Friends, have you ever heard of the bowhead whale? This enormous Leviathan is the second largest creature in the world, dark and stocky, it roams the fertile Arctic northern waters. These massive creatures can be more than 65 feet long, and weigh more than 75 tons, that's heavier than the Space Shuttle. Yet in spite of their Titanic size, they're able to leap entirely out of the water. Can you say belly-flop? The bowhead whale gets its name from its bow shaped skull, and they've got one ginormous noggin, a matter of fact their heads are about 40% of their body size which comes in handy when you find out how they use their heads.
They've got very thick skulls, sometimes they get trapped under the surface, and they use their heads to ram the ice, they can break a breathing hole in the ice that is a foot and a half thick. Friends, you have to just imagine what it would be like to be walking around on the Arctic ice, and all of a sudden have the ground beneath you crack and split and rise as one of these sea monsters pushes its head up to breathe for the first time in 90 minutes, because bowheads make their home in the coldest part of our world, they have the thickest blubber of any whale, but this plus they're friendly and curious nature made them prime targets when the European whalers discovered the bowheads.
They hunted them nearly to extinction. Fortunately, because of conservation efforts, we've slowly seen their numbers begin to increase since the 60s. One of the most amazing facts about the bowhead whale is its longevity, scientists have discovered by evaluating harpoon tips found in their skull, and examining their eye tissue there are bowhead whales out there that are probably over 200 years old. You realize that means there are bowhead whales swimming the oceans right now that were alive before Abraham Lincoln was elected president.
Can you imagine that? Among the other amazing mega facts about the bowhead whale is its mega mouth, they have the largest mouth of any in the animal kingdom, and when they open their piehole full extended its large enough to park a medium sized SUV inside. In spite of the fact they've got such big mouths, they survived by eating the very smallest creatures in the ocean, plankton, krill, and other microscopic animals. Friends, I'm always amazed by the creatures God has made, this bowhead whale is able to dive to the deepest oceans.
They can break through the ice and move mountains with her head and completely leave the water and fly through the air, and yet they do all that by gaining strength from almost microscopic organisms. Helps us remember that we survive through the little promises in God's Word. Jesus when tempted by the devil he quoted just a few little verses, and he sent the enemy running. You can also have that same durability and long life as the bowhead whale by trusting in God's Word, and His promises.