A paper here I came across and seems noteworthy:
GOD'S ANIMAL SERVANTS
Thoughts By R. DeWitt, 1/07
All creation is made for God's pleasure (note Rev.4:11), and He is pleased to share it with man whom He created in His own image, and to whom He entrusted the care of His creation (Gen.1:26). Man should not therefore pollute the earth and abuse animals.
It is an interesting phenomena that certain animals are comfortable around human beings, while others keep their distance. Some can be trained to serve man, and some seem to quite easily prefer man. Those who study animals can likely explain this better, but the thought here is to reflect on some faithful characteristics and how God has provided certain animals to be of service, such as oxen, horses, dogs (see Num.22:25-33).
We all like to read of heroic dogs and their faithfulness, and their nature in particular is the thought in this paper. We are told that all breeds of dogs descend from the wolf, and by the breeding process dogs have accepted man as the "top dog", provider, and leader of their pack. That species of animal is pack-oriented, so looks to find a strong leader that can meet their needs.
People can become much attached to these creatures, and some go to the extreme of trying to humanize their dogs, spend great sums of money on them, and even attribute an eternal soul to them (see contrary view in Psa.49:12; Eccl. 3:21). This over-appreciation of the animals is praising the gift more than the giver, who is God.
Dogs have a place of nearness to man and a certain loyalty, which is something of our consideration here. There are lessons to be learned from animals about loyalty, devotion, sacrifice. Some are easily bred to be creatures of service and there are many accounts of noble service that are amazing to hear. We are learning more about the nature of dogs even today, who have recently been found to have remarkable sensory abilities to know when a person is ill, even before that one knows.
In faithful devotion to God, and with desire to serve Him, we might consider the lowly animals who accept their station in life, and look to their masters ---not to speak of Sheep here as being like us as in the Bible. They have gifts of service which they will use without rewards. Their loyalty, devotion and sacrifice is real, though they perform even better with rewards. Dogs are known to risk their lives to guard and serve man. They are not vain and deceitful. They might teach us some things---hopefully to appreciate our eternal Master and all His gifts for us.
Some of the characteristics of dogs are noted here for consideration:
They can be very loyal and devoted to owners; They can be dangerous when treated badly by strangers;They like man for his benefits; They are intelligent, very perceptive, and can be trained for many things; They are bred to be specialized for certain kinds of work; They enjoy playing with their owners; They will bark to give warnings, and will guard their family and home; They are described in the Bible, not as pets, and are found useful among men; They have dirty habits and nature, and like to roll in smelly things; They are scavengers and greedy, even when well fed; They reportedly view the human family as their dog pack;
They have no eternal soul as man.
In all this, one might gain some appreciation of God's expectations for our
"reasonable service" (see Rom.12:1; also note God's instructions to Adam about care for the earth). It is much appreciated by our Lord. Our care in this life is not by animals or features of nature, but by our Creator-God who can call upon angels and every resource to meet our needs. We are not as animals and in the Bible we are made in the
"image of God", but
"Doth not even nature itself teach you" (1 Cor.11:14). Worship, devotion, and honor to God will truly keep us through every trial, and we surely ought to thank Him for all His care and wondrous creation
(note John 14). - RLD
