Category
VERSES ABOUT NATURE
Think about this: God created everything. The earth, the sky, the whole world—it all belongs to Him. He made it all, just like Exodus 20:11 says: "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." He created it all perfectly, and He deserves all the praise for the amazing things He's done.
You know, we should really stand in awe of God and give Him glory. The time is coming when He will judge the world, so let's worship the One who made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.
When you're out enjoying nature – at the beach, in the mountains, or just looking at a beautiful tree – remember who made it all so beautiful and perfect. Let's give God all the glory He deserves.
A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth,
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord.
Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.
“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—
In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely.
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
“If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young;you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.
Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?
but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field,The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.
Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”
The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.
So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?
I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me.I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds.
For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate.
Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
“Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?
Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
I will leave you in the wilderness, You and all the fish of your rivers; You shall fall on the open field; You shall not be picked up or gathered. I have given you as food To the beasts of the field And to the birds of the heavens.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God.
Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
“You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.
Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry.
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth:‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you.Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you.‘By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening;whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening:The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean.And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening.Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you.‘These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the large lizard after its kind;Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat.
“You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother.
There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth.
that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s.
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field,The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
“Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young?Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror.He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He gallops into the clash of arms.He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword.The quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin.He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting.
‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk:I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any;A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king whose troops are with him.
Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.
for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’
“He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood; He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations,
“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth,And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust;She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them.She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern,Because God deprived her of wisdom, And did not endow her with understanding.When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider.
As a beast goes down into the valley, And the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest, So You lead Your people, To make Yourself a glorious name.