‘Can . . . the Leopard [Change] His Spots?’ Jer. 13. 23

‘Can . . . the leopard [change] his spots?’ Jer. 13. 23

This is a well-known phrase in English derived from a biblical text.

The leopard is one of the species of cat closely related to the lion, tiger, and jaguar. It is a muscular animal, adapted to a variety of habitats, and known as an opportunistic predator. It relies on its spotted coat for camouflage and is skilled at stalking and ambushing its prey, which it can then drag up a tree to eat. Whilst not the size of a lion or tiger, it is a fearsome beast.

But, as the mouthpiece of God, the prophet is not speaking about the leopard’s skills but its appearance and its lifestyle. Jeremiah is describing the sad state of the nation. They are ‘accustomed to do evil’, so immersed in it that change is impossible. Equally, the leopard cannot change its appearance. It cannot wash away its spots nor remove its propensity to kill for food. Even though humans have tried to tame it, such attempts have been fraught with danger and have brought tragedy as the animal has turned upon its trainer. The consequences of the fall remain for leopards and, as Jeremiah reminds his readers, for humans too!

Yet, remarkably, Isaiah tells us that ‘the leopard shall lie down with the kid’, Isa. 11. 6. This is not merely changing the spots! It is a transformation achieved in the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus when the consequences of the fall will be removed and the very instincts of the brute creation will be transformed - they will not kill to eat, and the fear in those animals that would have been their prey will also be removed. As THOMAS CONSTABLE puts it, ‘The presently rapacious . . . will coexist peacefully with the defenceless’ (The Expository Notes of Dr. Constable, e-sword resource).

Before the millennial reign of Christ an equally remarkable change can be effected. Paul spoke of the change that had been accomplished in his life by the gospel. Although he had once ‘persecuted the church of God, and wasted it’, by the grace of God he ‘now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed’, Gal. 1. 13, 23. May we never lose sight of what the grace of God has done in us, and can also do in others!