in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them,“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth...” When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature... The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it... Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field." (Genesis 1:27-28, 2:5-7,15,19-20a)
I spend a lot of time reading the New Testament, but whenever I go back and read the Old Testament, I consistently find amazing ideas that I've never caught before. This morning was no exception. I've read the account of the creation of man dozens of times, but today, I was particularly struck by all the details here in relation to man's* work. It's a common misconception that work is a result of the Fall, that man is cursed to work because he sinned. But work is actually something humans are given to do when they are first created. The curse turned work into drudgery and toil, slavish labour for the mere necessities of life. But before sin was ever in the world, humans were created to work.
And what is the nature of the work they are given? They are given the work of ruling creation, of kingship ("dominion") over all that God has made. It is a kingship under the authority and empire of the Creator, but it is kingship nonetheless. And as if that weren't enough, humans are not only given this role as some sort of afterthought--"Oh, these creatures I've made should be put to use." This ruling role is so essential to the proper running of creation that God doesn't allow the plants in the garden to spring up until there is a man to care for them. I'm pretty sure God could have cared for those plants Himself, but in His love for the man He has created in His own image, and in His incredible humility, He plans to bestow this kingly work on man instead. And to show the extent of man's rule, He does something that to me is shocking and glorious all at the same time. Adam gets to name all the animals! Do you get that? God creates a series of masterpieces, each one carefully fashioned by His creative and powerful word, and then He gives them to Adam and says, "Here! You tell me what my artwork should be called!" What indescribable honour!
And what is the nature of the work they are given? They are given the work of ruling creation, of kingship ("dominion") over all that God has made. It is a kingship under the authority and empire of the Creator, but it is kingship nonetheless. And as if that weren't enough, humans are not only given this role as some sort of afterthought--"Oh, these creatures I've made should be put to use." This ruling role is so essential to the proper running of creation that God doesn't allow the plants in the garden to spring up until there is a man to care for them. I'm pretty sure God could have cared for those plants Himself, but in His love for the man He has created in His own image, and in His incredible humility, He plans to bestow this kingly work on man instead. And to show the extent of man's rule, He does something that to me is shocking and glorious all at the same time. Adam gets to name all the animals! Do you get that? God creates a series of masterpieces, each one carefully fashioned by His creative and powerful word, and then He gives them to Adam and says, "Here! You tell me what my artwork should be called!" What indescribable honour!
Yes, it now involves weeds, drought, blood, sweat and tears, but we are still given the glorious and weighty task of ruling the earth, until the day when Christ returns and we rule with him over all the nations. What joy that brings to my labour today as I seek to rule under God as queen of my little sphere and hope in the promise of a new heavens and new earth where we will reign with Him and our honourable, hearty work will no longer involve resistance or drudgery.
*I use "man" here, and throughout the post in the generic. This applies to both men and women.
*I use "man" here, and throughout the post in the generic. This applies to both men and women.
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