The
Earth Is the Lord’s
Psalm
24
Psalm after psalm sends much the same message: the earth belongs to God. God created the earth and everything in
it. This was established in Genesis 1,
and nothing since—either in the Bible or outside it—has changed that. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness
thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”
Christians may argue over exactly how God created the
universe, and how long it took, but we agree that everything we see is God’s
creation. Why, then, do we act
otherwise? If the earth is the Lord’s,
then other principles follow.
First, how we treat the earth is vitally important. If the earth is the Lord’s, then it isn’t
ours. Nothing we can do can change that. We are—at best—tenants, occupying God’s land
until God comes to claim it (remember the story Jesus told about the vineyard?). That’s a concept the Israelites never quite
got. When they entered the Promised Land
they thought they heard God say, “Here it is!
It’s yours. Do whatever you want with
it.”
But
that’s not what God said at all. God
makes it quite clear through the prophets that Israel had defiled the land—not kept
it holy. On one level this had to do
with turning to the worship of idols; but on another level it had to do with
the way they treated the land itself.
Every seven years the land was to lie fallow, to regenerate itself. As humankind was to rest every seventh day,
so the land was to be allowed to rest every seven years. It never happened.
There
is a lesson to be learned here. We must
treat the land with respect. If it means
conserving resources, we must do it. If
it means respecting the other creatures of God’s world, we must do that. If it means changing the way we live, we must
do that too.
Second,
we must remember that, since we are all God’s children, we must strive to live
at peace with each other. I am no more
or less God’s creation than you. I
deserve no more—or no less—of God’s love than you. I am no more or less honored by God than
you. God doesn’t play favorites. The psalmist says, “…the world and those who
dwell therein.” There is no distinction
between us. Paul makes that perfectly clear
in his letters. Peter makes it clear in
Acts. It shouldn’t be too difficult for
us to accept and live by that premise.
Lastly,
if the earth is the Lord’s, then it isn’t Satan’s. Many of us act as if the devil is in charge
of the world, as if all the kingdoms of the earth are under his control. That’s exactly what he wants us to
think. “This is my world,” he tells us. “Don’t
you realize God has gone away and left it to me? If you’re going to live in my world, get used
to doing things my way.”
Remember the passage in Matthew (4:1-11) where Satan is
tempting Jesus? The devil offers all the
kingdoms of the world if Jesus will only—just for a minute—bow down and worship
him. Jesus’ answer has to do with the
fact that the Bible (remember the Ten Commandments?) says we are to worship
only the Lord our God. Jesus could have given
another answer that might also have stymied Satan.
“How can you offer me that which is not yours to
give? I was present at creation, and
helped with it. My Father and I created
each of those kingdoms. By right of that
creation they belong to me. How can you
suggest that somehow they have passed into your possession, that you could give
me something which is already mine?”
Think the earth is Satan’s and the fullness thereof? Think that the world and all who dwell
therein belong to the devil? Think that,
when all is said and done he’s going to be in charge? Not a chance!
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