Speak to the Earth

In Genesis during creation, God spoke to the earth and commanded it to bring forth vegetation, plants and fruits. The earth responded to the voice of God and yielded plants, vegetation and fruits with its seeds. God also spoke to the earth and commanded it to bring forth beasts, livestock and every creeping thing of its kind. God then created man in his own image and likeness, both male and female. “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” (Genesis 2:7). God created a garden for man to live in and rivers also flowed out of the earth. “And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there” (Genesis 2:12). Man was placed in the garden to work and to keep it and was commanded not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

God caused Adam to sleep and from his rib, created the woman who Adam called bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. After the fall, Adam and Eve’s eyes were open and they were ashamed. God discovered their sin and as a consequence, the serpent was made to crawl on his belly and eat dust for the rest of his life. The punishment for man was that the ground was cursed and he would produce food with pain. He would have to work hard and sweat in order to eat, until he returned to the dust (earth), from which he was taken. Adam and Eve were driven from Eden and an angel was placed to stand guard at the entrance. They produced children and the first murder happened between their sons Cain and Abel. After Cain killed his brother, God asked about his whereabouts and Cain denied knowing where he was.

“And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). Cain was also cursed from the ground, which had opened its mouth to receive Abel’s blood. God promised that when Cain worked the ground, it would not yield its strength and he would be a fugitive and a wonderer on the earth. Cain lamented that his punishment was greater than he could bear, as God had driven him from the ground. He was also worried that someone would kill him because of his sin, but God promised to protect him. Later on in Genesis, God was sorry that he had made man because of the sin and wickedness on the earth. God flooded the earth and spared only Noah and his family who had found favour with him.

There are many references to the earth and the ground in Genesis and at other times in scripture, the earth is spoken of as an active participant in the creation and sustenance of life. We came from the earth as God commanded, including every living creature, plants and trees. Seeds that fall to the earth, die, regenerate and then come back to life. It’s interesting that people are buried when they die and reference is made in the bible to the earth giving up the dead. David also spoke of the earth yielding her increase as a blessing to God’s children. The earth belongs to God and its fullness and we can speak to the earth and command it to yield the blessing of Abraham to us. The earth has been given to us and we are no longer under the curse, but are the seed of Abraham. We command the earth to yield its strength to us and to produce a bountiful harvest.

“And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them” (Ezekiel 34:27).

A.P.-Y.