Sandy Richter
And What Does God Require?
And what does God require regarding the domestic animal? Once again, the law codes of ancient Israel are full of instruction. God says in Deuteronomy: But the seventh day is a sabbath belonging to Yahweh your God; you shall not do any work, not you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your domesticated beasts … And remember that you were a slave in … Continue reading
What does God require? Part 4: Creatures of the land
How does God view the survival and prosperity of the wild creature? Throughout the Bible, we read that even in a fallen world, God rejoices in the beauty and balance of his creation. We also read that God has designed the created order so that his wild creatures will have the food, water, and habitat they need to survive and prosper. It is Yahweh who “sent out the wild donkey free” and “gave to him the wilderness for a home” … Continue reading
What Does God Require? Part 3: The Land & Warfare
Even in the midst of the crisis of warfare, we find that in Israel God’s people are commanded to treat creation with care. In Deut 20:19-20 we find an obscure, but very interesting law: When you besiege a city for many days, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them. Indeed you may eat from them, but you shall not cut (them) down. For is the … Continue reading
What About the Poor?
Part 2: The Destitute As we discussed in my last entry, the Israelites understood that “their” land actually belonged to God. They therefore believed that the produce of their land belonged to him as well. As a result, Israelite law dictated that rather than the Israelites exhausting the produce of the land in their quest for personal or national economic security, they were to share the fruit of their labor with the less fortunate. Thus, although the cereal crops of … Continue reading
What Does God Require? Part 1: The Land
Last month we talked about blueprints. We learned that in God’s original blueprint for creation God stood enthroned above all of the animate and inanimate order and humanity stood just below him as his steward of the same. In that entry I spoke of the impact of the fall of humanity upon the cosmos over which Adam and Eve had been given dominion, and God’s declaration that his ultimate plan is to bring all of creation back to the original … Continue reading
Back to the Beginning
Painting: “The Garden of Eden” by Thomas Cole, 1828 (public domain) Often to truly understand an issue, we need to look backward before we can look forward. That is always the case with biblical theology. To get your brain around the goals and purposes of redemption, you are going to have to cast an eye back to Eden. As regards creation care, looking back to the design of Eden is much the same as reconsidering the blueprints of an historic … Continue reading
An Old Testament Professor and Creation Care
My name is Sandy Richter and I teach Old Testament. More specifically, I train seminarians. I myself am a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Harvard University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and I currently teach at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. But most significant to my profile is that I am a Christian. As a Christian I have always been deeply (and painfully) aware of the impact of humanity’s rebellion upon creation. Although I have been … Continue reading
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