land, they misuse the name of the Lord who says, “The earth is mine, and all that is in it” (Ps. 24:1). So much for the third commandment. God says, “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). The Sabbath principle is rest, acknowledging God as sovereign provider. God says the land must be allowed to rest, rejuvenate itself and be properly cared for. “The land will rest and enjoy its Sabbath years” (Lev. 26:34). If not, God promises judgment. By exploiting the land, we fail to keep Sabbath and so break the fourth commandment. God says, “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land” (Ex. 20:12). God’s economy ties together the honoring of family relationships and peaceful living in the land. Since our parents (and all future generations) depend on the land, we dishonor our father and mother if we exploit the land. More and more, we are coming to understand today how the welfare of people interlaces with the welfare of the land. If one suffers, the other suffers. God says, “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13). We are to nurture the life of others, not destroy it. Yet, we now know that polluting the climate raises the death toll, especially among the poor. Environmental exploitation and death are linked at
Adamah The cultivated ground and source of dust God used to form mankind
multiple levels. Creation care is pro-life. God says, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14). Adultery springs from lust for someone or something that does not properly belong to us; it leads us to break faith with those to whom we have promised to be faithful and thus dishonors God. So the Bible speaks much of spiritual adultery and prostitution. God’s original intention was that we would be stewards and caretakers of the land, the land we were placed in to “husband.” But our lust to serve ourselves has led us to abandon the land. Failure to nurture the land is ecological adultery. God says, “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15). Spoiling the land steals from God, who owns the land, and from the poor, to whom God gives special rights to the land and its produce (Lev. 19:10, 23:22). God says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). But when we blame others, not ourselves, for spoiling creation (blaming politicians, for instance, or environmentalists, or other countries, or even God’s will or providence) we bear false witness. We ignore our environmental interdependence and coresponsibility. If we say we have no clear
God-given responsibility for local and global creation care, we bear false witness against God’s Word. God says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house . . . or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Ex. 20:17). The Lord tells us to practice mutual respect, especially with regard to those things that properly “belong” to us as God’s creatures. The earth does not belong to us, but the right to proper enjoyment of the land and its beauty and bounty does. This right belongs to the whole human family – certainly not just to ourselves or our family or nation or religion. Creation care means not coveting the land or the economic advantages or profits of others. If we consider the ecological setting of the Ten Commandments, we see how our intentional actions as well as our unthinking habits actually defy God’s Word. Loving God and keeping His commandments (Dt. 7:9) means not putting our conveniences and customs and politics ahead of following God’s way. If we spoil creation and multiply its groaning, we daily break God’s Word. Visit www.seedbed.com to see this and other articles from Dr. Snyder about the power and relevance of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom for the world today and tomorrow.
Almighty God, in making Adam from adamah, you made us dependent on the rest of your good creation. In befriending us, you made us fellow workers in the garden. Give us wisdom and reverence to live in harmony with all that you have made, that no one may suffer from our abuses, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. —Prayer associated with Adamah, the community garden on GC’s campus
THE RECORD | SPRING 2014
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