Scripture on life, with references to flora and fauna

[mar09]

Ez. 36.
and by the blessings of God promised unto it
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: 11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

Psa. 39.11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.

 

[mar09]

The feast of the fowls
Ez. 37. 17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.14 15 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.16 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

Ez. 41. 18 And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; 19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. 20 From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.

Psa. 44. 11 Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. 20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

 

[ArtsieSteph]

I love how the Bible refers to a lot of farm/pastoral things, and the Lord makes a lot of references to wildlife. As a person who loved animals and grew up playing those Harvest Moon farming games, it really resonates for me

 

[mar09]

Ez. 45. 13-15. 'You are to provide a lamb in its first year that has no defect for a daily burnt offering to Adonai; do this each morning. Also each morning, provide it with grain offering, one-sixth of a bushel, and one-third of a gallon of olive oil to moisten the fine flour; this is the ongoing grain offering for Adonai, by a permanent regulation. Thus they will offer a lamb, a grain offering and oil each morning as the ongoing burnt offering.' (CJB)

Ez. 47.7-10. After being returned, I saw on the bank of the river a great number of trees on the one side and on the other. He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and continues down to the 'Aravah. When it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant water, [the Dead Sea] its water will become fresh. When this happens, swarms of all kinds of living creatures will be able to live in it wherever the streams flow; so that there will be a vast number of fish; for this water is flowing there, so that, wherever the river goes, everything will be restored and able to live. Then fishermen will stand on its shores spreading their nets all the way from 'Ein-Gedi to 'Ein-'Eglayim. There will be many kinds of fish there as in the Great Sea, [the Mediterranean] a great variety... 12. On both riverbanks will grow all kinds of trees for food; their leaves will not dry up, nor will their fruit fall. There will be a different kind of fruit each month, because the water flows from the sanctuary, so that this fruit will be edible, and the leaves will have healing properties." (CJB)

 

[mar09]

Daniel 4.
10 “These were the visions of my head while on my bed:

I was looking, and behold,
A tree in the midst of the earth,
And its height was great.
11 The tree grew and became strong;
Its height reached to the heavens,
And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.
12 Its leaves were lovely,
Its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The beasts of the field found shade under it,
The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches,
And all flesh was fed from it.

13 “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He cried [a]aloud and said thus:

‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the beasts get out from under it,
And the birds from its branches.
15 Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth,
Bound with a band of iron and bronze,
In the tender grass of the field.
Let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let him graze with the beasts
On the grass of the earth.
16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man,
Let him be given the heart of a beast,
And let seven times[b] pass over him…

Daniel Explains the Second Dream

… 20 “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, 21 whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which wasfood for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— 22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

23 “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven [e]times pass over him’; 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven [f]times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.

26 “And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven[g] rules…

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking [i]about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven [j]times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Psa. 52.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
55.
6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, I would wander far off,
And remain in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hasten my escape
From the windy storm and tempest.”

 

[mar09]

Dani'el 6.17. So the king gave the order, and they brought Dani'el and threw him into the lion pit...
21.b. "Dani'el, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you are always serving, been able to save you from the lions?"
23. "My God has sent his angel to shut the lions' mouths, so they haven't hurt me."
25. Then the king gave an order, and they brought those men who had accused Dani'el, and they threw them into the lion pit-- them, their children and their wives-- and before they even reached the bottom of the pit, the lions had them in their control and broke all their bones to pieces.
(CJV)

Psa./Tehilim 58.5-8. Their venom is like snake's venom; they are like a serpent that stops its ears, so as not to hear the voice of the charmer, no matter how well he plays. God, break the teeth in their mouth! Shatter the fangs of these lions, Adonai!
58.9a May they be like a slug that melts as it moves...
59.7. They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs as they go around the city.

 

[mar09]

Dani'el 7. (Vision of the Four Beasts)
.3-7 and four huge animals came out of the sea, each different from the others. The first was like a lion, but it had eagle's wings... Then there was another animal, a second one, like a bear... After this, I looked; and there was another one, like a leopard with four bird wings on its side... After this, I looked in the night visions; and there before me was a fourth animal, dreadful, horrible, extremely strong, and with great iron teeth...
11-12 "I kept watching. Then, because of the arrogant words which the horn was speaking, I watched as the animal was killed, its body was destroyed; and it was given over to be burned up completely. As for the other animals, their rulership was taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a time and a season."
17-18 'These four huge animals are four kingdoms that will arise on earth. But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, yes, forever and ever.'
(CJB)

Dani'el 8.3-4. I looked up; and as I watched, there in front of the stream stood a ram with two horns. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer once came up later. I saw the ram pushing to the west, north and south; and no animals could stand up against it; nor was there anyone that could rescue from its power. So it did as it pleased and became very strong.
5, 8-10 I was beginning to understand, when a male goat came from the west, passing over the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat had a prominent horn between its eyes... The male goat then became extremely strong; but when it was strong, the big horn was broken; and in its place arose what appeared to be four horns in the directions of the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn which grew extremely big in the directions of the south and east, and in the direction of the Glory. It grew so great that it reached the army of heaven; it hurled some of the army and the stars to the ground and trampled on them...
20 You saw the ram with two horns which are the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy male goat is the king of Greece, and the prominent horn between its eyes is the first king...

Psa./Tehilim 65.10. You care for the earth and water it, You enrich it greatly; with the river of God, full of water, You provide them grain and prepare the ground... 14. the meadows are clothed with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain, so they shout for joy and break into song.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 2. (CJB)
14 (12) I will ravage her vines and fig trees,
of which she says, ‘These are my wages
that my lovers have given me.’
But I will turn them into a forest,
and wild animals will eat them.
15 (13) I will punish her for offering incense
on the feast days of the ba‘alim,
when she decked herself with her earrings and jewels,
pursuing her lovers and forgetting me,” says Adonai.
16 (14) “But now I am going to woo her —
I will bring her out to the desert
and I will speak to her heart.
17 (15) I will give her her vineyards from there
and the Akhor Valley as a gateway to hope.
She will respond there as she did when young,
as she did when she came up from Egypt.

Psalm 66
15 I will offer you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
along with the sweet smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats. (Selah)

Psalm 68
(12) Kings and their armies are fleeing, fleeing,
while the women at home divide the spoil.
14 (13) Even if you lie among the animal stalls,
there are wings of a dove covered with silver
and its plumes with green gold.

23 (22) Adonai said, “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will fetch [those rebels] even from the depths of the sea;
24 (23) so that you can wash your feet in their blood,
and your dogs’ tongues too can get their share from your foes.

31 (30) Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds [Egypt],
that herd of bulls with their calves, the peoples,
who ingratiate themselves with bars of silver;
let him scatter the peoples who take pleasure in fighting.
32 (31) Let envoys come from Egypt,
Let Ethiopia stretch out its hands to God.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 4.11 Whoring and wine, both old and new,
take away my people’s wits.
12 My people consult their piece of wood,
their diviner’s wand speaks to them;
for the spirit of whoring makes them err,
they go off whoring, deserting their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountain peaks
and offer incense on the hills
under oaks, poplars and pistachio trees;
because they give good shade.
Therefore your daughters behave like whores,
And your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

16 For Isra’el is stubborn as a stubborn cow;
will Adonai now feed them like a lamb in a big pasture?

Psa. 69. 31 (30) I will praise God’s name with a song
and extol him with thanksgiving.

.32 (31) This will please Adonai more than a bull,
with its horns and hoofs.

73. 21 When I had a sour attitude
and felt stung by pained emotions,
22 I was too stupid to understand;
I was like a brute beast with you.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 6.
6 For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices,
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hosea 7.
11 Efrayim behaves like a silly, foolish dove —
going to Egypt, then to Ashur for help.
12 Even as they go, I will spread my net over them;
I will bring them down like birds from the sky;
I will discipline them, as their assembly was told.
(CJB)

Psa. 77.
27 and rained down meat on them like dust,
birds flying thick as the sand on the seashore.

45 He sent swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their harvest to shearer-worms,
the fruit of their labor to locusts.
47 He destroyed their vineyards with hail
and their sycamore-figs with frost.
48 Their cattle too he gave over to the hail
and their flocks to lightning bolts.

70 He chose David to be his servant,
taking him from the sheep-yards;
71 from tending nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Ya‘akov his people,
Isra’el his heritage.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 9. (CJB)
10 “When I found Isra’el, it was like finding
grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing
a fig tree’s first figs in its first season.
But as soon as they came to Ba‘al-P‘or,
they dedicated themselves to something shameful;
they became as loathsome
as the thing they loved.
11 The glory of Efrayim will fly away like a bird —
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.

Psa. 78.
26 He stirred up the east wind in heaven,
brought on the south wind by his power,
27 and rained down meat on them like dust,
birds flying thick as the sand on the seashore.
28 He let them fall in the middle of their camp,
all around their tents.

41 Repeatedly they challenged God
and pained the Holy One of Isra’el...
45 He sent swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their harvest to shearer-worms,
the fruit of their labor to locusts.
47 He destroyed their vineyards with hail
and their sycamore-figs with frost.
48 Their cattle too he gave over to the hail
and their flocks to lightning bolts.

70 He chose David to be his servant,
taking him from the sheep-yards;
71 from tending nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Ya‘akov his people,
Isra’el his heritage.
72 With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with skillful hands.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 10 (CJB)
1Isra’el was a luxuriant vine,
freely putting forth fruit.
As his fruit increased,
he increased his altars;
as his land got better,
he improved his standing-stones.

4 They mouth words,
swearing falsely, making treaties.
Thus judgment spreads like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of a field.

11 Efrayim is a well-taught cow —
it loves to tread the grain,
and I have spared her fair neck.
But I will put Efrayim in harness,
Y’hudah will have to plow,
Ya‘akov will harrow his own land.
12 If you sow righteousness for yourselves,
you will reap according to grace.
Break up unused ground for yourselves,
because it is time to seek Adonai,
till he comes and rains down
righteousness upon you.

Psa. 80 (0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” A testimony. A psalm of Asaf:

2 (1) Shepherd of Isra’el, listen!
You who lead Yosef like a flock,
you whose throne is on the k’ruvim,
shine out!

9 (8) You brought a vine out of Egypt,
you expelled the nations and planted it,
10 (9) you cleared a space for it;
then it took root firmly and filled the land.
11 (10) The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
12 (11) It put out branches as far as the sea
and shoots to the [Euphrates] River.
(12) Why did you break down [the vineyard’s] wall,
so that all passing by can pluck [its fruit]?
14 (13) The boar from the forest tears it apart;
wild creatures from the fields feed on it.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 11. (CJB)
10 They will go after Adonai,
who will roar like a lion;
for he will roar, and the children will come
trembling from the west.
11 They will tremble like a bird as they come from Egypt,
like a dove as they come from the land of Ashur;
and I will resettle them in their own houses,
says Adonai.

Psalm 84.
(3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.

1 Corinthians 15.
35 But someone will ask, “In what manner are the dead raised? What sort of body do they have?” 36 Stupid! When you sow a seed, it doesn’t come alive unless it first dies. 37 Also, what you sow is not the body that will be, but a bare seed of, say, wheat or something else; 38 but God gives it the body he intended for it; and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all living matter is the same living matter; on the contrary, there is one kind for human beings, another kind of living matter for animals, another for birds and another for fish.

 

[mar09]

Hosea 13.
6 When they were fed, they were satisfied;
when satisfied, they became proud.
Therefore they forgot me.
7 So now I have become like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk by the road;
8 I will meet them like a bear
whose cubs have been taken away.
I will tear their hearts from their bodies.
I will devour them there like a lion,
like a wild animal ripping them up.

Hos. 14.
6 (5) I will be like dew to Isra’el;
he will blossom like a lily
and strike roots like the L’vanon.
7 (6) His branches will spread out,
his beauty be like an olive tree
and his fragrance like the L’vanon.
8 (7) Again they will live in his shade and raise grain;
they will blossom like a vine,
and its aroma will be
like the wine of the L’vanon.
9 (8) Efrayim [will say], ‘What have I
to do any more with idols?’
And I, I answer and affirm him;
I am like a fresh, green cypress tree;
your fruitfulness comes from me.”

Psa. 90. A prayer of Moshe the man of God:
When you sweep them away, they become like sleep;
by morning they are like growing grass,

 

[Magenta]

I designed this Scripture panel over the weekend

 

[mar09]

Thanks, magenta, for dropping by! There's one Scripture in mind just now.. abt the grain of wheat falling deep into the earth and dying, it remains alone.. Got to get back here later tho=).

 

[mar09]

I love this passage, where we learned a song in church when i was small.

John 12. 24 (CJB)
Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain; but if it dies, it produces a big harvest.

http://www.godsongs.net/2013/01/into-your-hands.html

 

[mar09]

Joel 1. (CJB)

3 Tell your children about it,
and have them tell it to theirs,
and have them tell the next generation.
4 What the cutter-worms left, the locusts ate;
what the locusts left, the grasshoppers ate;
what the grasshoppers left, the shearer-worms ate.
5 Wake up, drunkards, and weep!
wail, all you who drink wine,
because the juice of the grape
will be withheld from your mouth.
6 For a mighty and numberless nation
has invaded my land.
His teeth are lion’s teeth;
his fangs are those of a lioness.
7 He has reduced my vines to waste,
my fig trees to splinters —
he plucked them bare, stripped their bark
and left their branches white.”

9 Grain offering and drink offering are cut off
from the house of Adonai.
The cohanim are mourning,
those who are serving Adonai.
10 The fields are ruined, the ground is grieving;
for the grain is ruined, the new wine dried up,
and the olive oil is wretched.
11 Despair, you farmers; lament, vinedressers,
over the wheat and the barley —
the harvest from the fields is lost.
12 The vines have withered, the fig trees wilted,
also the pomegranate, date-palm and apple tree —
all the trees in the fields have withered,
and the people’s joy has withered away.
13 Cohanim, put on sackcloth, and weep!
Wail, you who serve at the altar!
Come, lie in sackcloth all night long,
you who serve my God!
For the grain offering and drink offering are withheld
from the house of your God.

16 The food is cut off before our very eyes,
also joy and gladness from the house of our God.
17 The seed-grain is rotting in its furrows;
the granaries are deserted, the barns in ruins;
because the grain has withered.
18 How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed,
because they have no pasture.
The flocks of sheep bear the punishment, too.
19 Adonai, I cry out to you!
For the fire has consumed the pastures in the desert,
and the flame set ablaze all the trees in the fields.
20 Even the wild animals
come to you, panting,
because the streambeds have dried up,
and fire has consumed the pastures in the desert.”

Psalm 91.
13 You will tread down lions and snakes,
young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.

 

[mar09]

Psalm 92.
7 (6) Stupid people can’t know,
fools don’t understand,
8 (7) that when the wicked sprout like grass,
and all who do evil prosper,
it is so that they can be eternally destroyed,
9 (8) while you, Adonai, are exalted forever.

10 (9) For your enemies, Adonai,
your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
11 (10) But you have given me
the strength of a wild bull;
you anoint me with fresh olive oil.

13 (12) The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar in the L’vanon.
14 (13) Planted in the house of Adonai,
they will flourish in the courtyards of our God.
15 (14) Even in old age they will be vigorous,
still full of sap, still bearing fruit,
16 (15) proclaiming that Adonai is upright,
my Rock, in whom there is no wrong.

 

[mar09]

Psalm 109 (CJB)
23 Like a lengthening evening shadow, I am gone;
I am shaken off like a locust.

Psalm 114 (CJB)
When Isra’el came out of Egypt,
the house of Ya‘akov from a people of foreign speech,
2 Y’hudah became [God’s] sanctuary,
Isra’el his domain.

3 The sea saw this and fled;
the Yarden turned back;
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like young sheep.

5 Why is it, sea, that you flee?
Why, Yarden, do you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, do you skip like rams;
and you hills like young sheep?

Habakkuk 1 (CJB)
1 This is the prophecy which Havakuk the prophet saw:..

6 I am raising up the Kasdim,
that bitter and impetuous nation,..
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at night.
Their cavalry gallop in from afar,
flying like vultures rushing to feed.

13b Why are you silent when evil people
swallow up those more righteous than they?
14 You make people like fish in the sea,
like reptiles that have no ruler.