God cares deeply about all of His creation, including the animals He has made. The Bible contains many passages that give insight into how God views animals and how He expects us to treat them. In this article, we will explore what the Bible reveals about animals, including:
God’s Purpose for Animals
God created animals for many good purposes. Animals display God’s creativity, bring joy and companionship, do important work, and teach us spiritual truths. Ultimately, animals bring glory to their Creator.
God’s Care for Animals
The Bible makes clear that animals matter deeply to God. He provides for their needs, protects them, and enjoys them. Jesus affirms this by highlighting how God feeds the birds and clothes the grass.
Man’s Responsibility Toward Animals
God appointed humans to rule over animals with care and compassion. We are called to use animals wisely, prevent their suffering, and preserve endangered species. The Bible condemns cruelty to animals.
Animals in the Kingdom of God
The prophets describe a future kingdom where animals and humans will live in harmony. Predators and prey will coexist peacefully. This reflects God’s original, perfect design for creation.
God’s Purpose for Animals
The Bible indicates that God created animals for the following good purposes:
To Display God’s Creativity and Joy in Diversity
God created an amazing variety of animals with great creativity. He made huge animals like elephants and whales, tiny insects and bacteria, odd animals like platypuses and naked mole rats, beautiful peacocks and butterflies, and curious creatures like camels and monkeys. This dazzling diversity displays God’s infinite imagination and the boundless joy He takes in creation. As human artists love cultivating new styles, stories and songs that display their creativity, so God revels in crafting so many unique forms of life. As Psalm 104:24 says, “How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”
To Provide Companionship to Mankind
When God created Adam, He recognized that Adam needed companionship, so He created Eve. In a similar way, God created animals to provide friendship and comfort to human beings. God commanded Adam to name the animals, suggesting an intimate bond between humans and animals from the very beginning. Today, animals like dogs, cats, horses and birds enrich our lives through affection, fun and day-to-day partnership.
To Do Important Work
God gave animals strengths and capabilities that enable them to do meaningful work that contributes to human flourishing. Animals like oxen plow fields, dogs guide the blind, camels transport people and goods through the desert, sheep provide wool for clothing, oxen grind grain and horses carry riders swiftly. Even tiny ants and bees play a vital role in distributing seeds, pollinating plants and aerating soil. As Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 notes, man and animal together have an interconnected purpose under heaven.
To Teach Spiritual Truths
Jesus used animals like sheep, hens and doves to teach profound spiritual truths. He drew examples from nature to illustrate God’s patience, work ethic, loyalty, generosity and more. Animals mirror back key virtues that God wants to cultivate in us. Their examples lead us to praise God for His creativity and wisdom.
To Fill the Earth and Display God’s Glory
God blessed animals to “be fruitful and increase in number” and fill the earth (Genesis 1:22). He takes joy in seeing creation teeming with life. The innumerable creatures covering the planet all display God’s infinite creative powers. From tiny plankton to massive blue whales, animals of every shape and size glorify their Maker and bring Him praise. As Psalm 148 proclaims, wild animals and livestock, creeping creatures and flying birds, all join together in joyful praise of the Lord.
God’s Care for Animals
The Bible makes it clear that animals are not merely tools for human use, but creatures that God actively cares for in the following ways:
He Provides for Their Needs
God feeds and cares for animals, just as He does for humans. When Jonah complained that God showed compassion even on animals, God replied, “Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:11). Jesus affirmed this by teaching that God feeds the birds of the air, who “do not sow or reap or store away in barns” (Luke 12:24).
He Protects and Delights in Them
God keeps His eye on animals and protects them. Proverbs 12:10 says that a righteous man cares for the needs of his animals. Jesus noted how God clothes even the wildflowers in splendor, promising that “not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (Luke 12:27). God loves and watches over even the most humble sparrow, saying “not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care” (Matthew 10:29).
He Enjoys Their Company
God takes personal delight in His animal creations and invites humans to share in the joy. In Job 39-41, God describes at length the majesty of creatures like the mountain goat, hawk, ostrich and hippopotamus, showcasing their strength, freedom and wonder. He created animals for His own pleasure as well as human benefit.
He Holds Humans Accountable for Animal Care
While God cares for animals directly, He also mandates responsible animal care from human beings. Proverbs 27:23 commands, “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.” Likewise, Jesus condemned the hypocritical neglect of animal suffering on the Sabbath (Luke 13:15-16, 14:5). Our stewardship role is a key part of our calling as God’s image-bearers.
Man’s Responsibility Toward Animals
As God’s delegated stewards over the earth, humans have an important responsibility in how we treat His animal creations. The Bible provides the following guidelines for the humane care of animals:
Treat Animals with Kindness and Compassion
The righteous person “regards the life of his beast,” while the wicked are “cruel” even to their own animals (Proverbs 12:10). God expects us to show mercy and care toward animals, as He does. Kindness to animals is a mark of godly character.
Do Not Abuse or Needlessly Harm Animals
One of the most prominent commands in the Bible regarding animals forbids harming or abusing them. God’s law to the Israelites stated “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). The apostle Paul reaffirmed this command in 1 Corinthians 9:9-10 and 1 Timothy 5:18, stating that God’s law was written to protect the animal from unnecessary hardship while it worked.
Use Animals Constructively and Minimize Suffering
The Bible permits the constructive use of animals for food, clothing, labor and transportation. But God also expects us to be wise stewards who show mercy. Proverbs 12:10 condemns “the wicked man” who cruelly disregards his animal’s needs and welfare. Though the Bible allowed animal sacrifices, God still required that sacrifices be carried out humanely, with minimal suffering to the animal (Deuteronomy 21:4-5).
Conserve Endangered Animal Populations
God instructed Noah to preserve all species of animals when facing the judgment of the flood (Genesis 6-7). This reflects God’s concern for conserving animal populations. Likewise, God will hold us accountable for stewarding biodiversity well in the face of mounting extinctions today.
| Animal | Conservation Status | Key Threats |
|---|---|---|
| African Elephant | Endangered | Poaching, Habitat Loss |
| Leatherback Sea Turtle | Vulnerable | Fishery Bycatch, Plastic Pollution |
| Mountain Gorilla | Endangered | Habitat Loss, Hunting |
Avoid Cruel Sports or Entertainment with Animals
Though the Bible records animal fights for sport in ancient Rome, God expects more from His followers today. We should avoid any entertainment that unnecessarily harms or degrades animals, like cockfighting, horsefighting, dogfighting or bulleleaping. As God’s standards of mercy advance with time, we must lead the way.
Animals in the Kingdom of God
The Bible’s prophetic books offer hope that a renewed kingdom is coming when God’s original design for human-animal harmony will be restored. Several key prophecies point to this future restoration:
Peaceful Coexistence between Predators and Prey
Though animal instincts now drive predators to kill prey, Isaiah 11:6-9 envisions a kingdom where “the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat.” The prophets saw a return to herbivorous diets and friendly animal relations.
An End to Animal Ferocity and Poison
Isaiah 11 also foresees a day when the lion will eat straw like an ox, when infants can safely play near snake dens, and when “the infant will play near the hole of the cobra.” All the venom and ferocity ingrained in the animal kingdom will disappear.
Abundant Animal Populations across the Earth
Isaiah describes deserted cities once again being filled with “flocks and herds” (Isaiah 32:14). Ezekiel 34:25-31 and Hosea 2:18 also point to abundant animal populations thriving across the world. Today’s loss of biodiversity will be powerfully reversed.
A Reconciliation of All Creation
The Apostle Paul teaches that Christ came to “reconcile all things to Himself” including “things on earth or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:19-20). An animal peace treaty will be a key part of this cosmic reconciliation and renewal in Christ.
Conclusion
In summary, the Bible reveals that animals matter deeply to God as fellow members of His creation. He cares for them, enjoys them, and gifts them to us for our benefit. We in turn are called to steward animals wisely as God’s delegates. Though animal instincts are now broken, the prophets point to a coming day when human rule will be perfectly restored under Christ, animals will once again thrive, and “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).