26 Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1.26-28 Amplified Bible
--switching to the Amplified Bible for a different voice--
In other creation stories of the Ancient Near East, man is created to serve the gods and provide for their needs. Not so Genesis. In the Hebrew account, God makes humans in his own image so that they can rule, have authority over the other creatures. Rather than assert his rule over them (as their creator), God shares the responsibility to rule with them. He gives them the power to affect and change their world.
We are not given a reason for this divine choice. Did God give humanity this mandate to save himself work? Given that he creates the world with a word, that makes no sense. Perhaps he gave this rule to the man for the benefit of the animals and the earth? Does man provide better care than God?
Can we say then that it's possible God gave man the authority to rule for man's benefit? Through the successes and failures of ruling, man can learn and grow, be influenced and change, better glimpse the heart of his ruling God?
No comments:
Post a Comment