REPLENISH THE EARTH

 

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REPLENISH THE EARTH

Date: 3^rd September, 2023

Gen. 1: 27-28: So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…….

Gen. 9: 1: And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Gen 1: 22: And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.

Replenish is a verb that implies a restorative action. Replenish means “To make something full again” (Replenish verb – Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes / Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com, 2023).

Our God is a God that is particular about restoration and our actions towards achieving restoration. Even God himself said “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25, KJV). God’s intention for the earth through man, was that as man exudes his dominion over the earth and as he consumes of the earth, he should also engage in replenishment of used resources both directly or by engagement in activities that would engender replenishment.

Many environmental advocacy groups promote the value of sustainable use of the earth’s resources. This ideology is not man-made, but God infused in the consciousness of man.

All the problems of the world and all the problems that man faces are a consequence of our disobedience of God’s commands and His ordinances. The impacts of our depletion of natural resources and extinction wild-life are having far-reaching consequences on the earth, our eco-system and our very existence; which is not the plan and thought of God for Human-kind and the world.

Often times, we tend to focus on the procreation aspect of God’s command without balancing it out with the replenishment of the earth-aspect. As man-kind is expanding and growing in population, we are using up more and more of the earth’s resources without compensating-back at a commensurate level. This certainly does not bode well for man or the earth, its eco-system and all creatures/creature that exists within its system.

As believers and obedient children of God we need to intentionally engage in restorative actions such as tree-planting, proper disposal of non-biodegradable waste, wild-life restoration activities and other sustainability practices.

It is never too late to start! May God help us as we obey His command.

Reference(s)

“Replenish Verb - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com.” Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com, 2023, www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/replenish#:~:text=%E2%80%8Breplenish%20something%20(with%20something. Accessed 3 Sept. 2023.