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Biblical Teachings on
Animals and Creation
The Bible teaches us of God’s love for us and for all of His creation. Throughout Scripture, we discover teachings and reflections that remind us of this divine love for all creatures and our role in stewarding creation.
“The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.”
Genesis 2:15“God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-13“I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the wild animals, with the birds of the air, and with the things that crawl on the ground.”
Hosea 2:20“Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
Matthew 6:26“But now ask the beasts to teach you, the birds of the air to tell you;
Or speak to the earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this?
In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mortal flesh.”
Job 12:7-10“For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things you have made, for you would not have formed anything if you had hated it.”
Wisdom 11:24“How varied are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”
Psalm 50:10
“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall graze, together their young shall lie down; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the viper’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.”
Isaiah 11:6–9“For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now.”
Romans 8:19–22“For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath.”
Ecclesiastes 3:19“I brought you into the garden land to eat its fine fruits, but you entered and defiled my land, you turned my heritage into an abomination.”
Jeremiah 2:7“Your justice is like the highest mountains; your judgments, like the mighty deep; human being and beast you sustain, Lord.”
Psalm 36:6“The mystery of his will . . . [is] a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth”
Ephesians 1:9–10The Story of Creation
When was the last time you read the Story of Creation? Did you know that, when God first created the world, He gave us every seed-bearing plant to be our food? Humans are made in the image of God; how do we bring God’s love for all His creatures to bear in our daily choices?
“Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky. God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good, and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth. Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened: God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good.
Then God said: Let us make[e] human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.
God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them.
God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. God looked at everything He had made, and found it very good.”
Genesis 1:20-31