How beholden is man to God for the earth we live on? What are God’s Commandments concerning the earth? Where is a line drawn between man’s making constructive use of the earth, and defiling it? And to what extent should man be concerned?
We know that some are concerned as to whether the earth will last long enough that man may continue to live and multiply. Some believe there is a certain degree of recklessness in making use of the natural resources that God has made available to us, to a point of threatening those resources. And many would like to think that the overall sense of man’s responsibility is directly related to his love of God, whereas the perceived recklessness of man’s utilization of earth has a direct relation to the evilness that lurks on earth.
Some are in denial of their responsibility to the earth. To what extent can they be held accountable if they deny their guilt? Anything that destroys what God has created for us is a hallmark of evil.
So, some who have any sense of regard for what it says in the Bible may ask, ‘Where does it say that we are forbidden from taking what we declare to be ours when it is at the detriment of what God created for us?’
It is understandable that those who aren’t reasonably versed in the Bible may wonder of these things; so, let’s start in Genesis. God made several commands regarding the earth and the inhabitants when He created heaven and earth. Genesis 1:11–12 says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” The fact that God saw this was good, is indication of God’s idea of goodness.
Genesis 1:20–22 [says, “And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’” Again, God sees this as being good; so, another sign of God’s concept of goodness involves the living creatures He created.
As to man’s responsibilities for these wonders, God, after making man, says in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Well, there are things to be considered here. To what extent is our image and likeness to resemble God? Among commentators, it has been suggested that Philo the Jew regards man’s likeness to God as being a co-worker with God in God’s Creation. That would imply that in a sense, God created and hired man to maintain His Creation.
There may be some, in rationalizing their exuberant pursuits involving nature perhaps, may say ‘Well, Genesis is in the Old Testament and we live by the New Testament.’ Well, Jesus in the New Testament looked to the Old Testament, including Genesis in particular when he, for example explains that God did not mean for there to be divorce. Jesus’ reason in Matthew 19:4–6, quotes Genesis 2:24 which says “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” So, clearly the Old Testament is in play in the New Testament. Thus, anyone who takes the New Testament seriously may also consider Philo’s assertion that man was meant to work together with God in God’s Creation and maintaining it. If there is any doubt, consider Psalm 115:16 which says that God has given earth to the children of man. So, man in his capacity is a co-creator with God is responsible for extending the earth’s habitation to his offspring.
From the time of Genesis to the present, man has made some useful compromises in his responsibility for preserving what his forefathers maintained of God’s Creation. Large swaths of land and bodies of water have either been put aside or respected for their original usefulness. Thus, certain tribes have been able to hunt and fish in clean waters for things to eat and to provide to other people, and nature preserves have been set up by people such as President Theodore Roosevelt who expanded the national park system as well as the United States Forest Service, fostered 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, and 4 national game preserves. Now, there has been a call to use some of that land and those bodies of water for purposes that detract from what God created, breaking that compromise. As if what people are looking for cannot be found elsewhere.
Isaiah 24:4-6 may be considered a prophecy. It says, “The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.” Can we not keep from getting to that point?
We know that some are concerned as to whether the earth will last long enough that man may continue to live and multiply. Some believe there is a certain degree of recklessness in making use of the natural resources that God has made available to us, to a point of threatening those resources. And many would like to think that the overall sense of man’s responsibility is directly related to his love of God, whereas the perceived recklessness of man’s utilization of earth has a direct relation to the evilness that lurks on earth.
Some are in denial of their responsibility to the earth. To what extent can they be held accountable if they deny their guilt? Anything that destroys what God has created for us is a hallmark of evil.
So, some who have any sense of regard for what it says in the Bible may ask, ‘Where does it say that we are forbidden from taking what we declare to be ours when it is at the detriment of what God created for us?’
It is understandable that those who aren’t reasonably versed in the Bible may wonder of these things; so, let’s start in Genesis. God made several commands regarding the earth and the inhabitants when He created heaven and earth. Genesis 1:11–12 says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” The fact that God saw this was good, is indication of God’s idea of goodness.
Genesis 1:20–22 [says, “And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’” Again, God sees this as being good; so, another sign of God’s concept of goodness involves the living creatures He created.
As to man’s responsibilities for these wonders, God, after making man, says in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Well, there are things to be considered here. To what extent is our image and likeness to resemble God? Among commentators, it has been suggested that Philo the Jew regards man’s likeness to God as being a co-worker with God in God’s Creation. That would imply that in a sense, God created and hired man to maintain His Creation.
There may be some, in rationalizing their exuberant pursuits involving nature perhaps, may say ‘Well, Genesis is in the Old Testament and we live by the New Testament.’ Well, Jesus in the New Testament looked to the Old Testament, including Genesis in particular when he, for example explains that God did not mean for there to be divorce. Jesus’ reason in Matthew 19:4–6, quotes Genesis 2:24 which says “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” So, clearly the Old Testament is in play in the New Testament. Thus, anyone who takes the New Testament seriously may also consider Philo’s assertion that man was meant to work together with God in God’s Creation and maintaining it. If there is any doubt, consider Psalm 115:16 which says that God has given earth to the children of man. So, man in his capacity is a co-creator with God is responsible for extending the earth’s habitation to his offspring.
From the time of Genesis to the present, man has made some useful compromises in his responsibility for preserving what his forefathers maintained of God’s Creation. Large swaths of land and bodies of water have either been put aside or respected for their original usefulness. Thus, certain tribes have been able to hunt and fish in clean waters for things to eat and to provide to other people, and nature preserves have been set up by people such as President Theodore Roosevelt who expanded the national park system as well as the United States Forest Service, fostered 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, and 4 national game preserves. Now, there has been a call to use some of that land and those bodies of water for purposes that detract from what God created, breaking that compromise. As if what people are looking for cannot be found elsewhere.
Isaiah 24:4-6 may be considered a prophecy. It says, “The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.” Can we not keep from getting to that point?
