The Earth and Sin

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 26, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 38.

The Earth and Sin

1. How has man's sin affected the ground itself?

And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: CURSED IS THE GROUND FOR THY SAKE; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. Gen. 3: 17, 18.

NOTE.—The Lord did not place a curse upon man because he had sinned; man's sin was a curse in itself; but God placed a curse upon the ground for man's sake. It was best for sinful, fallen man that the ground should be cursed. Then the very ground itself was affected by the sin of man.

2. To what extent will the earth finally be affected by the sins of men?

Behold, the Lord maketh THE EARTH EMPTY, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate. Isa. 24: 1-6.

NOTE.—Observe carefully that the foregoing Scripture quotation says that it is "the curse" that "devoured" the earth. This evidently refers to the original "curse" already quoted from the third chapter of Genesis. Observe further that the earth has become defiled under the feet of its inhabitants "because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." And in view of this general trampling underfoot of laws and ordinance, the "land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled;" and it is "the Lord" who "maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down."

3. What other statement is made in regard to the breaking down of the earth because of the transgressions of man?

The windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. Verses 18-20.

4. What is said by a New Testament writer in regard to the decay of the earth?

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail. Heb. 1: 10-12.

5. How does the prophet Joel describe the general decay of the earth because of the curse as manifested in insect pests, the general failure of crops, etc.?

The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion. . . . The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vine-dressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. . . . Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. . . . O Lord, to Thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto Thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. Joel 1 and 2: 1.

NOTE.—It is in the very nature of sin to destroy. It ever ends in destruction. But God will not let it rest here. Our next Bible reading will present the hopeful, God-given outcome.