Animals

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Genesis 4:5-9     but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.  So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”  Cain spoke to Abel his brother.  And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Genesis 25:29-34     Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.  And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!”  (Therefore his name was called Edom.)  Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”  Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”  Jacob said, “Swear to me now.”  So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Genesis  27:1-46    Jacob and his mother deceived his father, lying and cooking foods Isaac enjoyed, telling him that he was Esau, Isaac’s favorite son, instead of Jacob, the mother’s preferred son.    

Judges  15:1-5     After some days, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat.  And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.”  And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion.  Is not her younger sister more beautiful that she?  Please take her instead.”  And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.”  So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches.  And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails.  And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. 

Proverbs 11:17     A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

Proverbs 12:2, 13, 20,22     A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns.  . . .  An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. . . . Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.  . . . . Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Proverbs 18:3, 7, 12     When wickedness comes, contempt comes also, and with dishonor comes disgrace. . . . A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul. . . .Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

Ezekiel 27:13-16      Javan, Tubal, and Meschech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.  From Beth-togarmah they exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.  The men of Dedan traded with you.  Many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.  

Mark 7:17-19 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.  For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”  And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death.  But she could not,   

Romans 1:28-31     And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.  They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 

James 3:14-16     But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic,  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist that there will be disorder and every vile practice.

James 4:1-2     What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have, because you do not ask.

 

As God worked on creating man, after creating the world, the seas, the oceans, the land, the mountains, the sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the fish, the many different animals He created   But the He concentrated on his  most desired creation–man.   God brought all the animals to the man and had him name them, but discovered none wee right for the man to have a mate.  So God put man to sleep, opened him and removed a rib, and then created woman.   Until the woman urged man to sin, they resided in THE GARDEN, with a good and close relationship with God.  

But with the sin, they were ousted from the Garden, the relationship with God was damaged.  The couple had two sons and the time came to give an offering to God.   Abel’s offering was more pleasing to God, and this angered Cain.  Recognizing that Cain was angry, He spoke to Cain about it.   Shortly, Cain urged Abel to come with him, then in a field he killed his brother.   But since God knows all, God punished Cain and told him he would separate him and Cain realized that his life might be endangered by others.

Animals were created to  eating leaves, grasses,  and smaller animals.   Lions go after game that are weaker–they may run as their defense, but the cats are fast and strong and when they catch their prey, they bite the neck, breaking it, and then take the game back to their den.  They kill for food,  not just ruthless killing.  Animals who eat other animals are not ruthless killers–they kill with no anger, no malice, not for a challenge, but for food, for the necessity of having to have nourishment.   Large cats, bears will go after some young cattle, young horses, but again it is for food.  

But that is NOT what man does.  Man kills for sport–going after game to just take them down.  Animals with ivory–elephants,  hippopotamuses, walruses, and warthogs and some whales.   So many of these gorgeous animals that have impressive tusks of ivory, whales have ivory teeth.   And many of these were killed for the ivory alone.  A senseless killing for man to gain monies from ivory, cutting away the tusks, and some teeth.  Whales also have some ivory teeth.  Senseless killing of glorious animals just for profit.   The killers were hunting ivory way back in 590-570’s BC as God told Ezekiel about the gathering of ivory.

But men also slaughtered buffalo–only for the hides, a small amount of meat.  For the great slaughter of many of these animals, they were left to rot in the fields.  The partial purpose was to gather hides, but the other biggest purpose was to destroy the Indian nations–the desire was to starve them, decrease the pelts they used for moccasins, clothing, tepees, and the fat from them for cooking, for light and so forth.  But it was slaughter.  Animals do not slaughter; but man does.

And man slaughters other humans, some may be innocent and a angry person grabs a gun or knife and viciously, hatefully butchers.  This too, has happened for centuries.  Before the invention of guns, there were iron balls and chains that had many pointed iron knubs to be mutilated by the man swinging the object; knives and swords, torture devices,  gallows,  guillotines, hanging–callous viciousness.  Then of course, there is the capture of others–rapes, eye gouging, out eyes, maiming the looks, chopping off different body parts, and more.  No, man is the cruelest, by far, of any animal.

Animals will kill to protect their young, and to deliver food, but their minds are not set with arrogance, selfishness, cruelty.  That dishonor belongs solely to man.  For those of us who have recognized we are a sinful, selfish lot, we work to turn from that miserable behavior.  And thank You, Jesus, that You came to atone for our sins as long as we have You as our Savior and follow You willingly.  Our nasty ways get slowly sanded away.  I am so thankful I know You and do not have to remain in the muck and mire of my sins.   Thank You for all You have done for me and ‘mybellaviews.’