| Highlights of Dawn | November 1971 |
The Earth Subdued
WHEN our first parents were created the Lord said to them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:28) All students of the Bible are familiar with the fact that because man transgressed divine law he lost his life and the dominion which had been given to him. However, we have the assurance of God’s Word that both his life and his dominion will be restored to him at the close of the judgment day. During that day Jesus said he would separate the people one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from his goats; and to the sheep class the statement is made, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Then this same class shall receive eternal life.—Matt. 25:34,46
At the time of man’s creation the earth itself was still unsubdued. For the newly created man God prepared a garden in Eden, but he was driven from this garden because of sin, and the death sentence began to be carried out. We cannot determine definitely all that might be implied in the command to “subdue” the earth, but we think it reasonable to conclude that the Garden of Eden was a good example of God’s intention for man’s earthly home, and that man, in dressing and keeping the garden, would gradually extend its borders until the whole earth became one vast garden home, free from thorns and thistles, and abundantly productive in providing the human family with its needs of food, shelter, and clothing.
Man has always been an ingenious creature. It is said of Jubal that “he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ,” and Tubalcain was “an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.” (Gen. 4:21,22) These skills were taught by the parents to their children, who generally followed the same vocation in life. From these brief statements we may reasonably infer that the population of the earth prior to the Flood was made up not merely of farmers, tent dwellers, and herdsmen, but sprinkled quite liberally with mechanics and musicians.
Noah’s Great Feat
The Lord gave Noah instructions concerning the building of the ark, and we may assume that he also gave him the necessary wisdom to carry out his instructions; yet we cannot rule out the idea that Noah possessed the necessary mechanical qualifications for this great task. This was a shipbuilding project of no small proportions, and Noah carried out his instructions with dispatch and built a ship which withstood the waters of the Flood. Yes, Noah was more than a tiller of the soil.
We come on down the stream of time to the days of Egypt, when we find that the wheel had been invented, and that this invention had been put to use in the construction of instruments of war; namely, chariots. Egypt made slaves out of the Israelites in the production of bricks for their many building projects.
How proficient in the field of metallurgy the Israelites may have become through their forced labor we do not know; but we do know that when the time came for the construction of the tabernacle there were some who could work in gold, copper, and silver; and by the power of the Holy Spirit the Lord enabled others also to learn this trade.
The use of metal among the Israelites seemed to increase. The Bible speaks of the great copper mines of Solomon—the remains of which still exist. Under his instruction great fleets of vessels were used to export and import metal, and probably some of Solomon’s great wealth was derived from this thriving shipping industry. The gold of Ophir was one of the items he imported from Africa.
The mechanical knowledge of the Israelites was used to some extent for the benefit of the people, particularly the people of certain cities, where water was piped in to supply their needs. But there was no general effort through the use of mechanical skill to “subdue” the land and improve conditions generally for the people. Steel was usually used for swords, and great battering rams were constructed to destroy the walls of protected cities. And this has been the story of the centuries so far as man’s inventive genius has been concerned. Not in all cases, but very frequently, new inventions have first been used to destroy people rather than to improve their status in life.
World Not Yet Changed by Jesus
The general attitude of the world was not changed by the first coming of Jesus. Nor was there much advance in the mechanical skills of the people, at least for many hundreds of years. But then there began to appear inventions of various kinds. Gunpowder was invented. Crude contrivances which utilized electrical power were developed. But again, these new developments were thought of more in terms of war, rather than for the betterment of the people. Essentially none of them was put to use to “subdue” the earth and make it a better place in which to live.
Then came the invention of movable type for use on printing presses. This signaled an upturn in the general education of the people of the western world, but its impact was slow in effecting changes in their habits of living; and it certainly did little or nothing to eradicate selfishness from the human heart. Slowly, however, it did lead up to the Industrial Age.
The way of life of the western world then began rapidly to change. Factories were built to supply the demands of the people for clothing and other necessities, and these, for the most part, were concentrated in the cities, forcing those who desired employment in these factories to move to the cities. But no adequate living provision was made for these workers in the cities, and very few of them were able to rise above the poverty level of existence.
Meanwhile the owners of machinery became rich, but no genuine thought was given to use their increasing profits for the general welfare of the less fortunate of the world. Certainly no projects were undertaken to “subdue” the earth. The captains of industry were glad to exploit the resources of the earth for their own increased enrichment, but not to use these resources for the general good of all.
The Industrial Age, while it lured millions to the cities, for a long time did nothing for the farmer, the fisherman, or the coalminer, who continued their weary way of “making a living” as best they could. They had neither time nor resources to improve their own lot in life, and the industrialists, although increasing in wealth, were not inclined to show them the way, even if they could, nor to lend them a helping hand. The rich went on extracting from Mother Earth what was needed to satisfy the hunger of industry, but the earth itself was neglected.
Expansion of Industrial Age
Once started, the industrial complex rapidly expanded. Today we have reached automation and the computer, and still the end seems not to be in sight. With this progress came better and faster means of travel, increasing man’s mobile ability from the speed of a horse to 600 miles an hour, and more.
With increasing speed and comfort of travel have also come our rapid methods of communication—telegraph, telephone, radio, and television. With these inventions has come the ability to know what is happening in every part of the earth—in many instances before the event is concluded. There are, of course, exceptions in such places as Africa. In fact, our observations as a whole apply to a very limited part of the earth.
But with the great advance of technology, what consideration has been given to the earth and its resources? Almost none! The fumes from one of man’s greatest inventions—the automobile—plus those from factories, and the airplane as well, have defiled the air, so that in the western world it is difficult to find even a small area where the air is not polluted, and the health of the people threatened.
Waste from our factories is dumped into the nearest river, polluting the natural water supplies beyond the point of safe use. Recently a news analyst told of a movement in New York City on the part of many to get away from the congested city, who are purchasing and living in luxurious boats anchored by the edge of the river. His observation was that the owners of these boats like the idea very much, except at times of low tide, when the stench from the cesspool conditions near the bottom of the river make life almost intolerable.
It is difficult these days to pick up a newspaper, or to view a news program, without being reminded of the great threat that is facing the human race through the pollution of air, water, and land. Already the pollution from our rivers is reaching the oceans, and poisoning certain types of fish. Man has proceeded with the industrial revolution without thought as to what the ultimate outcome would be. Certainly he has not used his skill to protect the earth and to “subdue” it.
Diminishing Resources
The present industrialized world not only is polluting the earth, but is exploiting its resources to the point where economists have become alarmed. Think of the automobiles, airplanes, and other machines which depend upon oil for their power supply. The oil supplies of the United States are already dwindling, and more than ten percent of the oil used in this country is imported from other countries. Even last winter the people in many parts of the nation were warned of a possible shortage of oil for heating purposes because import sources were being threatened.
An article in the “United States News and World Report” graphically pointed out in a study of the earth’s oil supplies just how serious this situation is. There are tremendous supplies of oil in the Middle East and the Far East, and this in no small way is at the bottom of the power struggle that is taking place in those areas. The western world wants to control this oil, and so does the east, especially Russia.
We have referred briefly to the diminishing oil supplies of earth which are so essential to the continued growth and expansion of our industrial system. There are also other sources of power, such as coal, the supply of which is likewise dwindling. Then there is atomic power. But aside from the sources of power to operate modern equipment, the equipment itself has its origin in the earth, and its supply is not being renewed.
Here again the resources of earth are being exploited by man and little or nothing being done for the betterment of the earth or of mankind. Earth is man’s home, but he is defiling his home instead of “subduing” it. If we look at the situation from the standpoint of God’s plan for the earth to be man’s eternal home, we will have to realize that the resources of the earth now being used to serve the selfish interests of man cannot last forever.
“Subdue”—What Does It Mean?
We can understand God’s command to our first parents to multiply and fill the earth, but just what is implied in the command to “subdue” it we may not grasp so fully. In this great Industrial Age some good things are being done which are bringing temporary blessings to a small minority of the human race, such as the building of dams and bridges, and piping of water to limited areas of the desert. But is this what God meant by “subduing” the earth?
The Hebrew word translated “subdue” in the text under consideration has the thought of conquering. The thought is related to the fact that when man transgressed divine law he was driven from his garden home into the unfriendly surroundings which comprised the remainder of the planet. This deprived him of the life-giving trees of his garden home in Eden which God had prepared for him, and the hostile elements with which he had to contend were used by the Lord to help inflict the death penalty.
Man was given dominion over the earth, but sin led to the loss of this dominion. Had he remained obedient to God he would have been able to conquer the earth as his expanding needs required, but having lost his dominion the best he has been able to do in the more than six thousand years of occupancy of the home which the Lord provided has been to defile it. The thorns and the thistles are still here, together with pests which man himself has added through his unwise attempts to destroy the original ones.
But the earth will be conquered, or subdued. This will be done under the direction of the messianic kingdom laws. This kingdom arrangement will restore man’s dominion over the earth, and man, with love controlling his heart and life instead of selfishness, will gladly conform to the arrangements which will bring his God-given home under his dominion. Thus, at long last this part of the divine commission given to man will be fulfilled.
How different the conquered earth will be from what it is today the Scriptures do not clearly indicate. We might think of the Garden of Eden itself as a sample of what the entire planet will be like, but this would not help us much, for we know little or nothing concerning the beauty and grandeur of the Garden of Eden. We do know that in this garden the Lord provided all the necessary food to meet man’s recurring needs, and we know that it was “pleasant to the sight.”
What this will mean on a planet-wide basis we can only surmise. We would probably be safe in concluding that under the Lord’s direction the extremes of heat and cold, as well as other “bad weather” conditions, will no longer be permitted. And doubtless man, as he is being restored, will be given whatever share in the work of which he may be capable. What we do know is that when the divine plan for the human creation is complete, this earth will be one of the glorious places of the universe.
It will be made beautiful beyond the ability of the imperfect human mind to conceive. No longer will it be defiled; and the food which it will produce in abundance, under divine guidance and favor, will sustain the restored human race forever. How wonderful it is to have the assurance that not a single feature of the divine plan for man, and for the eternal home of man, will fail!