“He sends the springs into the valleys; they flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. By them the birds of the heavens have their home; they sing among the branches. He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. 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.”
Psalm 104:10-14

The Bible and Water
One of the oldest Books of the Bible, Job, written almost 4,000 years ago, reveals an understanding of ecological relationships, erosion and distillation, the significance of water to the regeneration of plants, the clouds as water vapour, the process of evaporation and condensation and the water cycle.
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Marsh Reeds

“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water? While it is yet green and not cut down, it withers before any other plant.”
Job 8:11-12

Regeneration of Plants

“For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.” 
Job 14:7-9

There is no doubt that animals will be in Heaven. The Bible is clear:

“Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse…”
Revelation 19:11.

The Bible describes the angels around God’s throne as having features and characteristics like that of a lion, a bull and an eagle (Ezekiel 1). God Himself is likened in Scripture to a lion, a leopard, a bear (Hosea 13:7-8) and to an eagle (Deuteronomy 32:11). God made a good and perfect earth, populated by many animals. God directed Adam to name the animals – indicating relationship.

Creation Worships the Creator
The largest book in the Bible, the middle book of the Bible, the Hymn and Prayer book of the Bible, the Psalms, reveal that all of God’s Creation have contact with God (Psalm 93). All God’s Creatures praise Him.

“Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures… beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl; …let them praise the Name of the Lord for His Name alone is exalted. His Glory is above earth and heaven.”
Psalm 148:7-13.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
Psalm 150:6

The living creatures around God’s throne who are singing Holy! Holy! Holy! is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory! are animals (Isaiah 6:3).

“But now ask the beasts and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this. In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food? Wisdom is with aged men, and with length of days, understanding. With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.”
Job 12:7-13

There is much in modern technology that is marvelous. However, the incredible complexity and intricacy of God’s Creation is infinitely more marvelous.

Flight
For centuries, men dreamed of flying. However, men do not have muscles powerful enough to lift their own body weight into the air.

In 1781 James Watt invented a steam engine that produced rotary power. In 1876 Nikolaus Atto built an internal combustion engine.

The brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright had wanted to fly ever since they had played with kites as boys. Later they learned engineering skills by building bicycles. They realized that the key challenge of flight was to design a craft that could be controlled. A plane that could not be balanced in the air is as useless as a bicycle that cannot be steered.

"How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished."
Jeremiah 12:4

In the course of my missionary work, which has often been spent in bush areas among wildlife, my love for animals has grown and I have sought to learn what the Bible teaches concerning them.

Often I have been asked:

• "Will animals be in Heaven?"
• "What does God think about 'scientific' experiments on animals?"
• "What should our attitude to animals be?"

This is some of what I have found in my studies of animals in the Bible.