God’s Word for You
Genesis 1:24-25 Lions and tigers and bears
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, August 7, 2026
24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Day dawned on the sixth day of creation. God spoke once again, this time bringing forth land animals. As we noticed in the fifth day, a verse in chapter 2 (2:19) will show us that God formed the animals from the soil. There will be some differences, however, with the way he will bring forth man. For now, we consider only the animals.
There are three broad categories of animals here, not at all what we would call genus, phylum, or species. Moses simply grouped animals into livestock (animals for the farm or herds), crawling things, and wild animals. Notice that in verse 25 he changes the order from livestock / crawling / wild, to wild / livestock / crawling (abc / cab), moving each group into a different position in the list. I think that he does this to show no more or less honor to any of the categories in the beginning. Each was good; each was a special creation from God, for God’s holy purpose.
I don’t think we need to go into great detail about these groups except that examples from each can be used to teach lessons later in the Bible. The livestock or “tame, domesticated animals” includes anything useful that can be herded or farmed: cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, horses, donkeys, and other things. Perhaps some varieties of deer such as caribou (reindeer) might be in this group. The domestic birds such as ducks and chickens were made the day before.
Crawling things is not just a way of describing snakes, lizards, and turtles, but surely also refers to many insects (ants and termites), spiders, rodents, mice, and all of the smaller animals and little critters like snails and worms.
Wild animals (more literally, “living things of the earth”) seems to mean any larger animal that is not a domestic creature. What we think of as dangerous animals would mostly fall into this group, such as Dorothy’s “lions and tigers and bears,” and also such things as wolves, elephants, rhinos, and apes. It would be good to pause and learn lessons from the land animals, at least one from each of Moses’ three groups.
The ant, a crawling animal, was used to preach the law to those who are lazy but to encourage us to work hard while we have the time to do so. “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Observe its ways and become wise. Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler, it stores its food in summer. It gathers its provisions at harvest time” (Proverbs 6:6-8). The energy of the ant is something we should strive for. As Admiral Horatio Nelson would say, “Waste not an hour!”
David learned to trust in God from the way God came to his help with the wild animals. Even as a young man, his courage and his strength came from the Lord. When Goliath taunted the army of Israel, David said to King Saul, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:36-37).
Finally, the donkey, a domestic animal, was used by Jesus to show both his kingly office and his personal humility. John records: “Taking palm branches, they went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look! Your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt’” (John 12:13-15).
But returning to the world before the fall into sin, what about dangerous animals? Professor Gerhard considered this point: “If you ask about poisonous plants, harmful beasts, etc., we respond with the word of Augustine: ‘Harmful created animals would have done no harm to man, had he not sinned; for they began to do harm to punish vices and to test or perfect earthly creatures for the sake of virtue. Therefore they were created harmless, but because of sin they became harmful.’”
Another image drawn from the animal kingdom is this one from Lamentations: “Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding, he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help” (Lamentations 3:10-11). This is the confession of Israel about God’s punishment for sin, acknowledging that the wild animals, like the rest of the fallen world, now pose dangers to God’s people under the curse of sin. But the Lord is also compassionate, and for those he has chastised, there is also the promise of his forgiveness. He hates sin, but he also sent his Son to rescue us from sin’s power and take the mangling punishment of sin, innocently, by himself.
So we have seen the animals used by God to teach us to use our time wisely, to be encouraged by God’s help in all circumstances, and the gospel message of Christ as King over all. He did not enter Jerusalem to defeat a human enemy, but to win the great victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Today, he rules over all things for the good of the Holy Christian Church. For the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18). And our Confession proclaims: “He sends the Holy Spirit into their hearts to rule, comfort, and quicken them and defend them against the devil and the power of sin” (Augsburg Confession, III:5). To him be glory for ever and ever.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.