We read in Genesis 1 that God created the earth and everything in it -- vegetation and plants [yielding seed and bearing fruit]; waters swarming with living creatures, and the birds of the air; livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth -- and God saw that it was all good. Next, He created man in His image and gave him dominion over all the earth. And then God planted man in the Garden of Eden "to work it and tend it". So, from the beginning, there has been a connection and a relationship between man and the earth.
And we find out in Genesis 4 that this relationship has profound consequences for both man and the land. Adam and Eve, through their disobedience to God's commandment [over how they were to tend the Garden and the sacred trees], cause the land to be cursed, and the earth manifested the judgment of God due to their sin. We must recognize that there is a very real cause-and-effect when man sins, and because of the earth's sensitivity to that sin, the earth rebels against man, and becomes an instrument of God's judgment.
NOTE: This post is not about all the "green movements" or the "climate change agenda" that have risen along political lines. Those philosophies are predicated on men who see themselves in a God-like role of protecting the earth from mankind's mishandling. The truth is they do not know the Creator God, nor do they acknowledge that it is mankind's sin that is the source of the land's defilement. Their cause is based on human greed and power.
What I want us to realize is that we need to take notice of what the land is trying to tell us. And yes, I do mean to suggest that the earth is not only sentient, but intelligent. And I base this position -- not in agreement with the aforementioned secular earth worshippers -- but on the Word of God. Let me give you just a few examples:
Job 12:7-8 ... But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Psalm 119:1-2 ... The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands. Day after day pours forth speech, And night after night reveals knowledge.
Psalm 55:12 [when Israel was set free from Egyptian captivity] ... For you will go out [from exile] with joy and be led forth [by the Lord Himself] with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Having been created by the living God, all His creation possesses life, too. And because of that connection and sentient intelligence between man and the land [both created for that relationship], the land also mourns when man sins, because there is a direct connection between the two -- i.e., there is an effect upon the land because of man and his sin. Read what the Word of God says:
Hosea 4:1-3 ... Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
Jeremiah 12:4 ... How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”
Deuteronomy 11:12 tells us that God cares for the land He created ... "The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year". And the land declares evidence of the continuation of man's sins in the earth. In fact, Jesus, tells us in Matthew 24:7 that the increase of sin and lawlessness will initiate "signs" or manifestations of how much God grieves the level of sin that will amass in the world before His Son's return... "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places".
The rebellion of men [wars] will rise to a level that affects the whole earth, and it will result in consequences for the land [famine and earthquakes]. Just in the month of September 2023, earthquakes were experienced in Afghanistan, Nepal, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Slovakia, Argentia, Australia, Iran, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Chili. Currently, Iceland is awaiting a massive volcanic eruption, and CBS News reported that on November 15, 2023, the country experienced 800 earthquakes overnight, with the residents calling it "apocalyptic". And let us not forget that the volcanic activity in Yellowstone Park is overdue for an apocalypse of its own, while the New Madrid Fault line in the Midwest is also overdue for a massive earthquake.
But there are Biblical warnings that perhaps we are less aware of, but portend some serious consequences if we do not repent of our sins and seek God, asking for His merciful forgiveness. Consider God's judgment for the severing of the connection/relationship that sin brings between man and the land...
Leviticus 18:27-28 ... (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
Leviticus 18:25 ... and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.
Leviticus 10:22 ... You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.
You may think this applies only to the Old Testament Israelites, but read the following:
Romans 8:22 ... For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Revelation 3:16 ... So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
NOTE: The act of being "vomited out" means to be "rejected from", "displaced", "thrown out"; in other words, to be dispossessed. The Bible makes it clear in Leviticus that God judged those who caused the land to become unclean because of their sins -- whether it be idolatry, immorality, the shedding of innocent blood, or broken covenants. And the judgment He brought against them was the loss of their land; they were removed and another nation occupied the land.
Don't think that this won't happen to us! God is the same God who holds to the same statues and commandments as He did then! Our greed and idolatry, sexual perversion, shedding of the innocent blood of our babies, and our own broken covenants will result in the earth "groaning" -- and God hears it! And because we have not been zealous to follow the ways of the Lord, we have produced generations of sin, transgressions, and iniquity that have defiled the land to the point that Jesus is ready to vomit us out of His mouth! You can see the nations circling us, waiting to inhabit our land should Jesus decide the cup of our sin is full.
But there is good news! The land can be healed, cleansed and made whole again! But time is running out... The land is waiting for us to rise up in our true identities as the righteous sons and daughters of God. The earth longs to be set free from the corruption of the land caused by our generations who have chosen to be in agreement with the Deceiver, rather than with the Holy God who created us and all He gave us to tend. The warnings have been there all along, written in His Word for all to see and obey. We have no more excuses to ignore them; the decay in our nation and the world is obvious and increasing. The effects on the earth are plainly discerned, and we are on the verge of being "vomited out". But we can be set free from our own bondage and also set the creation free from its corruption and defilement. We can do this! It starts in my life, and I bow down before my God and humble myself, declaring my sins and disobedience, and my shame in all the ways I have defiled my life, which in turn has defiled the land. Lord God, I seek Your Face and Your Forgiveness! Restore me and all Your Creation. Bring us back to life! I ask this in the Holy Name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!
#GodsCreation; #ManandSin; #DefilementoftheEarth #theearthcriesout #Godsjudgment #GodsSovereignty #theearthgroans #
Romans 8:19-22. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
