Animals Rights – Interpreting the Law of God (36)

Animals Rights

Interpreting the Law of God (36)

The Law of God protects all the creatures He loves.

“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Deuteronomy 25:4

We are seeking to discover the best ways of making good use of the Law of God in our day. The Law is good and useful, Paul insisted, when it is used “lawfully” (1 Tim. 1:8). The Law is used lawfully, in the first place, when it is applied to sinners and their lives in order to achieve the good purposes of God.

But just how the Law is to be applied can be a bit tricky. In this series we have been considering some general principles to help us in making good use of the Law. Now we want to take a look at some specific applications of those principles to select examples of the Law, in order to gain some practice in interpreting God’s Law for our lives today.

We begin with an example of the Old Testament civil code which is cited in both the Old and New Testaments. Paul cites our text twice, in 1 Corinthians 9:9 and 1 Timothy 5:17. Before we explore the New Testament’s use of what might seem like a fairly obscure precept of God’s Law, let’s have a good look at it in its proper and original context.

This statute illustrates the unity of the Law of God because it can be shown to be related to at least two of the Ten Commandments. Perhaps most obviously, Deuteronomy 25:4 relates to the eighth commandment and forbids owners of oxen to “rob” their animals of the fruit of their labors. It may seem strange to suggest that people could “steal” from animals, but, as we shall see, Paul discovers the principle of stealing in this verse and, therefore, we must assume that animals have certain “rights” which men transgress only at the risk of violating the commandments of God.

Such an understanding suggests the fifth commandment, where we learn the principle of respect for others as creatures made by God, beginning with one’s parents. This commandment also includes statutes which point us to the creation and guide us in respecting the “rights” of non-human creatures. Thus, we must not take a mother bird with her offspring. We can take the eggs or the young, but we must leave the mother to propagate another generation of offspring (Deut. 22:6, 7). Similarly, in warfare we are forbidden to practice “scorched earth” policies, especially with respect to fruit-bearing trees (Deut. 20:19, 20). We must respect the creation as belonging to the Lord and serving His purposes (Ps. 24:1; 119:89-91).

The first principle we discern in Deuteronomy 25:4 is that creatures have rights and are to be treated in ways consistent with God’s love for His creation; oxen, it appears, are worthy of “double honor” under certain circumstances. Applications of this today might seem obvious and, a bit further along in our study, we’ll consider some examples.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.