The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.

Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew or Greek definition(s).

¹⁰ A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Animal Treatment

Wickedness has no concept for true compassion, mercy and love. Godliness understands the importance and need of all three for people and all living creatures.

Let us get the worst over with first by examining the word cruel.

“cruel” in the Hebrew is defined as:

394. אַכְזָרִי ˒akzârı̂y, ak-zaw-ree’; from 393; terrible:— cruel (one).

393. אַכְזָר ˒akzâr, ak-zawr’; from an unused root (appar. mean. to act harshly); violent; by impl. deadly; also (in a good sense) brave:— cruel, fierce.

The wicked, their ideas of ‘mercy are cruelty’ yet they know it not. They are often blinded by Satan. Wicked people often harm animals. One of the key traits, psychology claims, of a serial killer is that when they were young, they harmed or even killed animals. How horrid!

When you look at what it means to “regardeth” and animal you see where the need for care, love, mercy, and instruction come in.

“regardeth” in the Hebrew language is defined as:

3045. יָדַע yâda˓, yaw-dah’; a prim. root; to know (prop. to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, fig., lit., euphem. and infer. (incl. observation, care, recognition; and caus. instruction, designation, punishment, etc.) [as follow]:— acknowledge, acquaintance (-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware, [un-] awares, can [-not], certainly, for a certainty, comprehend, consider, × could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel, can have, be [ig-] norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to, let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have [knowledge], (be, make, make to be, make self) known, + be learned, + lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, × prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell, understand, have [understanding], × will be, wist, wit, wot.

Godly people understand their responsibility to give “care, recognition, instruction, and punishment” where needed to the animals in their care. That dog or cat we love is a “familiar friend” to us, but one who must be corrected when they potty on the rug. In order to train an animal correctly we must have a “kinsman” type relationship with them meaning we “know” them, we “have knowledge of and have understanding” of their temperament, needs, strengths, and weaknesses. A farmer will tell you that all of this is very necessary to get the maximum amount of productivity from their animals.

All living creatures are created by God for a purpose. Let us both respect their purpose and their existence for the length of their life. ++end++

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Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.