Bob Dylan wrote a song called Man Gave Names to All the Animals. I first heard it sung by bluegrass mandolin player Tim Rice. (I like Bob Dylan’s songs, but only if somebody else sings them.) The song is witty and very tongue-in-cheek. Here’s a verse: “Saw an animal on the side of a hill…Eatin’ grass ‘till he had his fill…Saw the milk come out but he didn’t know how…‘Ahhh, I think I’ll call him a cow.’” I love the song; it’s so much fun. And it’s actually even Biblical, in its own way, ending with this ominous incomplete verse: “He saw an animal as smooth as glass…Slithering his way through the grass…Saw him disappear by a tree near a lake…” And the verse leaves you hanging, with that image of the Tempter in the Garden of Eden.
When I was a teenager I heard my pastor reference this Bible story of Adam naming the animals. He said, “Boy, Adam must have been smart! Have you seen those names? I can’t even pronounce some of them!” And I remember thinking, “Surely he doesn’t really think Adam gave animals their Latin genus and species names! Surely he’s making a joke!” But I wasn’t entirely sure. I still don’t know if he was joking or not.
Sometimes jokes are made about those who love animals. Certainly, people can be over-balanced in their attitude towards animals. The Bible is clear that, out of all God’s physical creatures, only human beings are made in the image of God. It’s a mistake to value animals on the same level as human beings.
That being said, author and Bible teacher Randy Alcorn says we delight in animals because we’re made in the image of God, who delights in His creation. So, when we love animals, we are reflecting the nature of our Maker. God even said that caring for animals is a sign of righteousness. Proverbs 12:10 says, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”
Randy Alcorn has a new book coming out in November called All God’s Creatures: What the Bible Says About Animals, Heaven, and the New Earth. In answer to the question “Will there be animals in heaven?”, Alcorn points out that when Adam was created, he was surrounded by animals. And when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born on earth, He was surrounded by animals, too. So, it only makes sense to think that, when God renews everything in the New Heaven and New Earth, animals will be there, too.
When Adam named the animals, this wasn’t done in an afternoon. He would have looked at each one, watching them carefully and thinking about what they did and how they acted. Adam was the first zoologist, making a study of God’s creatures. And each animal would have taught Him something about the God who made them. (For instance, a giraffe or a platypus might have taught him that God had a sense of humor!)
It has to be said, though: If you think nature is like a Disney cartoon, you’re out of your mind. Adam’s sin affected the animal kingdom, too. Alfred Lord Tennyson described it accurately in his poem In Memoriam A.H.H. when he wrote “nature, red in tooth and claw.” Animals don’t talk and sing and dance together. They’re savage; they hunt and kill and eat each other. But that’s not how God intended it to be. The prophet Isaiah foresaw a time in God’s restored kingdom when “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6) Nature won’t be “red in tooth and claw”, then.
But there is still a lot we can learn from the animals. Animals can teach us about God, too.
We recently got a new puppy. (You knew I’d get around to it.) A few months ago, my wife said to me: “I think I might need to have a dog.” And I said, “Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?” But before long, we got a mini golden doodle puppy named Cosmo. I don’t think he’s a Christian, yet. They say that, when you’re training a puppy, they’re training you, too. And, to my surprise, God keeps teaching me things through this fuzzy little puppy.
In the first few days we had him home, the thought occurred to me that I’m a lot like that puppy: I’m either trembling, needing to be held, and told that it’s all going to be all right…or I want to bite everybody and everything. Either way, I need the steadfast, unchanging, unfailing covenant love of God, either to comfort me or to cover my sins.
As Cosmo’s training (and ours) has progressed, I find myself watching more and more YouTube videos about “How to Train Your Puppy.” One problem we have is that our pup never seems to know his lines. He doesn’t always act like the puppies in the videos!
But I have come to appreciate the approach of Cesar Milan, “The Dog Whisperer.” I’d heard of him before, of course. But I never really paid much attention to him until we got our dog. (I wish he’d do a video on “What to Do If Your Dog Is Unregenerate.”) Milan said he learned to train dogs by watching mother dogs with their pups on his family’s farm in Mexico. And he continually emphasizes two things: the need for great patience in dealing with dogs, and to calmly wait for the moment a dog gives you calm surrender.
That made me think of how many times God has had to be oh-so-patient with me, as I have repeatedly ignored His commands, pulled in the other direction from His leading, and even tried to run away from Him. Though the word “patience” isn’t used, God revealed His patience to Moses: “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…’” (Exodus 34:6).
And how many times has God waited for me to give Him my calm surrender? Psalm 131:2 describes it this way: “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” So often I’ve wrestled with the little chaos gremlin our puppy turns into sometimes, and I’ve even said out loud, “I’m trying to help you! If you keep struggling, you’re going to hurt yourself!”
But I’m just like that. How I have fought with God, and struggled against Him! And how patiently He has waited for my calm surrender to Him.
My pup’s life would be so much better if he would just give me his calm surrender sooner, rather than later. And your life and mine will be so much better if we give to God our calm surrender sooner, rather than later.
As Steve Brown likes to say: “You think about that! Amen!”
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor David