“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1
When the sky is dark and filled with stars, when we look out into the great expanse of the heavens, we realize that we exist in a tiny little fraction of the entire universe. Very few people have had the opportunity to see Earth from the heavens, but when they describe their experience it comes from a place of profound personal insight. Astronaut Jim Lovell said this, “We learned a lot about the Moon, but what we really learned was about the Earth. The fact that just from the distance of the Moon you can put your thumb up and you can hide the Earth behind your thumb, everything that you’ve ever known, your loved ones, your business, the problems of the Earth itself — all behind your thumb. And how insignificant we really all are, but then how fortunate we are to have this body and to be able to enjoy living here amongst the beauty of the Earth itself.”
Pic: nasa.gov
Whether one believes that God created the heavens and the earth or not, the fact of the matter is that this planet, called Earth, has been given to mankind as a gift. We are responsible for it. We are the caretakers, so to speak, of this world. When we look at the Bible as the owner’s manual, we get some understanding of what our responsibilities are in caring for it.
In the book of Genesis, we are told to be fruitful and fill the earth and take charge over it. God planted a garden and trees and provided seeds for every type of plant and every tree that bears food to eat. He made the rain come down from the sky to water the trees and plants. And the man, Adam, was told to take care of the garden and work it, keep it and enjoy the fruit from it. These were the first instructions given to mankind regarding this beautiful planet.
Depiction of Noah’s ark- pic:YouTube.com
Not too many generations passed before God decided that mankind wasn’t worthy of taking care of the Earth that He had made. So He decided to wipe it all out. When we think of that great flood from human perspective it is a catastrophe of major proportions. But when we realize that earth is just a small blip in a huge universe, it might not seem like such a big deal. But God thought it was. He loved mankind so much that he decided to spare Noah and his family so they could repopulate the earth. And He promised that he would never wipe it out again.
“Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Gen. 8:22
Our tiny planet was worth sparing and so was mankind worth giving a second chance. The instruction manual did not change. We are still told to populate the Earth, to work it and keep it. We are also told to give it a rest. Just as God rested on the seventh day, so He has told us that the earth should rest every seventh year. “When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord.” Lev. 25:2-4. These instructions seem to be specific to the Land of Israel, but one can only wonder what it would be like if the whole world followed this advice. The earth embodies every living and breathing organism, including humans, animals, plants and trees. How wonderful the earth would feel if mankind respected it and even gave it rest. We were not created first, but the earth was. We were given stewardship over the earth and everything in it. We were given a beautiful place to live. We were given all the responsibility to care for it. Each of us is accountable for doing our part.
Banias Waterfall, Israel pic:exploreisrael.com
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
Let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalms 96:10-12
Next time you walk through a garden take time to behold its beauty. Next time you see the natural beauty of the hills around you, the desert sands, the ocean waves, say a prayer of thanks to the LORD. Next time you fly in an airplane and look down to earth, remember your responsibility in keeping it. If we all do our part we will see the fruit of our labors and we might just hear the forest sing for joy.
