Authority—Before the Fall

Genesis 1:27 NIV

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What Is Your Place In This World?

If you were asked the question, “What is your place in this world”, how would you respond?  Most of us would probably consider our careers.  Have I done well?  Am I successful?  Is my job a good fit for me?  Am I leaving my mark?  Has my life mattered?  Many would think also of their families and how they have impacted those close to them.  Am I respected?  Do others love me?  Does it matter to anyone if I have lived or not?   I have worked with plenty of people who hated their jobs.  They concentrate more on their cell phones than they do on their work.  I was recently in a class room and I looked about and saw all the other children’s workers checking their phones rather than interacting with the kids.  How many of us wonder if what we do counts for anything and have quit trying to do our best because it does not seem to matter if we work hard or not.

Life was much different before Sin entered the universe.  One area of great change was the way the first people fit into the world they were given.  Authority shifted dramatically in the post sin world.  Let us look at how it was at first and we could gain valuable insight into the way it once more may be.  When the Lord declared His mission statement for the people He created, it was to be in effect ruler over the earth.  Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26 NIV)  The Hebrew word for “image” here means something made to look like something else.  “Likeness” translates another Hebrew word that means, “of a similar appearance, something that something else.

God made people like He did so that they would be a good fit for taking charge over the earth.  It is like hiring someone who has all the qualities needed to be a successful sales rep.  Only God did the work of creating the ideal ruler of His new world.  Some have contended that the Lord made the earth so that people would have a great place to live.  It actually is more accurate to say that God made people in a perfect way to take authority over the world He created.  The first command we have recorded in Scripture is the Lord’s order to Adam and Eve to populate the earth and rule over the creatures of the world.  God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."  (Genesis 1:28 NIV)

The Hebrew term translated “subdue” is similar in idea to the command to rule.  It means to take charge, be the one that makes the rules.  Consider carefully what a unique situation this was, one completely foreign to any of us.  It was a sinless world ruled by a sinless people.  The creatures had nothing to fear of their sovereign kings and queens.  Adam and Eve had no reason to hurt any of them.  The two were vegetarians and did not need nor want to kill the animals for food.  They also were naked and were not looking for clothing either.  Not even the sheep had to concern themselves with being “fleeced”.  There would be no fishing and hunters would not be hiding up in tree stands.  Adam and Eve were to be the perfect caretakers of a world they ruled.

A lovely picture of just how profound the relationship was between Adam and the creatures of the earth is the brief comment made in Genesis 2 about how the Lord made it clear that His first human was taking charge.  God gave Adam the opportunity to pick out names for each of the terrestrial creatures.  Few have noted the beauty of the moment.  Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. (Genesis 2:19-20 NIV)  Consider the serenity as individually the birds and creatures of the land peacefully paraded past Adam and the Lord, giving Adam time to carefully consider what to name each one.  Like a father or a mother who thoughtfully comes up with a name for a newborn, Adam was a loving parent to the creatures of the world.  With great affection in his heart for each one, Adam picked out what seemed to be the perfect name for the gentle and trusting beasts God brought him.

Genesis 2:15 is often listed as the mandate for work found in Scripture but it is much more than that.  It is the holy calling of the people of the world to care for God’s creation and cherish it as a gift of immeasurable worth.  In a land unscarred by Sin, it must have been a place of exquisite beauty.  More than work to Adam and Eve, caring for the world before them was a joyful daily existence, much like the park ranger assigned to Yosemite when it first opened or the curator of the Louvre who is appointed to keeping pristine the magnificent works of art found there.  The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15 NIV)  What “working it” entailed in a perfect world cannot be said for certain but we must believe it was a joyous responsibility.  The Hebrew term translated “work it” is built on the root of the word for servant.  Adam and Eve were to be servant kings of the land where they lived, caring for it and adding value to it.  “Take care of it” is the translation of the Hebrew verb “shamar” which means to keep, preserve, watch and protect.

The perfect analogy for the work of Adam and Eve in the land God gave them is the description of the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23.  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4 NIV)  As protector and guardian of the sheep, the shepherd, at least the good one, is always looking for ways to make life better for the sheep.  The shepherd lightens the load for the sheep, does everything possible to enable the sheep to prosper and have good lives.  The good shepherd does not see the sheep as dumb beasts but as jewels in her crown.  Work in a perfect world such as the one the Lord gave Adam and Eve was a joy and a cherished responsibility.

Jesus gave the calling of work its highest affirmation when He spoke of Himself as a mere shepherd.  The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."   Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them…"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.  (John 10:2-6, 11-14 NIV)

Work is not a chore for such a person as this.  It is an act of love and selflessness.  Some people work to earn a paycheck and make names for themselves.  Others, like Adam as he went about the tasks God gave him, made his world a better place. Jesus did the same.  If you live as a future resident of God’s perfect world, you have a choice each day.  Will you build up others and improve their lot in life or will you take advantage of others and use them to get your way?  Wherever you go, and whatever you do, you have the opportunity to make the world a better place because you were a part of it.