Psalms of Solomon 5:9
6 Don't be too demanding of us, lest we sin in desperation. 7 And even if you don't turn us back, we will not keep away, but we will come to you. 8 For if I am hungry, I will cry out to you, O God, and you will give me something. 9 You feed the young birds and the fish, when you send rain to the wilderness that the grass may grow; 10 So to provide pasture in the wilderness; for every living thing; when they are hungry, will turn to you. 11 You feed kings and rulers and their subjects, O God, and who is the hope of the poor and the needy, if not you, O Lord?
Mishnah Kiddushin 4
MishnahRabbi Yehuda says: A bachelor may not herd cattle, nor may two bachelors sleep with one covering, lest they transgress the prohibition against homosexual intercourse, but the Rabbis permit it. Anyone who has professional dealings primarily with women may not be secluded with women. There is more of a concern that such a man might sin due to his familiarity with the women. And a person may not teach his son a trade that necessitates frequent interaction with women, for the same reason. With regard to teaching one’s son a trade, Rabbi Meir says: A person should always teach his son a clean and easy trade and pray for success to the One to Whom wealth and property belong, as ultimately there is no trade that does not include both poverty and wealth, since a person can become rich from any profession. Poverty does not come from a particular trade, nor does wealth come from a particular trade, but rather, all is in accordance with a person’s merit. Therefore, one should choose a clean and easy trade, and pray to God for success. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Have you ever seen a beast or a bird that has a trade? And yet they earn their livelihood without anguish. But all these were created only to serve me, and I, a human being, was created to serve the One Who formed me. Is it not right that I should earn my livelihood without anguish? But I, i.e., humanity, have committed evil actions and have lost my livelihood. This is why people must work to earn a living.
Notes and References
"... In this saying, as in the corresponding exhortation to consider the wild flowers (Matthew 6:28; Luke 12:27), Jesus adopts the style of a Jewish wisdom teacher, inviting his hearers to consider the natural world, God’s creation, and to draw religious lessons from it (compare Job 12:7–8; 35:4; Proverbs 6:6; Sirach 33:15; 1 Enoch 2:1–3; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1, 3). What he asks them to notice – that God feeds the birds / ravens – is drawn directly from the creation theology of the Hebrew Bible, especially the Psalms, in which it is a commonplace that God the Creator supplies all his living creatures with food ... The Old Testament creation theology, which Jesus here echoes, includes humans among the living creatures for whom God provides. The great creation psalm – 104 – where humans are included among all the creatures who look to God for food (verses 27–8), is notable for its depiction of humans as one species among others in the community of creation for which the Creator provides. Psalm 145:15, which echoes Psalm 104:27–8, does so, as the context makes clear, in order especially to highlight God’s provision for humans. Like Jesus, the psalmist points to God’s care for all his living creatures in order to assure humans who turn to God in need that he provides for them. The same point is made, in dependence on these psalms, in a later Jewish psalm (Psalms of Solomon 5:8-11) ..."
Bauckham, Richard Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology (pp. 87-89) Baylor University Press, 2011