Cecil the Lion
Ok…I have not been on this blog for some time until today as my book is officially available. I surely did not want to revisit the blog under such negativity however I feel the need to address the latest atrocity in the news. I just can not gut animal abuse as it brings instant tears to my eyes when I am challenged to a visual such as on Facebook. The news of Cecil’s death brought tears as well.
Cecil was a 13 year old lion who was being tracked by an Oxford University research team. He was illegally shot by an American dentist by the name of Walter Palmer. He shot him with a bow and arrow which did not kill the poor lion. He had to be tracked down for 40 hours, to be then shot. The rest is too painful to write. It is all over FB and all of the news channels.
What I am sad to contribute here… which is not what I would like to start with as the beginning of my blog… is my thoughts about hunting.
I am going here because it is addressed in my book and in light of the current event…I had might as well share a part of it.
Here is an insert from my book:
“So while we’re focusing on feeling in response to different stories and dimensions of God’s connection to his animals, I want to engage in this brief inquiry. So what does the Bible say on the subject of hunting? The first recorded hunter of the Bible was Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, one of Noah’s sons. Nimrod was thought to be the greatest warrior on the earth (Genesis 10:8) at one point in history. He was a great hunter as well (Genesis 10:9). There was one problem with Nimrod’s destiny. The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir … —Genesis 10:11 NIV . To reiterate, Nimrod’s kingdoms were Babylon, Assyria, and Nineveh, to name a few. The Babylonian Empire opposed God throughout the Bible. It is referenced in the book of Revelation as being destroyed for good. As for Assyria, many historians view this kingdom as the home of the first true terrorists of the world. In the book of Micah, a “source of peace” will come from the small town of Bethlehem and defeat God’s enemies in Assyria and the gates of Nimrod (Micah 6:5–6). A second hunter, Ishmael, is the first son of Abraham by his maidservant, Hagar. Abraham is of the lineage of Shem, another son of Noah. He was a skillful archer. He and his descendants lived in open hostility toward all their relatives (Genesis 25:18). Then there was Esau, the son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Esau was a twin brother to Jacob. Esau became a great hunter, whereas Jacob preferred to stay home (Genesis 25:27). Esau became godless and immoral and is not looked upon favorably throughout scripture. You may be familiar with the story of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi. They were rejected and denied their inheritance from Jacob due to their hunting for sport and having weapons of violence. They “crippled oxen for sport” (Genesis 49:5–6 NLT). “
Even though we seem to live with the concept of hunting in our culture, all the great hunters of the Bible became advisories of God. I am sure God is deeply saddened by the maliciousness of an evil human taking one of his creations and causing the pain and suffering of this majestic animal. I find the only comfort in this event in that after almost a decade of study, I know that this lion is release from the bondage of this hell on earth into the hand of God. It is my wish as an occupant of this flawed planet, that we evolve to a peaceable kingdom and somehow find more kindness to each other and to our fellow neighbors, the animal kingdom!
Let us ponder; if this hunter of Cecil was aware that God does not approve of such behavior, he might believe, and perhaps fear, in accountability. Does anyone want to become an advisory of God? Not me!
“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder go animals as they now look on the murder of men” – Leonardo de Vinci
“The greatness of nations and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” – Mahatma Gandhi
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