Originally posted on October 29, 2019
The relationship that God established between man and the earth was one of a master over a slave. In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let [humanity] rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (NIV). In verse 28, God directs us to “fill the earth, and subdue it.”
The word “rule” (radah) identifies the authority Hebrew masters had over Hebrew slaves (Leviticus 25:39-53). It describes the political and military authority of kings over their domains (Numbers 24:19; Judges 5:13; 1 Kings 4:24; Psalm 68:26-27), including a subjugated Hebrew nation, under God’s judgment (Nehemiah 9:28) and a restored Hebrew nation (Isaiah 14:2). Supervisory roles are also classified by radah (1 Kings 5:16; 9:23; 2 Chronicles 8:10). It categorizes the authority of the righteous over the unrighteous (Psalm 49:13-14), including the authority of Jesus (Psalm 110:2) and of God Himself (Isaiah 14:6; 41:2; Ezekiel 29:15).
The word “subdue” (kavash) describes Israel’s taking of Canaan (Numbers 32:22, 29; Joshua 18:1) as well as King David’s military conquests (2 Samuel 8:11; 1 Chronicles 22:18). It depicts enslavement (2 Chronicles 28:10; Nehemiah 5:5; Jeremiah 34:11, 16) and rape (Esther 7:8). It also illustrates the results of God’s wrath (Micah 7:19; Zechariah 9:15).
Humanity has complete authority over the planet, based on the Genesis account. What does that mean?
Before each of us answers that question, we also need to look at a couple of stories that Jesus told.
In Matthew 21:33, Jesus begins the Parable of the Tenants. A landowner (God) planted a vineyard (in this article, the earth) and rented it out to some tenants (humanity). He put a lot of effort into the vineyard prior to renting it out. In verse 34, the landowner sent servants to “collect his fruits” (NIV). If we are the tenants of the earth, what will He come to collect from us? This is more than a tithe from our paychecks. We are part of the tenants in this parable. As a collective, what does God expect from our stewardship over His vineyard?
The other story is found in Matthew 25:14-30. A man (God) grants stewardship of some of his wealth to some of his servants. When he returns from his journey, he calls his servants to give an account for how they handled their responsibilities.
In both of these stories, God has given temporary stewardship over his own wealth. In both of these stories, the recipients of that wealth had to answer to God for their use of his wealth. Based on the Genesis account, God has given us temporary stewardship over His creation. What will He expect from us? As Luke wrote, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48 NIV).
Personally, I view stewardship over the earth and all of its plants and animals as “much is entrusted”. What will be asked of us? Whether you believe that our climate is changing due to human interference or not, we do have a responsibility to keep our planet healthy and able to support our continued existence. We owe it to God, to ourselves, and to our children.
Our country’s founding fathers, in the preamble to our constitution, wrote that we as a nation were seeking to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Too many decisions are being made–individually, communally, and nationally–with too little regard for future generations. We simply take the shortcut to meet our immediate need, and then we push the negative consequences to a new generation. That has included deficit increases, lost Social Security funding, pollution, and more. The best time to turn this around has already passed.
The second-best time is now.
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