The Bible and Wildlife Conservation by Gene Gerdes

Author:Gene Gerdes [Gerdes, Gene L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781412228695
Publisher: Author Solutions Inc.
Published: 2004-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

USES AND MISUSES OF ANIMALS

As stewards of the wild animals are we allowed by the Creator to utilize any of them for various purposes? The answer to this is a definite yes as we shall see.

Genesis 3:21 states “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Here we see that clothing was the first recorded use of animals.

Following this incident we see the first recorded animal sacrifice in Genesis 4:4, “But Abel brought fat portions from some of the first born of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering.” Noah also sacrificed animals,

Genesis 8:20 “ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offering on it.”

Sacrifices of animals were commanded for the Israelites for a number of purposes. Some of these animal sacrifices were on a grand scale. At the temple dedication 1 King 8:63 states “Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: Twenty two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord”

While only two hunters are mentioned in the Bible, Nimrod and Esau, there undoubtedly were many more. Leviticus 17:13 “Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,” instructs hunters on care of hunted wild animals prior to eating.

The wild animals species listed in Deuteronomy 14:5 “these are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep,” were most likely taken by hunting or trapping. Too, 1 Samuel 26:20 where David in speaking to Saul states in part “as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

Instructions to the Israelites as to when they were settled in the promised land suggest that their domestic animals were not used so much as a meat source during their wanderings. However, when they were settled they could certainly use them as a meat source. Deuteronomy 12: 15 in part states “Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, etc.”. This passage further

suggests that wild animals (gazelle and deer) were taken during their wanderings and used as a source of meat.

Also at one point God provided quail for food to Israelites during their desert travel, Exodus 16:12-13 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them at twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread” Further in the New Testament we find where Jesus was instrumental in a catch of a large number of fish, John 21:6 “He said throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. When they did they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.