Our Charge To Oversee The Animals Is From God

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(26) Then God said, “Let us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (27) So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. (28) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:26-30)

We find in our world today a mindset that animals are of equal footing with humans.  Many consider it inhumane that we have farms that raise livestock, chickens, and/or pigs for food for us.  Restrictions on hunting animals such as deer have created an overpopulation of them, causing many deer to be struck by cars, with crops and landscaping destroyed by their need to feed.  Organizations try to discourage the eating of animals or the keeping of pets as they consider it cruel to ‘subjugate’ any creature.

While we certainly never should condone animal cruelty, or a deliberate act to cause an animal undue and unwarranted pain and suffering; is eating a steak an act of such cruelty, or the act of the steak being made through the slaughter and butchering of the cow inhumane?  Is a person who takes his dog or cat to be euthanized to stop its suffering from an injury or illness evil?  What makes man believe that they can do this to the animals we share the world with?

In the fifth day of Creation, God created first the animals (having created the fish and the birds on ‘day 4’).  The animals, as stated in Genesis 1:24-25, were both domesticated (livestock) and the wild animals that God made.  Then, God created humans, both man and woman.  A deeper look into God’s creation of man is in Genesis 2, but today’ focus is the first reason mentioned why man was created. 

Genesis 1:26 and the second half of 1:28 tell us God created man to oversee the animals; not just to oversee but rule over them.  It is clear God wanted the animals to be subservient to humans.  It is also clear that God, in His design, had animals that could be tamed, to harness their power to help plow (like the ox), their strength to carry people for great distances (the horse) and to either help herd the livestock or be a companion (the dog).

God also made some animals to be untamed, and had His reasons for doing so.  From the mouse to the elephant, each creature has a reason for God creating them.  Some are for humans to hunt or eat, like the birds, the fish, and the deer.  Some can help aerate the land, like the mouse or the mole.  The beaver can provide a dam so water can be irrigated from its pond.  Some are simply beautiful to look at, such as the tiger or the lion.  But God gave humans the charge to take care of them and to keep them in line.

We find many people don’t know that God told us to rule over or oversee the animals.  We have to respect all that God has created, and He loves all that He created without exception.  However, God also understood the pecking order of His creation; humans and their needs come first as we were the ones made in His image.  When Adam and Eve sinned, and became embarrassed by their nakedness, God killed an animal to use its skin to clothe them (Genesis 3:21).  God was also pleased by the first sacrifice of Abel, an offering of the fat off his sheep’s firstborn (Genesis 4:4).  Throughout the Bible, God uses the animals to feed the people and serve them as needed, including the provision of a donkey for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem before His trial and crucifixion (Mark 11:1-11).

An animal should never be put in unusually cruel conditions or simply killed for the sake of killing.  However, a person should never be made to feel guilty hunting or trapping an animal for food or to cloth themselves with the skin, or using a large animal to plow the ground.  Native Americans were within their right to hunt the bison for the meat and the skin.  Likewise, it was a sin for those who almost brought the bison to extinction simply for the thrill of it, as many Americans did in their push westward. 

Being stewards of God’s creation means we have a responsibility to use it, but to also take care of it so others can also be blessed by it.  Never feel guilty for having that New York Strip or those slices of bacon for breakfast – God provided to us, and wants us to use His Creation to sustain us!