They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable. (Psalm 82:5)
On the second day of Creation, the Almighty established a firmament in the heavens that “divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament” (Genesis 1:6-8). Another way to view this is, in order to separate the waters and prevent those in the heavens from falling to the earth, God established a boundary. Likewise, on the third day of Creation, God caused the seas to be gathered together so that dry land would appear. Consequently, vegetation appeared which, of course, was necessary in order to sustain life. That being so, it was necessary that the Creator establish another boundary, one that kept the ocean waters from overflowing the land and negating the possibility of life.
The boundaries God established in the beginning are necessary, in fact, critical if life on earth is to be sustained. If, however, those boundaries are compromised and removed, chaos would ensue. In fact, this is exactly what happened after Noah and his family went into the ark; “the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11). In a manner of speaking, the boundaries were removed — but why? The Bible says, “The wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Genesis 6:5,12).
Life on earth, as God intended, it is directly connected to how we live. By that I mean, when we discipline ourselves to live within the boundaries God has established, there is order and justice. By order I mean that God causes the forces of nature to remain within their proper boundaries (i.e. the firmament, the seas). But when we disregard the boundaries He has established — things like morality, justice and mercy — then God allows the consequence of our disobedience to be unleashed. This is why there was a flood of waters then; it is why the psalmist said, “all the foundations of the earth are unstable.”
To summarize this, I would say that we, who were made from the dust of the earth, have a lot to do with the condition of the earth. When we obey God’s laws, the earth produces its fruit. When we disobey and render bad fruit, the earth responds accordingly. When we ignore or, even worse, attempt to remove moral boundaries God has established for our good, we reap the consequences. The point, then, is to do the opposite: we must guard and uphold those boundaries; we must discipline ourselves to live in a way that honors God and is true to His purpose. Obviously, we can’t control what others do but we can, through obedience to His precepts and principles, have order, peace and light in our life — even when the rest of the world is engulfed in chaos and darkness.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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