4 Bible Passages All Hunters Should Know
With our show Final Descent Outdoors being a faith based hunting tv show we get the occasional email saying "How can you be a Christian and kill God's creation." I kindly email back using God's word as a reference and rarely get a second response. Here is the deal, hunting is God ordained. That's not my opinion, that's not just my view, it's clearly stated in God's word and every Christian Outdoorsman needs to not only understand that but also know where to find passages in the Bible on hunting.
1) "God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” -Genesis 1:25-26
God created everything, spoke it into existence. In doing so He also new that order had to be put into place and in this passage God gives man dominion over all of His creation from fish, to birds, to wild game, and domesticated animals. What an incredible God given honor, it truly is. God placed man in charge of the animals. This was man's first God given responsibility and one that today, hunters as conservationists must never take for granted. But in Genesis 1 animals were not viewed as food....but it's coming.
2) "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything." -Genesis 9:3
In Genesis 9 we find Noah getting off of the ark. God tells Noah and he sons to be fruitful and multiply (have babies and repopulate the world) and that you now can view the animals as food. Fire up the grill baby! It's time for some baby back ribs, a perfectly seasoned ribeye, how about some backstrap fajitas, I could keep going but I haven't had lunch yet! The point is, God told Noah, animals are now food, enjoy! However, he is still held to the responsibility and honor from Genesis 1:25-26.
3) "In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp" Exodus 16:13
When God led the Israelite's out of Egypt and into the desert he provided for them in the harsh conditions. He provided manna (a honey type bread) and...wait for it...quail. If my grandpa was on death row he would have quail, biscuits with honey, and mashed potatoes for his last meal. Matter of fact, I might too! If you have never had quail then you haven't experienced life to the fullest folks! It's incredible! But here is the deal, we are talking about God...He could have fed His people with anything. Some nice vegan burgers, maybe some tofu or some delicious lentils. He didn't do that, he chose wild game out of all the possibilities in the world to feed His people. If it's good enough for God...it's good enough for me!
Photo credit Kirk Turner
4) "And there came a voice to him; "Rise, Peter; kill and eat," -Acts 10:13
In this passage Peter has a vision. Though God had given dominion over the animals and said they are food the Jews still had many regulations and laws on what could be eaten, how it was to be prepared and so forth. In this passage Peter realizes that the ancient laws of Moses were now abolished. He is given the green light to kill and eat of all the creatures without distinction, which were represented to him in the sheet (Acts 10:11) and the reason for this was to show Peter, that both the distinction between clean and unclean creatures in the law was now removed and men could eat what they pleased. You see once again, God confirms that killing and eating meat is not wrong, it's actually just the opposite of that.
So here is what we have learned. We have a huge responsibility to oversee God's creation. Hunters are true conservationists and we must never lose sight or abuse this power given to us by God. We should never be ashamed for being hunters, God gave us the green light! As long as we are not abusing the God given resources we are good to go! Hunt, kill, eat! Don't let someone ridicule you for being a hunter, remember Galatians 1: 10 says "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Author Brad Clay is the host of Final Descent Outdoors and a licensed and ordained minister in Oklahoma. Brad served for 12yrs in vocational ministry before stepping out to do full time outdoor ministry in 2013. Brad resides in Edmond, OK and is married with four children.