SAVE THE ANIMALS
Did you hear the news the other day? The newscaster said that the Animal Rights people are going to try to force meat processors into putting the chickens to sleep prior to butchering them for sale to our supermarkets. It seems that it is inhumane for chickens to just be slaughtered in mass. Did you ever stop to think about the meat that we consume? We go to the grocery store select a nice package. Sometimes, we get raw meat all nicely packaged and prepare it for our families. Other times we get foods that are processed and already for us to just nuke and eat. Or we even go to restaurants and order a meal where all we have to do is eat and pay the bill.
There are areas in America that are set aside for wild life and sometimes, progress is halted to protect a certain species. There is Save the Whales, Save the Eagles, even Save the Fish. I even heard of a man who deliberately ran his car into a tree and someone took him to court for cruelty to the tree. The judge actually ordered this man to apologize to the tree, pay for tree surgeons to repair the damage and he had to hug the tree. Is this good or silly? Probably some of both. Let’s see what the Bible says about these topics:
Let’s start at the beginning. Genesis.
Genesis 1 :01 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (10) And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. (11) And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth, and it was so. (20) And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. (21) And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (22) And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (23) And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,
cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. (25) And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (27) So God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Okay, we know that God created the world, the plants and the animals. They are set in a delicate balance, one is dependent upon the other. Only mankind was created in God’s image and was to have dominion over all the rest of the creation. What does dominion mean? According to Webster’s Dictionary it comes from Latin dominio or dominus (which means lord) it is to rule or to have power over. To govern. To be master over. To control. Within this definition it is very easy to see that God has dominion over the earth, and all that dwell within. He is our ruler, He is our provider, He is our master. He loves and cares for us. The earth and its resources belong to God. (Leviticus 25:23 The land should not be sold forever: for the land is Mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me.) All has been placed in mankind’s care. People have a sacred responsibility to care for the earth as diligently as God does. Luke 12:41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? (42) And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? (43) Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (44) Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. (45) But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; (46) The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut
him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (47) And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (48) But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. We are like that steward. God has placed everything into our hands and we will be held accountable for how we managed the things that God entrusted to us, whether it is a forest, a beaver’s pond, or your own back yard. How you live and conserve resources is having an impact on all of creation. The stores will not sell items that are not bought. So, perhaps Seal skin coats, and ivory jewelry should be left there, as our small way of protecting the animals in the world.
The environment is always changing. There is erosion and floods, storms and earthquakes. So, it changes. As the managers of this world. We need to assist the animals and plants that are under our care and that we are so dependent on in living a good life. We would be poor stewards indeed if we did not do our best to manage the earth wisely. Of course, we cannot control the weather, but we can control the things that we do that are destructive to plants and animals. Especially when it is without a good cause. We just need to be aware of our environment and our role in the care of this old world. But, the Tree Savers, and Animal Rights people are truly only partially right. For instance, the fine for destroying one eagle egg is alot of money. How much money is charged for the taking of a human life in an abortion mill? Unborn human beings are under our dominion and care as much as the rest of creation is. Abortion is horrible, but not the focus of this particular sermon.
Let’s look at our responsibility to the living things that cannot be called animals, creatures, nor even beasts; but are alive. The plant kingdom. The Mosaic law included statutes which seem to have been for protecting the environment. Two of these statutes are: Leviticus 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: (11) But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive yard. Well, that was pretty clear. The land was to be farmed for six years and not in the seventh year. Leviticus 19:23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. (24) But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be
holy to praise the Lord withal. (25) And in the fifth year shall ye eat the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the Lord your God.
Obedience to God’s commands resulted in a land that was blessed. Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: (2) And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (3) Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle) and the flocks of thy sheep.
What about the animals, the ones we are to have dominion over???
In Genesis 1:2021,& 24 God talks about a creature. A creature is one that is created, a living being, a person completely dominated by or dependent on another person. In Ezekiel a creature is described that is a bit different than your run of the mill animal.
Ezekiel 10:20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubims. Cherubims are in heaven so creatures are in places other than earth. A creature is also a beast. A beast is defined by Mr. Webster as any animal except man, an animal on 4 feet, one having the qualities of an animal, or even as one who is brutal, gross, or stupid. In Hebrew, beast is derived from chay which means to be alive, raw flesh, fresh, strong, life: and by chayah which means to live, to revive, to make alive, the promise of life, to restore life; or even as nephesh also means to breathe. Animal is defined by Mr. Webster as a noun from the Latin word anima, which means breath and soul. It means any living organism typically capable of moving about, but not of making its own food by photosynthesis (the process where plants get food from sunshine). So, creatures, beasts, and flesh all refer to animals that breath, move and carry on their life processes.
1 Corinthians 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. So, flesh can refer to any of the aforementioned items unless a particular type of flesh is mentioned.
Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
God formed the flesh whether of man, beast, fish or fowl. The bible provides a clear distinction between animals and people. Although both were created by God, people, alone were made in his image. Adam’s naming of the animals signifies his dominion over them, just as God’s naming of the heavens, earth, seas, and man shows that God retains ultimate dominion over all of these. Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? This scripture is not to put down animals, but to show the fact that they are in our care and not vice-versa. It is an example of the Lord taking care of the wild animals in His role as provider for them and us. The Mosaic law stipulates that animals be adequately fed. (Ex.23:9-10 above) Deuteronomy 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. (1 Corinthians 9:9)(1 Timothy 5:18) Exodus 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. We should help animals that even belong to our enemies. Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (Deut. 5:14) Animals are allowed to rest on the Sabbath.
Ezekiel 34:1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? (3) Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. (4) The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Ezekiel is drawing a correlation between the priests of Israel and the shepherds. It is
often used to relate to spiritual truths, but it is also obvious that it tells how a shepherd should treat his flock. If we can’t understand the treatment of flocks in the shepherds world how on earth will we know how to treat God’s Spiritual Sheep?
John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (2) But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (3) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. (4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. (5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. (6) This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. (7) Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
So far, we have learned that the earth, the plants, the beasts, and mankind were all created by God. And God still retains His ownership. Mankind is like a foreman, superintendent, or farm manager, we are appointed to care for the whole ecosystem that we call home or Earth. So, to a certain extent the Save the planet, Save the trees, Save the creature people are correct. We are to take care of the world, treat the animals well, and properly manage our trees, plants, etc. It is an order by God. But, it is so much more than a mere stewardship that simply meets the physical needs of this world.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Okay, we all know the story, Eve listened to the serpent and ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But, did you notice, that neither Adam, Eve, nor God were surprised that the serpent spoke to Eve?
Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
(7) And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. (8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. (19) And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Genesis 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
The flood ended and the water receded. All land animals, people, and plants and trees are destroyed. Why? Because of the wickedness of man the plants, animals, and people, even the tiny new-born of plants, animals, and mankind were destroyed. They lost their lives, because of what humans had done. Not because of what the plants or animals had or had not done. Noah then made a sacrifice unto God.
Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth. (2) And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. (3) Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (4) But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (5) And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. (6) Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. (7) And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. (8) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him,
saying, (9) And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; (10) And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. (12) And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: (13) I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth. (14) And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: (15) And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Did you notice that through one man Adam sin entered into the world, and it grew; then through one man Noah, the human race and animals were saved from destruction? This was a fore shadow of what Christ would do for us on Cavalry’s cross. God told the animals to fear mankind; and told man that he could eat any animal. Two things have happened here the animals are included in the orders (or commandment of God not to kill mankind.) And animals are included in the covenant of the rainbow, with the same promise as humans.
There is something here. What do we know? Humans and creatures were formed by God. Due to the sins and the evil of the human race, all life on land was destroyed, except for those in the ark. The earth had been cursed since the time of Adam and Eve, perhaps the washing in water (flood) cleansed the earth and it was allowed to once again flourish. What a price, evil brought. The innocent plants and animals also paid this price. The animals could have done wrong, but how, exactly could a plant have done wrong? All plants breathe in carbon dioxide by day and oxygen by night, so they would be included in every living creature or everything that has breath. Yes, whales, dolphins, seals, etc. that could live in the water for months were spared. I bet that many of them perished due to the dilution of the salt water, by the fresh water, and imagine the obstacles that they encountered, when they swam through places, that were once human cities.
Humans were made in God’s image, He breathed life into the man, this is what makes us different. Animal is defined by Mr. Webster as one having breath and soul. What is soul? Again, I asked Mr. Webster: A soul is defined as one having the functions of thinking and asserting one’s will; the emotional nature; personality. Okay, humans and animals have a body and a personality. Animals were told to fear mankind. To experience fear, one must have a thought process or personality.
Job 12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: (8) Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. (9) Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? (10) In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Did you see that the soul of every living thing is in God’s hand. Or, that every living thing must have a soul in order for it to be in God’s hand.
Every living thing must also have blood. Genesis 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (12) Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. (13) And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. (14) For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof; therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof; whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. So, blood must not be eaten. What about blood? Cain has killed his brother Abel.
Genesis 4:10 And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. Life is in the blood, and the blood has a voice. Why did God stress that we are not to eat meat with the blood in it? It is for more than one reason. Beasts of prey eat animals, while the animals are still alive, they have no regard for the suffering of another animal. God wanted mankind to have compassion on the other living things. Also, the blood has a voice. I bet animal blood also has a voice, so there is something profound about the blood.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. To be alive a body must have a spirit. Does it say a human spirit? No. So, it just might mean that any body that has life has a spirit. Without blood one is dead, without spirit one is dead, could the two be combined? Perhaps the spirit dwells in the blood, and if you ate the blood you would receive the spirit of the animal? We don’t begin to understand the intricacies of the things, and animals that God has created. We have learned that animals, and mankind have bodies or flesh. They have souls or a capacity to think. They have spirits. What sets us apart is the God image part of us, which is our dominion over the animals, and the fact that we have a savior Jesus Christ and free choice in accepting or rejecting his precious gift of salvation. Also, the Holy Spirit dwells within humans, I have not found any scripture that says that animals can accept Jesus or be a dwelling for the Holy Spirit. Even God’s angels do not have Jesus to intercede on their behalf or have the Holy Spirit as a personal companion. In researching this sermon, I have read lots of scripture, many commentaries, dictionaries, etc. I am amazed by the lack of understanding the authors have. The Bible verses themselves, explain that all have flesh, souls, and spirits. Yet, many scholars claim that animals are slightly better than a rock. They have no soul, no spirit, no intelligence, just instinct. Okay, I agree, there are limitations to what animals can understand. But, how good are you at speaking "dog". It is very difficult to get around in a world where you don’t speak the language of the rulers. I appeared to be mentally deficient in Germany, I couldn’t read the signs, I couldn’t speak the language, I didn’t know the laws, or etiquette rules. Americans are considered rude in European cultures. Often, people of other nations,
languages, and cultures shock us by their rudeness and weird ways of acting. They are so un American, just as I was so un-German.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He said creature, if he had meant person, he could have very easily said person, or man etc.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. (20) All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. (21) Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Ecclesiastes was written before Jesus came and redeemed mankind. So, even before Jesus redeemed us man’s spirit went up and the beast’s spirit went downward. Down where? I need to remind you of a couple of verses now. There was a poor beggar named Lazarus, who laid at the rich man’s door. The beggar died, as did the rich man, let’s read about that.
Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (24) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. (25) But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou are tormented. (26) And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come thence. So, the good and the evil went to one holding place, called Abraham’s bosom, but they were separated by a chasm or gulf and could not cross to the other side. One side was good, the other was not. Then Jesus came and changed that.
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (9) Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? (10) He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
Matthew 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. (51) And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; (52) And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, (53) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
I believe that these verses prove that before Jesus went to the cross, all creatures went to a holding place. When Jesus died he went down first, and took captivity captive, by preaching to them. The saints or people on the good side had a second opportunity to be saved. When Jesus arose, they also arose. No where does it say that any creature except the saints, arose. So, the other creatures and the evil doers are still in this holding place. Jesus even mentioned what was about to happen before he died.
John 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: (23) That all men should honor the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. (24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (26) For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; (27) And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the son of man. (28) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life: and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
So, Jesus definitely changed things here! Sometimes, beast is used to describe a literal animal, other times a beast is an evil entity. It’s not clear if the beast that goes downward is an animal or an evil being. But, it is clear that Jesus went down and preached, then ascended to heaven.
Animals can see in the dark, when we are stumbling around, tripping over things left and right. Apparently, animals can see even more things, or persons than we commonly think about. There was a man named Balaam who was hired to curse the children of Israel, but a strange thing happened on his way to work that day:
Numbers 22:22 And God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. (23) And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. (24) But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. (25) And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; and he smote her again. (26) And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right or the left. (27) And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. (28) And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? (29) And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. (30) And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said Nay. (31) Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. (32) And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me. (33) And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times; unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
So, the donkey could see what the men could not, and saved the man’s life three times, in spite of being beaten. The angel was not going to hurt the donkey. Obviously, she was a good beast, she protected her master. We have seen the serpent and the donkey talk. So, I’ve almost made my point. Which is: People want to rescue rare animals, abused animals, endangered animals, ecosystems like the rain forests, and other pieces of land to provide habitats for animals and to protect the earth. That is well and good, however. We must look closer. Let’s pretend that a lady named Jane wants to save animals, habitats, is a vegetarian, and spends all of her time either rescuing or lobbying congress to save some piece of land or some animal. However Jane does not know Jesus as her lord and savior. She may even be an atheist and not believe there is a creator. Her sins can and will bring more destruction on this world than man’s cutting down trees, or draining a pond that contains the last snail darter, or even polluting the oceans with oil spills. Sin is going to cause a great deal more damage than air pollution, acid rain, or the ozone destruction could begin to do.
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. (8) And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; (9) And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
I could quote more from Revelation. But, you get the picture, one habitat destroyed, one kind of animal destroyed is no comparison with the destruction that sin can and will bring into this world. So, while mankind is about the business of being a good steward and preserving areas for plants and animals, and keeping the Earth clean, green, alive, and healthy; mankind must take notice of their own spiritual condition as this can do more damage than all the other pollution combined. Heart pollution is the worst kind and the kind that only the Lord Jesus can clean. All you have to do is to ask Him to come into your heart and make you his child. Then one’s actions on behalf of the rest of creation will have more significance. I believe that all flesh will face judgment. The animals have a single commandment. Do you realize that Adam and Eve only had one commandment also?
1 Corinthians 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (3) Know ye not that we shall judge the angels? How much more the things that pertain to this life?
Angels are created beings, or creatures if you will and they will be judged by mankind. I believe this shows that it is vanity to feel that only mankind will be judged or is cared for by God.
1 Chronicles 16:33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.
Psalm 96:10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved; he shall judge the people righteously. (11) Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. (12) Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein, then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.
Proverbs 30:25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer, (26)The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; (27) The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; (28) The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in king’s palaces.
So, ants are people, conies are folk, locusts act like they have a king, and spiders are in palaces. Seems that we now know where the other creatures belong. I will leave you with one more verse in closing.
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, (2) through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; (3) forbidding to marry (and commanding) to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. (4) For every creature of God is good and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving;
We see these very things happening already. Shall we join the trees and grass in rejoicing. Can dust sing? (ha)
