Genesis 1:20-31 The Fifth Day
“And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
The Sixth Day
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
If you believe these verses from Genesis, there was a time when humans and animals were all vegetarians. There were no wars and animals lived together peaceably without preying on one another. Sin had not yet entered the world. Presumably, people and animals could communicate with one another. Then sin entered the world, wars began, and people and animals began preying on one another.
We read these verses and think this is a beautiful dream, but did it ever really happen? Truly, we will never know; nor do we need to use these verses to accuse carnivores of sin. (Yes, you can still eat that hamburger!) What is important is that this is a glimpse of heaven.
Romans 8:20-22 tells us, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.” Putting it bluntly, animals, birds, and sea creatures have not messed up; it is humans who have sinned. I am an unabashed animal lover, and I firmly believe animals will join us in heaven where the peaceable kingdom will truly exist. I am looking forward to seeing all the animals I have loved. In the meantime, we need to try to live in harmony with one another and with nature as much as possible.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to respect all living creatures around us and to live in peace as much as possible. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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