In the Bible we read in Proverbs 12:10 the following proverb: “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

In connection with Animal Day, we want to think about this proverb, and we say now already that we should consider this proverb before and after Animal Day.

Wisdom⤒🔗

In the book of Proverbs, we receive wisdom from the mouth of Solomon. This king was inspired by the Spirit of Christ before he became flesh. We receive wisdom, practical insights in life for the diverse life of every day. For every aspect of your life, for your work outside the home and your life at home, for your contact with other people, for your marriage, the upbringing of your children, etc.

Every saying has something tantalizing, something challenging.

Proverbs are short and often not easy to understand.

Every proverb includes a world of wisdom from God who denounces the foolishness of the unbeliever.

Also for the dealings with your animals, God gives revelation from heaven.

Do Not Make an Animal into an Idol←⤒🔗

Idolatry in relation to animals is found in ancient and modern paganism. Just think of ancient heathen tribes who worshipped animals. And until today, the sacred cow is not slaughtered in India. That beast is shown divine reverence.

Something of animal idolization we find in today’s world when couples “do not choose for a child, but for a dog.” Or you find it with people who never want to kill an animal. In Proverbs 12:27 we read, “Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.” In other words: the diligent man will catch his game and may enjoy it.

Animal Abuse←⤒🔗

Besides various forms of animal worship, you also hear of contempt for animals and abuse of animals. This past summer, that mare reached the front page of the newspaper: out of sadism her tendons had been cut. You hear of cattle that after being shoved and kicked are transported in far too small cattle trucks, of cats that are being clubbed to death, of bullfights, etc.

There is every reason to consider Proverbs 12:10 (we now give the translation of Prof. Gemser): “The righteous person knows the nature and needs of his cattle, but the heart of the wicked is without mercy.”

The Righteous Farmer←⤒🔗

Righteous is he who has received mercy from God. He may partake in the salvation of (the coming) Christ. A righteous person wants to live in thankfulness according to the law of God. And when he has sinned, then there are the animal sacrifices that foreshadow the sacrifice of the LAMB of God, Jesus Christ. Through that sacrifice there is peace for a righteous farmer. By Christ’s Spirit the farmer knows continually (as it says) the life of his animals: he continually loves them, he senses what they need, he knows how they feel and their attitudes. For him, these are not just dumb beasts who have to get milked again. He enters the stable and sees that the one animal is not acting the same as it did yesterday, that the horse reacts different than usual. What do we hear: a curse? Or will he speak to the animal?

All of God’s Law in Your Heart←⤒🔗

A righteous farmer lives according to all of Proverbs. That is why he has his own wife, he does not participate in the cursing of the wicked, he sees through the emptiness of a life without God, and he does not want anything to do with lying lips and an angry heart. He wants to be wise and not wicked. After all, wisdom for all of life is what Proverbs teaches, isn’t it?

This man also has a heart for his animals. We should not pay exaggerated or exclusive (and certainly not sentimental) attention to animals and then ignore the rest of God’s law, as perhaps sometimes is the case with those who are trying to prevent cruelty to animals. We are then fighting for the seal, but not for the unborn child. A mare that is abused reaches the front page, but not the 500 (or more?) abortions of that same day. That is selective outrage. The opposite is also possible: fighting against abortion and euthanasia and not exposing other forms of abuse.

Whoever knows himself to be righteous, carries all of God’s law in his heart.

To Care a Lot about Your Animals←⤒🔗

How does the farmer’s care for his animals show? Without trying to be complete, we can think of five points:

1. You give your animals one day off. Many church folks still hear every Sunday the fourth commandment of God’s law (Deut. 5:14): “But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock.”
2. You take care of food and drink on time for your animals, and ensure they have plenty of space to live (not in stalls or cages that are too small).
3. In ancient Israel you had to protect your cattle against wild animals. Sheep could fall prey to the wild animals (Ezek. 34:5). And think of the problems if a young lion was found among the flocks of sheep (Mic. 5:8). Or you could suddenly meet a bear that recently had been robbed of her cubs (Prov. 17:12).
4. You protect your animals from the cold.
5. You do not hit them unnecessarily (like Balaam did his donkey).

Godly Laws←⤒🔗

The Lord God wants animals to be well cared for. He therefore issued a number of laws in order to protect animals.

We note Deuteronomy 25:4. Apparently there were stingy farmers in Israel who muzzled a threshing ox. This meant that as it was threshing (which was done by its hooves trampling on the grain, releasing the kernels) it was unable to eat the grain. But the Lord forbids the muzzle: you shall not muzzle a threshing ox. Let the animal enjoy some of the grain during its heavy labour. Stinginess is contraband. And besides, God is good to all his creatures (see Ps. 145).

Whoever saw that a donkey was falling down under its burden, was to help the beast and its companion. Even if it was your enemy, you were still obliged to assist (Ex. 23:5; Deut. 22:4). God’s good care for man and beast is laid down in the law. We could list more examples of this.

Just Be a Sober Farmer←⤒🔗

It is clear that that you benefit from proper care of your animals. We read this in Proverbs 27:23-27. We read there, “Give attention to your herds.” This means, be very diligent in looking after your cattle! Pay full attention to this, for otherwise (an economical motive!) your wealth will disappear. That is sobering language. Those who neglect their cattle will lose their wealth. Those who really take care of their animals in the summer will in the fall and winter (“when the grass is gone and the new growth appears”: i.e., the late grass, which grows in the fall) enjoy the wool of the lambs (for clothing). You can then sell your goats and purchase a field. You will then have enough goat’s milk, food and daily needs for your household. That is sobering language. And so, you may enjoy the blessings of the covenant! You can live and enjoy life as a righteous farmer: the sheep gave you wool and meat, your goats gave you milk, from goat’s hair you could weave tent material, and from goat’s skin you made water bags. The oxen were pulling your plow and cart, the donkey was your mount and it carried burdens for you, and pigeons could be your messengers.

This is roughly how it went on the farm back then in Israel.

God Himself Cares a Lot about the Animals←⤒🔗

Repeatedly we read in the Bible how much the Lord God cares for the animals. And no wonder: they are his creatures, he did not make them for nothing (Gen. 1).

We read that Jonah preferred that God would destroy Nineveh, that metropolis. Jonah was bothered by God’s mercy for that decadent world city. But the Lord thought of Nineveh, he thought of its people, of its children, and of those animals that were covered with sackcloth for him. Also the animals were covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:8), they had to suffer and fast because of the guilt of that godless population. Then the Lord still saved the city!

But Jonah was angry! He would have rather seen that the city be turned upside down, that its people be killed. He would have liked to see those donkeys and camels and other cattle running around desperately in that burning city amid the suffocating smoke. But God was merciful, also in regard to Nineveh’s cattle: “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:11).

God takes care of his creatures.

It is God who gives the young lions their prey and the raven its prey (Job 38:39-41). And Psalm 104:14 teaches us that God causes the grass to grow for the livestock (so, not the farmer). It is the young lions that roar to get their prey and that long to get their food from God (so, not from people; see Pss. 104:14, 21, 27; 36:7-8).

A timid church gets to hear from Christ, the highest Wisdom, that Father even takes care of the sparrows (Matt. 10:29-31). Then surely for his church! Matthew 6:26 teaches us: “Look at the birds of the air.… Are you not of more value than they?”

The Saviour had a heart for the sheep that, even though it was the Sabbath, had fallen into a pit (Matt. 12:11). The Righteous One par excellence knew the life of his animals!

The merciful Christ teaches us to be merciful for man and beast. Also in our dealings with the animals, we will have to be followers of him.

No Sentimentality←⤒🔗

There are people who knit a little coat for their dog or their cat. I cannot quite judge if this is not getting close to a wrong kind of sentimentality. The reader can judge for himself.

At times one needs to act firmly toward the animals. Whoever understands his animals will act firmly with them at times. Difficult, cranky animals in Bible times were being controlled with an oxen stick, which on the underside had a sharp pin. Perhaps also the plow and the cart were outfitted with these sharp pins. If the beast wanted to walk backwards, or resist the owner’s commands, then it finds out quickly: the animal will hurt itself! The Lord Christ used this image once with Saul (Acts 26:14): “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

No sentimentality. We also know that butchering is allowed. Genesis 9:3 says, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” But there is a difference between butchering and murdering, between hunting and eradicating. The righteous person also here is to practice sensitivity. Whoever is good to his animals is also good to people.

The Cruel Heart of the Wicked←⤒🔗

In Proverbs 12:10, the righteous person faces the wicked. “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

There is antithesis, also when dealing with your cattle. Over against the loving feeling towards the animals, stands the cruel attitude of the wicked. Which of course not only reveals itself toward animals, but also toward people! Tell me how you deal with animals, and I will tell you who you are…

Now there are also wicked people who deal sensitively with their animals. But the above-mentioned proverb pictures the cruel wicked person. He does not want to live from the blood of (the coming) Christ. He does not want to know about atonement and God’s law. He does not live from God’s mercy and therefore he is not merciful to humans and animals. That wicked person is pictured in the proverb. He lives for his own interest. What will my animals profit me, that’s the only matter that keeps him occupied. He does not care about people and animals; he only cares about himself. As long as he profits off man and beast, then ultimately nothing else matters. Then he is cruel, callous, and relentless.

Crate Calves←⤒🔗

There are still many thousands of crate calves in our country (i.e., the Netherlands). Young calves of two days old end up in a space of 60x160 cm. Twice a day they receive milk. When they are five months old and weigh 200 kg, they are transported to the slaughterhouse. The animals can hardly move around in that space in the end; they become fat and produce light meat, for which good money is paid. The animals also become anemic. Can we apply here: the heart of the wicked is without mercy? A similar question may be asked about certain kinds of battery cages for chickens, although this has somewhat improved over the last years in regard to these battery cages.

Perspective←⤒🔗

Whoever wants to become wise, whoever wants to know Christ, the fountain of all wisdom, let him read the book of Proverbs.

Having a heart for your animals is the test of your righteousness (Prov. 12:10). And we look forward to the reign of peace from Isaiah 11, to the moment that “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat.” When cattle will dwell with young lions and when a young boy shall shepherd them.

A new creation, which finds its joy in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This creation is coming.

The groaning creation is on its way there with an eager longing (see Rom. 8:19-22).