Restoring Dominion- Lesson 2, 3rd Qtr 2016

Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 1:26-28, Ps. 8:3-8, Gen. 2:15, Rom. 8:20-22, Exod. 20:1-17, Rom. 1:25, 2 Thess. 3:10.

Memory Text: “Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’”(Genesis 1:26, NKJV).

“Not only man but the earth also had by sin come under the control of the wicked one, and was to be restored by the plan of Redemption. At his creation, Adam was placed in dominion over the earth. But by yielding to temptation, he was brought under the power of Satan, and the dominion which he held passed to his conqueror. Thus Satan became 'the god of this world.’ He had usurped that dominion over the earth which had been originally given to Adam. But Christ, by His sacrifice paying the penalty of sin, would not only redeem man, but recover the dominion which he had forfeited. All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second.” - Ellen G. White, in Signs of the Times, November 4, 1908.

No question, after the Fall, human beings lost so much, including the “dominion” that we originally had been given.

What was this lost dominion? Though the idea of “dominion” often has negative connotations today, it certainly didn’t back in Eden. What did it mean when humans were first given dominion over the earth? And what can the church do to help people regain some of what was lost after the tragic fall of our first parents in Eden?

Created for Dominion

Someone recently wrote the following about a friend, an avowed atheist who said that she sometimes “wakes in the middle of the night, stressing over a bunch of deep questions: 'Is this world truly the result of an accidental cosmic big bang? How could there be no design, no grand purpose to our existence and to the universe as a whole? Can it be that every life-including my own, my husband’s, my two children’s-is totally irrelevant and meaningless? Does my life have no meaning and purpose?’ ”

After the Fall humanity lost so much. We became, as the story of the Fall showed, alienated, not only from God but from each other. Even our relationship toward the earth itself changed. And, as the questions asked by the woman above show, we also struggle with knowing who we are and what the purposes of our lives are, problems that for many are made much worse by the prevailing idea that our existence resulted only from chance, with no foresight or purpose built in by a Creator God.

What do the following texts teach about the purposes for humanity’s creation? Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:3-8; Isa. 43:6-7? What does “created for My glory” (Isa. 43:7, NKJV) mean? How does “My [God’s] glory” relate to dominion?

As we can see in the verses in Genesis, whatever other reasons God had for creating Adam and Eve, they were also created in order to have dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26-28). Together, reflecting God’s glory and character, the first couple were to be channels through whom He, the One with ultimate glory and dominion (Rev. 1:5-6), would nurture, care for, and administer the rest of His earthly creation. Who knows how God’s glory would have been revealed through them and their dominion over the world were it not for the rise of sin?

Now, though, through faith in Jesus, through surrendering our lives to Him in faith and obedience and cooperation, we can say with David: “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me” (Ps. 138:8, ESV). Knowing that God has a purpose for each of us is a cause for confidence and rejoicing, especially when we are surrendered to Him so that His will can be fulfilled in us.

If someone were to ask you, “OK, so what do you, as a Christian, say that the purpose of your life is?” what would you respond, and why?

The Privilege of Dominion

What is the “dominion” that humans were to have over the earth, as expressed in Genesis 1:26-28?

The biblical word dominion comes from the Hebrew verb radah. This word indicates a right and responsibility to rule. It implies, in this context, a hierarchy of power and authority in which the human race is positioned above the rest of the natural world. While the verb radah, as used in the rest of the Old Testament, does not itself define how this dominion is to be exercised, whether benevolently or malevolently, the context of a sinless and unfallen creation shows that the intent must have been benevolent in nature.

Similar conclusions may be drawn about subduing the earth in Genesis 1:28. The verb subdue,from the Hebrew kavash, also depicts a hierarchical relationship in which humans are positioned above the earth and are granted power and control over it. Elsewhere in the Old Testament the verb kavash is even more forceful than radah, describing the actual act of subjugation, of forcing another into a subordinate position (Num. 32:22, 29; Jer. 34:11, 16; Esther 7:8; Neh. 5:5). In many of these cases, the abuse of power is obvious and God’s displeasure expressed. But again, taking into consideration the context, within the Creation story, of a sinless couple created in the image of God to administer the earth, this subduing of the earth can be characterized only as benevolent service to creation on behalf of the Creator. It certainly was not exploitation.

We find an additional dimension to this concept of dominion in Genesis 2:15, where God places Adam in the garden to dress (abad - to work, to serve, to till) and to keep (shamar - to hedge about, guard, protect, attend to, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve).

Keeping this in mind, we discover that dominion is caring and loving stewardship or management. Within their relationship with God our first parents were to have all the resources and authority that they needed to execute their dominion, which would have reflected God’s divine love of His creation.

Though the word dominion today can, and often does, have negative connotations, it certainly didn’t when first expressed in the Bible. What are some principles that we can take from this pre-Fall use of the term and apply to how we relate to whatever or whomever we have “dominion” over?

Boundaries

Does humanity’s dominion over “all the earth” (Gen. 1:26) indicate that there are no boundaries to our dominion? Biblical history indicates that dominion (which can also be understood as “stewardship”) must have boundaries.

For example, God told Adam that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was off-limits (see Gen. 2:15-17). The first sin was, then, in the context of stewardship. Adam and Eve overstepped the boundaries that God had set on their dominion. Creation is still suffering from that overstepping of boundaries (see Rom. 8:20-22).

Read Exodus 20:1-17. What kinds of “boundaries” are set there for us in God’s law? What does the law tell us about the limits of human dominion?

Throughout human history (for example, Pharaoh in Exodus 1-14; Herod in Matthew 2:1-23), to the end of time (see Revelation 13:1-18), domineering people controlled by Satan are notorious for attempting to dominate that over which they have no rightful control. They imitate Satan, who seized power and made himself “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). Dominion gone awry becomes domination.

On the other hand, there are those who refuse to accept control over that which they need to have dominion (see Matt. 25:14-30, Luke 19:12-27).

Even though sin caused humanity to lose the level of dominion given at Creation, our original dominion was not entirely lost because of sin. There is plenty that is within our current boundaries of responsibility: for example, Christ-enabled self-mastery in our personal lives (see 1 Cor. 9:25-27; Gal. 5:22-23), and the care of the earth and its creatures, and of all that has been given to us by God (see James 1:17, Matt. 25:14-30). We need, as Christians, to understand what our boundaries are and then work to be faithful stewards within those boundaries.

What are some specific boundaries that you need to respect in regard to others, such as family, friends, coworkers? What principles can we use to help us know what those boundaries are (see, for instance, Matt. 7:1, 12)?

Care of the Earth

“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Gen. 2:15, NKJV).

What principles, if any, can we take from this text that should influence how we relate to our planet in terms of taking care of it?

Before sin, Adam and Eve had been delegated stewardship over all that God had entrusted to them. They had mastery over plant and animal life. Yet, after sin, all of nature seemed to rebel against them to the same extent that they had rebelled against God. Human beings began to see themselves powerless in the face of the elements (weather, agriculture, the animal kingdom).

“Among the lower creatures Adam had stood as king, and so long as he remained loyal to God, all nature acknowledged his rule; but when he transgressed, this dominion was forfeited. The spirit of rebellion, to which he himself had given entrance, extended throughout the animal creation. Thus not only the life of man, but the nature of the beasts, the trees of the forest, the grass of the field, the very air he breathed, all told the sad lesson of the knowledge of evil.” - Ellen G. White, Education, pp. 26, 27.

Today we are still ravaged by natural disasters and our deteriorating ecosystem, at least in some places. Thus, we make great efforts to use technology and industry to protect ourselves. However, though technology and industry may help us protect ourselves, sometimes the same technology can damage our planet. Ecology is a moral, ethical, and theological issue, especially when exploitation of the earth can lead to great hardship for others.

“Seventh-day Adventists advocate a simple, wholesome lifestyle, where people do not step on the treadmill of unbridled consumerism, goods-getting, and production of waste. We call for respect of creation, restraint in the use of the world’s resources, reevaluation of one’s needs, and reaffirmation of the dignity of created life.”-In “Official Statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Environment,” 1995.

How do we strike the right balance in our attitude toward the earth: being good stewards of the home we have been given while at the same time avoiding the danger of making the earth and the environment gods whom we all but worship? What warning might Romans 1:25 have for us here?

Restoring “Dominion”

Through the Fall we as humans have lost so much, including the kind of dominion that our first parents were privileged to have in Eden. Christ came in order to restore to us what we lost.

And because of what Christ has done for us, we, too, have been called by God to reach out to others, helping them regain in Christ the salvation and dominion lost at the Fall that He has given back to us. Though this process will not be complete until the second coming of Jesus and beyond, there’s much that we can do now in reaching out to those who are needy, lost, and overwhelmed by the world. We can be used by God to help start that restoration even now, as we reach out and help those in need.

What do the following texts each say that can be applied to helping others regain some of the “dominion” lost through sin?

As a church body there’s much that we can do, that we must do, that we have been called to do, to reach out to those in need. Sometimes it’s as basic as providing food, clothes, or shelter to someone in urgent need. Even though giving relief is necessary, something beyond giving relief is needed to help people restore dominion in their lives.

Though we must always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, we must when and where we can meet their physical needs and point them to a better way of life.

Though each situation is different, and the needs are different, we have been called by God to be a light and a source of healing and hope in our communities. This is an essential part of what it means to be a witness to the world of the loving and saving God whom we serve. We must do all that we can, in the Lord’s strength, to be a beacon of light and hope to those in need. As Christians, we can’t do less. As we fulfill this role of service, we are helping them learn what God is like. And, too, by ministering to their physical needs, we are paving the way for their hearts to be reached by the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus did, and this is what we are called to do as well.

It’s so hard from our perspective today, immersed as we are in a greatly fallen world, to imagine what we have lost through the Fall. This evil world is all that we know and, were it not for the Word of God and how it reveals to us our origins and the origins of sin and death and evil, we’d simply take them for granted, as just part of life itself. Yet the story of the Fall shows us that, indeed, this is not how things were to be. Genesis said that Adam and Eve were to have dominion over the world; then, right after they had sinned, suddenly their relationship to the world changed because they changed, and the physical world itself changed as well. Suddenly the dominion they had enjoyed was lost, and the consequences became enormous. “The thorn and the thistle (Gen. 3:17-18), the aftermath of the Flood (Gen. 7:12), the desert and the wilderness, the groaning of the earth for deliverance (Rom. 8:19-22) are some of the word pictures the Bible uses to describe the effect of sin upon the world.”-Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald® Pub. Assn.), vol. 12, p. 254. How thankful we should be for the plan of salvation, which will restore all that was lost and which offers us the promise of a future so much better than the past or the present.

Discussion Questions:

Though the immediate context of these texts (Exod. 23:10-12; Deut. 11:11-12; 20:19-20) doesn’t have to do with ecology as understood today, what principles could one take from them that could help us understand our need to be good stewards of the environment? Also, how do we know if and when we have crossed the line from being a steward of the environment to being a worshiper of it?
Think about the natural world as we know it now. Is it a friend or a foe, and how can you justify your answer?
Discuss the question asked at the end of Sunday’s study about the meaning and purpose of human life. What answer would you give to someone who asked you that question? How should our answers differ from those who don’t believe in God or salvation?
How can we reclaim the word dominion in a way that helps restore its original meaning? That is, how was dominion at first a good thing? How can it be today as well?

Inside Story~

Dismissed But Determined: Part 2

by Isaiah Malek Garang, South Sudan

The question about the Sabbath and Sunday came up again. Was the Sabbath still valid? If so, why did most of Christianity worship on Sunday instead?

I was not allowed to enter the church I had once pastored, so on Sundays I prayed at home. Others-some who had been dismissed and some who thought the church had made a grave mistake-joined me for worship. Eight other groups began meeting in homes throughout my former district.

The Sabbath question was constantly on my mind. I knew that some people worshiped on Friday, some on Saturday, and others on Sunday. As I studied the Bible, I found many references to Sabbath, but no mention of Friday or Sunday as a day of worship. I asked our small group members to study and pray about this issue. Eventually, we agreed that God had never changed the day of worship from Saturday to another day. We immediately began meeting on Saturday instead of Sunday. We also found the admonition to avoid eating unclean meat. Some people outside of our small groups who learned of our decisions labeled us ”Jews.”

Solomon saw the changes in my life and invited me to study the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist faith. I wondered what difference there might be between what we had discovered and what the Adventists teach. I set out to find some Adventist leaders to learn more about what they believe. I found an Adventist church in a village some distance from my home. I introduced myself to the pastor and explained that I wanted to know what his denomination taught.

I stayed in that village for three months studying the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, and understanding the church’s fundamental beliefs. What I learned was so amazing! It became clear that I’d found what my soul was looking for. I asked to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

During the week before my baptism, I continually reconsidered my decision. My brother urged me to leave the country. I was invited to join a non-denominational church, and my former church sent a message requesting that I return to my priestly position.

To be continued in next week’s Inside Story.

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