God and Animals.....

I recently spoke to someone whose cat died. The person seemed distressed; normal puffy crying eyes. But what struck me was the statement a person made “maybe my cat died because I did not go to church yesterday”. We all attribute things to God - a sign on a truck; nowhere to park; getting a flat tyre; having an accident as God is angry. Everyone sees things from both a normal perspective - cat died as it was sick; and a spiritual perspective - what is God’s message to me? So, what did God expect from me when the cat was sick? Is God vindictive? Does God care about animals/pets? For people who do not understand pets, as they do not have one, a pet can very much be a substitute for a human relationship. Pets afford emotional comfort to their owner. There is interdependency in the relationship; the pet wants food, the owner wants emotional dependency. Firstly let me remind you that there was no death before the fall. Therefore like humans, animals were also vegetarian. After the LORD’s return, there is no more death Rev 20: 14 and Rev 21: 4. In Is 65: 25 it tells us in God’s perfect kingdom, read about the wolf and lamb; the lion and ox. Granted they have spiritual significance, as does the serpent, but it also speaks of a physical situation, as God’s Word many times has the spiritual couched in the physical. Blood is life. And the covenant with Noah included accountability from animals as well as humans Gen 9: 5. So God states clearly on the restart of life, if you will, that animals are special to the LORD. Any mistreatment of them, will require accountability Hab 2: 17 is clear - destroy animals and God will pay you back in the LoF. People kill roosters for blood sport, God will pay them back, tormented for ever. So clearly, animals are very special to God, as is looking after them. What about a choice between an animal who is sick, distressed in trouble and the Lord’s Day? Jesus speaks clearly on this - Mth 12: 11. What is the point of this verse? Many. Man is more important than an animal. Yes. But also if an animal is in distress, it does not matter which day it is, the animal is in distress and it must be tended to. I think that is clear. People who do not have animals as their source of income, a caribou, do not understand its value. For most, it’s a kind of cow. For a farmer, it is a pet and it is livelihood. A pet, as I said, a person can be emotionally attached too. Just as we look after humans in distress, so to animals. I do not believe God is vindictive at all. Not at all. But in everything that happens, there are always subtle lessons to learn, and God knows how to get to each person’s heart. I do believe in a positive way, God shows us through negative events, how far we are from the ideal, yet also having that compassion for animals that God has, is also encouraging. In Luke 13:15ff it’s an ox and a donkey. Even in Ex 23: 4 you should look after your neighbour’s animals/pets. In verse 5 - take the load off the donkey’s back, whose owner does not care for them. Help people Deut 22: 4 who have animals in distress. Balaam beating his ass Num 22: 28. All in all, God cares about animals. He understands.

MCC Admin

16 Tishrei 5781