Wednesday, June 13, 2012

"A righteous man regards the life of his animal... "

Proverbs 12:10 defines animal husbandry as God intends it to be.
"A righteous man regards the life of his animal but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruelty."
There is a time to kill and a time to heal according to Ecc. 3:3.
My brothers taught me a righteous man kills an animal for only three reasons; to provide food, to protect his family and property or to protect an animal from unecessary suffering. In cases where none of these concerns are present his duty is to respect what God has created. All of my brothers are excellent hunters and processors and yet hunting and farming for them is not recreational. It involves duty and service and taking dominion as God has commanded.
I suppose in ordinary circumstances a person who lives on a farm, slaughters 400 chickens a year, protects those chickens from countless predators and has become expert in animal processing could become callous to death and animal life in general. Not so with my brothers! By God's grace He has shown them the way of the righteous man in respectfully nurturing what God has given us stewardship over until the right time and context. 
The pictures are of a day-old fawn Sam found while mowing our pasture.
We were concerned something was wrong since he wasn't moving and his mother was nowhere in sight. Possibly he had been seperated from her and we could find a different mother for him at a local private wildlife park/zoo. However when we called we learned does will leave their young alone all day curled up in the same position and so our best plan would be to leave him close to where we found him (after Sam mowed where he was :o) ) so his mother could find him again. Sure enough, later in the aternoon he had disappeared so we assume his mother came to pick up her obedient offspring.

In a few years Ben may encouter this same animal in our woods, no longer helpless and fearless but full-grown and proud. If he is hunting he will take it down to serve as dinner and be thankful for God's provision.