Animals: Habits of
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The Bible provides numerous insights into the habits of animals, often using them as illustrations to convey spiritual truths and moral lessons. The habits of animals are depicted in various contexts, from their roles in creation to their symbolic meanings in biblical narratives.

Creation and Order:
In the Genesis account, animals are created by God and are given specific roles within the created order. Genesis 1:24-25 states, "And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so." This passage highlights the diversity and orderliness of animal life, each with its distinct habits and purposes.

Instinct and Wisdom:
The Bible often attributes instinctual wisdom to animals, which serves as a model for human behavior. Proverbs 6:6-8 advises, "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food at harvest." The industrious nature of the ant is presented as a lesson in diligence and foresight.

Symbolism and Lessons:
Animals are frequently used symbolically to convey deeper truths. The lion, for example, is often associated with strength and majesty. In Proverbs 28:1 , it is written, "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." Here, the lion's boldness is a metaphor for the confidence of the righteous.

Similarly, the habits of sheep are used to illustrate the relationship between God and His people. In John 10:14-15 , Jesus declares, "I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My life for the sheep." The docile and dependent nature of sheep underscores the need for guidance and protection, reflecting the believer's reliance on Christ.

Behavior and Consequences:
The Bible also addresses the consequences of animal behavior, often drawing parallels to human actions. In Isaiah 11:6-9 , a prophetic vision of peace is described: "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and young lion and fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them." This imagery of natural enemies coexisting peacefully serves as a powerful symbol of the transformative power of God's kingdom.

Divine Provision and Care:
God's provision for animals is a recurring theme, emphasizing His care for all creation. In Matthew 6:26 , Jesus teaches, "Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" This passage reassures believers of God's attentive care, using the habits of birds as an example of divine provision.

Conclusion:
The habits of animals, as depicted in the Bible, offer profound insights into the natural world and its Creator. Through their behaviors, animals serve as instruments of teaching, reflection, and revelation, pointing to the wisdom and sovereignty of God.
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Job 12:7,8
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach you; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell you:
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Job 37:8
Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places.
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Job 39:1
Know you the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or can you mark when the hinds do calve?
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Job 40:20
Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
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Psalm 29:9
The voice of the LORD makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in his temple does every one speak of his glory.
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Psalm 104:20-25
You make darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
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Isaiah 13:21,22
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
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Isaiah 34:14
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
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James 3:7
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed of mankind:
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Library

Whether There Can be any Habits in the Powers of the Sensitive ...
... of custom to do things in this or that way, so in this sense, to a certain extent,
we can admit the existence of habits in dumb animals: wherefore Augustine ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether there can be any.htm

Habits and Condition of the People. Mission Work and Retirement.
... in Kumaon we had many opportunities of observing the condition and habits of the ...
The animals were scampering about, showing, according to their nature, their ...
/.../chapter xxiii habits and condition.htm

Now as to the Union and Concord and Peace of the Animals of ...
... Now as to the union and concord and peace of the animals of different kinds ... now)
coming together in one name [225] they have acquired righteous habits by the ...
/.../irenaeus/the demonstration of the apostolic preaching/chapter 61 now as to.htm

Empedocles Increased the Absurdity of Pythagoras by Developing the ...
... question: If the soul is by no means capable of this kind of migration into animals,
which are not fitted for its reception, either by the habits of their ...
/.../a treatise on the soul/chapter xxxii empedocles increased the absurdity.htm

The Promise.
... It seems as if Ham had brought away some of the arts and habits of the giant ... them
out to all future generations as a prey to be treated like animals of burden ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson i the promise.htm

Of the Errors of Certain Philosophers, and of the Sun and Moon.
... [465] [Anacreon, Ode 2. tois adra'sin phro'nema.]. [466] Animals of a solitary
nature, as opposed to those of gregarious habits. ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap xxiii of the errors of.htm

The Retreat from Scythia.
... Another tribe lived in habits of promiscuous intercourse, like the lower orders
of animals; and so, as the historian absurdly states, being, in consequence of ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/darius the great/chapter ix the retreat from.htm

On the Words, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all Things visible ...
... IX. vii. 1) remarks that many imitations of man's mode of life may be observed
in the habits of other animals. [1104] Jeremiah 5:8. ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture ix on the words.htm

Of the Parts of Man: the Eyes and Ears.
... the uses and habits of the several members which are exposed to view in the body,
or concealed. When, therefore, God had determined of all the animals to make ...
/.../lactantius/on the workmanship of god/chap viii of the parts of.htm

The Creation of Man.
... find nutriment from the fruits of the earth, and from seeds, and herbs, and acorns,
having at the same time appointed that the animals be of habits similar to ...
/.../theophilus/theophilus to autolycus/chapter xviii the creation of man.htm

Resources
How did Noah fit all the animals on the Ark? | GotQuestions.org

What made some animals clean and others unclean (Genesis 7)? | GotQuestions.org

Why did God also destroy animals in the Flood (Genesis 6-8)? | GotQuestions.org

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