Prayer
Lord, we thank you for this day and for your mercies. We pray as we open your word now that you would help us to be renewed in our minds by the truth of your word. Help us to see your glory. Please forgive us for our sins. Sanctify and purify us, we pray. Please help us to fear your name. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Reading
Gen 1:20-23.
“And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21. So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its 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 birds multiply on the earth.” 23. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.”
Meditation
Animals have always had a significant role to play in the lives of humans. They have been companions and helpers to us, they have provided food for us, as well as protection from danger. They inspire our imagination and fill us with wonder and amazement. They are a source of income for zoologists, farmers, and many more besides. They are a source of interest to birdwatchers and bug collectors, and they are also a source of creamed honey for my pantry. We might not think self-consciously about animals all that often, and we probably think even less about the relationship between animals and our faith, but the role that they play in our lives is and remains a very important one.
Perhaps most important of all, animals have a significant role to play in the revelation of scripture. Lambs, for example, were given the privilege of being a symbol to represent Christ, who is the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29). Our text on day five of creation really focuses in on animals as we see God making sea creatures and flying creatures. What benefit might we gain from meditating on this? Are the animals of day five to be essentially ignored? After all, they are not particularly spiritual or religious are they? They don’t really help us to be more pious, do they? Well, let’s begin there and ask a basic question in all of this: Why did God make the animals?
Based on what we learned on day one, we actually already know the broad answer to this question. On day one, you’ll remember, God shined light into his creation: “Let there be light”. As we know, day one wasn’t about physical light as such, for the sun, moon and stars came on day four. No, day one was really a declaration of God’s intention to let creation shine with the light of his own glory. After all, God himself is light (1 Jn 1:5) and dwells in light (Dan 2:22; 1 Tim 6:16). Thus when God says “let there be light” what he’s saying is: “Let creation shine with the light of my glory.” So God made the creation to be a reflection of his own perfection and glory. So then, when we ask: Why did God make the animals? We actually already have the answer: God made animals to glorify himself.
The next question that then follows is: How do the animals glorify God? To begin answering this, I want to point out something important that we see in verses 27 and 28. These verses shows us that the key function of animals in creation is to be under the dominion of mankind. As we’ll see on day six, Genesis 1 makes this very clear: mankind is the centre-piece of God’s creation. So then, the animals find their purpose realised in relationship to man. They were made for us! That’s how they glorify God, by fulfilling the purpose they have to play in our lives. And, more specifically, by coming under our dominion.
Another obvious question that follows on from that is: What does it mean for us to have dominion over the animals? In a physical sense, it will mean that we are called to manage and care for the animals. Even more basic than that, however, is that dominion over the animals means that we are called to study them. We can’t exercise dominion over them without learning about them. And – surprise surprise – that’s exactly what we see Adam doing in Genesis 2:19!
The obvious and basic principle that flows out from all of this is that God made the animals for our learning. He made them so that we could learn about them and benefit in that learning, and when you realise this you start to see it all over the place in scripture. Proverbs 6:6 gives us a classic example: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider (NOTE: LEARNING!) her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a ribber, and want like an armed man.” We find another example in Exodus 19:4 when God said to Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself.” God uses the figure of an eagle to illustrate his redemption, and so we see that God intends for us to learn about, receive, and to use the figures and metaphors of the animal kingdom as part of our own instruction. The Israelites knew what an eagle was, and God used that image to impress upon them their own deliverance from Egypt. The animals are a divine tool of learning given for our growth and development.
Be ye doers of the word…
These are not isolated examples. We could easily spend the next few days talking non-stop and opening up example after example from scripture of the way that God uses animals to teach us to know him better and to grow in our walk with Christ. So at this point, let me offer an application: pay attention to animals. Do you ever think about the animals that God has made? Do you ever take the time to observe them? To consider them? We should! Because God made them to teach us things, to benefit us, and so that we might grow.
I was visiting an elderly lady from our church the other day, she has a cat named Shanti. I never pay attention to cats. However, as I had been thinking about animals in my studies, it crossed my mind to take a few moments to observe that cat and consider: What is God teaching me here? As I watched Shanti, I noted two things. First, she was affectionate to her owner, and second she was careful to clean herself. She licked her paws one by one, cleaning them, making sure her claws and paws were in good order. She was taking care of herself to make sure that she was in the best condition she possibly could be. If some unwary mouse came wondering into that room, Shanti was going to be ready. As I thought about that, I thought to myself that there’s a lesson to be learned here. Take care of your body, and be in the best condition you can be to do what God has made you to do. What lessons can you learn from the animals in your life?
So we ought to pay attention to the animals, and especially as we find them in the pages of scripture. When God uses a dove to show Noah that the floods are receding – what is that teaching us? Pay attention when Jonah gets swallowed by a great fish. Why did God prepare a great fish instead of transporting him using a band of slave traders like he did for Joseph to bring him to Egypt? Pay attention when God uses lambs as sacrifices for sin. Every time you see an animal mentioned in scripture, ask the question: What is God teaching me here by using this animal? That question will open up many helpful and beneficial lessons as you apply them in your learning from the scriptures. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Almighty God, as I come to you in my weakness today, please meet with me and help me. I confess that I have spent a lifetime with little consideration for how you might be instructing me through the gift of animals. Whether that be in life, or in my studies of the scriptures, help me, Lord, to be mindful and aware of what you are saying, and what it is that you would have me to learn and do. Help me, Lord, I feel so very weak and inadequate to be able to do your will. You said in your word that it is you who works in us – both to will and to work. I pray, O Lord, please fill my will with a holy determination to fully do your will. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one. Please build up your church, please encourage and help your people to grow in grace, and to walk in your ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Day 23: The Purpose of Animals (Gen 1:20-23).