Creation of Relationships, Part 2

I have used this beautiful picture of the creation of Adam to remind us of last weeks topic, Spirituality.  God formed man out of the dust of the ground and man became a living being.  Genesis 2:7. 

Today I want to focus on the 2nd relationship God created, our relationship with the natural world.  It is here we have a choice to make concerning how we relate to the natural world.  It is a choice that has been played out throughout human history but especially within the last 150 years, the industrial revolution. 

What is that choice?  It is between human beings and the creation as spoken of in the first story of creation versus the second story of creation.  In Genesis 1:26 we read,

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

The word, “Dominion,” is defined in this way in The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament:

רָדָה rāḏāh: A verb meaning to rule, to have dominion, to subjugate. This Hebrew word conveys the notion of exercising domain, whether legitimate or not, over those who are powerless or otherwise under one’s control. It is related as the exercise of authority by the priesthood (Jer. 5:31); by slave owners over their slaves (Lev. 25:43); by supervisors over their workers (1 Kgs. 9:23); and by a king over his kingdom (1 Kgs. 4:24[5:4]). Theologically significant is the use of this word to identify people’s God-ordained relationship to the created world around them (Gen.

1:26, 28).

One can image how human beings have taken this statement, “let them have dominion” and justified what we might now see as unconscionable acts such as the mass killing of Bison in our Western expansion or the killing of rhinoceros for the selling of their horns or the polluting of water aquifers to extract valuable metals and minerals.  The list could go on.  When you have “dominion” you have permission to do such things. 

Contrast this word used in Genesis 1 with the words given to describe Adam’s work in Genesis 2:15 to “till and keep.”  Here are those definitions from the same source.

5647. עָבַד ʿāḇaḏ: A verb meaning to work, to serve. This labor may be focused on things, other people, or God. When it is used in reference to things, that item is usually expressed: to till the ground (Gen. 2:5; 3:23; 4:2); to work in a garden (Gen. 2:15); or to dress a vineyard (Deut. 28:39). Similarly, this term is also applied to artisans and craftsmen, like workers in fine flax (Isa. 19:9);

and laborers of the city (Ezek. 48:1)

8104. שָׁמַר šāmar: A verb meaning to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard, to be careful, to

watch over, to watch carefully over, to be on one’s guard. The verb means to watch, to guard, to care for. Adam and Eve were to watch over and care for the Garden of Eden where the Lord had

placed them.

You can imagine how those in what is now called The Environmental Movement would take this verse and use it to say, “Keep your hands off the environment you industrialists.  Save the Spotted Owl.  Let trees grow freely.  Let the wolves return like they once were when they roamed the land and learn to deal with the death of your livestock” etc., etc., etc, and for those in the Christian wing of this movement they would add, “because the Bible says so!!”

The truth is, the Bible says both.  We do have dominion.  Human beings are the only part of the living creation that has the ability to destroy vast amounts of the creation and risk the extinction of humanity (Sorry, Planet of the Apes).  Wolves will not destroy the entire cattle herd, only the amount they need for their survival.  Human beings have failed to think that far down the line.  Human beings are the ones who create ways to obliterate large sections of humanity and to implement wars to aid that process.  Human beings create nuclear weapons.  Human beings create guns and viruses and drugs that destroy the lives of others. 

Human beings have and can implement their dominion over creation…

…BUT…(the biggest word in the Bible)…this is God’s World.  Adam and Eve were placed in Eden, God’s Garden.  Their relationship with the natural world, the care of the garden, was an extension of their spirituality, their relationship with God who created both. 

Now, from my observation, most people are some blending of both stories.  In fact, it is important to acknowledge the importance of both.  If we refuse to confirm our ability to have dominion, we will blindly impact the natural order.  If we refuse to confirm our freedom to till the soil and our responsibility to care for it, we can turn our backs on those who abuse their power over the natural world.  We must deal with both.  It is the constant tension in which we live in our relationship with the ecosystems of our world. 

Within this needed balance I believe that many of the primitive cultures in our world and the Native American culture within our own nation has a much better balance that many whose approach came out of the industrial revolution.  We would do well to read and respect some of the teachings of those ancient people. 

I started this series of thoughts saying, “The cream rises to the top.”  These words, written in the 14th century BC, carry much wisdom.  How do they confront attitudes you may have carried?  How do they affirm choices you have made?  As people who live in a free country and have the freedom to voice our insights and concerns, how can we encourage our nation to follow policies that are more reflective of God’s intention from the very beginning? 

Much to think about.

Paul