Our Dominion over animals -part 4

Psalms 8:6-8 Thou madest him (man) to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

This verse is a quick refresher that we have dominion over the animals. The other thing we discussed in part one is God put the fear of man on the animals for their protection. At the same time, though, we have still been able to tame the animals since then. James 3:7 says, For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. 

Does God care how we treat animals?

Proverbs 12:10 The righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. It is a godly thing to care for our animals. Remember the story of Balaam how his donkey stopped on the path a few times and he whipped it? God had something to say about that. Firstly God used the donkey to talk to Balaam then He sent an angel as well. Numbers 22:32-33  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. God cares about the animals He created too. There are a couple of other rules God told the Israelites. Deuteronomy 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. And it also says not to breed animals with different kinds (Leviticus 19:19). 

Animal's understanding. 

You know it is interesting what the Bible says about animal's understanding. There are some verses that seem to conflict each other, but I'm guessing as we look closer they will agree because God doesn't conflict. 

Psalms 32:9  Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. To start with David says they have no understanding, but then he says they must be held by a bridle. A horse actually has to understand a bridle before it will listen. James 3:3  Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. They don't understand words without signals or cues. Still, we can get them to the stage where we can turn about their whole body. Now this is the verse I struggle with: Proverbs 26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back. Why the whip for the horses? I actually find donkeys much more stubborn, not that I would whip them either. For an animal that has had no pain from a whip, they can be great to give cues. But if an animal has been whipped or scared (like Maverick), they are not likely to forget that and a whip just sends them into fear mode. Going back to the verse I think we should also look at the context, the section is talking about fools and I think this verse is clear about fools. 

Now for the verse, I love but yet is so sad. Isaiah 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. I love that the Bible says about animals know who feeds them and where. I guess that is because I'm daily reminded when I step out the door in the morning something expects and depends on me! But it is so sad that we hardly give a thought to what God gives us. 

Note

While animals are made by God and need to be treated well, humans are in His image and higher than animals. There is a trend to rescue and care for animals because they say we are equal. We are not, the Bible is clear on that, and there are many suffering people who need help. 

Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

*****

You made it to the end, I'm proud of you! I really didn't know it would go on for this long. That's the great thing about the Bible it is so deep, you can study as long as you want. I haven't included all the verses on the topic either, so you can go find others. Anyway, what did you think? Had you thought about dominion before? Did you notice my posts keep getting longer?