up. The only pets we ever had were fishes. My husband loves dogs, so about a year or so after we got married, we got a puppy. Little Pep Pep also known as Pepper joined the Arrington clan in 2016. He was the cutest little thing! He's a beagle-pitbull mix with mostly black fur. He has small patches of white fur on his tummy and paws. Pep Pep is such a docile dog. He wouldn't harm a fly... or I should say, he wouldn't harm a frog. My husband recalls witnessing a gigantic frog leaping on and off our back door one day. And per my husband, Pep Pep just sat there watching him leap to his heart's contentment.
Yep, that ol' Pep Pep barely barks at all, unless he feels as if we are in danger. Therefore, I was completely and utterly startled the first time I heard Pep Pep howl. Since I never grew up around dogs, I had no clue they could howl. I assumed dogs only barked. I was frantic and didn't know what was wrong with him.
But my husband explained that he was howling because he was calling for us. He said Pep Pep viewed us as part of his doggy pack and he was howling for his crew to join him outside. Pep Pep innately knew that he should howl and not bark to grasp our attention. A bark just didn't quite possess the sense of urgency that he needed to display. So, he howled.
In Isaiah 13, the Lord called upon his people to make a tumultuous noise in regards to the coming destruction of Babylon. God stated the destruction of Babylon would be likened to the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah. Thus, as a warning before the great fall, God commanded his people to lift up a banner on the mountain-tops, exalt their voices, and make a great noise for the destruction at hand.
God told the people to HOWL!
For the day of the Lord was at hand! A normal declaration would not have sufficed. There was a sense of urgency in getting out the Lord's message. He told them to but a banner on the mountains, not the hills, and definitely not the valleys. He told them to make a tumultuous noise, not to use their inside voices, or to whisper. God made the sense of urgency crystal clear. The people of God were to go forth and howl that repentance was necessary for salvation.
The same concept holds true today. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus states the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. In Mark 16:15, Jesus tells us to go out into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The sense of urgency has not dissipated. It remains the same today as it did before the fall of Babylon.
Therefore, go forth and howl to your pack just as Pep Pep howled to the Arrington clan. Our pack is the world. We all have one Creator, thus, we are all part of one pack. Don't go barking because barking will not get their attention. Barking is far too casual ... even Pep Pep knew that.
So, go HOWL to the pack! For the kingdom of God is at hand! Repentance and obedience is necessary for salvation. Howl it out! Because barking just won't do.
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