“I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine” (Psalm 50:11).

This verse occurs immediately following a verse widely quoted by those eulogizing the great riches of the Lord: “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). In context, however, God was not simply proclaiming His wealth, but rather the value of each individual animal in His creation.

His people had been offering their animal sacrifices as a mere ritual, without considering the intrinsic value of these animals to the God who had given them life. They were not merely items of property, the offering of which constituted monetary gifts to God by their owners. This “covenant with me by sacrifice” (Psalm 50:5) was a sacrifice of life, not of money!

The offering of the shed blood of an innocent animal on an altar was accepted by God as an atonement for the sins of a repentant sinner, but it was of no avail if offered carelessly or presumptuously. In fact, it only added still further to the guilt of the person presenting it. “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6).

But if God was saddened by the careless slaying of animals for sacrifices, what must He think of their wanton slaughter for sport or for other purposes not intended and authorized by their Maker?

Even more seriously, what must be His feelings about those who trivialize or ignore the great sacrifice of His only begotten Son, as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)? “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing?” (Hebrews 10:29). HMM