And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
God says “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.So God created man in His own image,
Genesis 1:24-31
In the image of God He created him;
Male and female He created them.”
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Day six of the creation account is unquestionably the longest part of the creation narrative, which demonstrates the great care that God took when it went into creating those who would dwell on the land. It was on this day that He created livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, etc.), insects, worms, snakes, and all forms of beasts of the land. And He saw that it was good. Yet, God was not satisfied. And yet, the narrative of day six takes a peculiar turn.
God says “Let us make (נַֽעֲשֶׂה – na’asah) man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
Genesis 1:26-27
So God created (וַיִּבְרָא -vayibara) man in His own image,
In the image of God He created him;
Male and female He created them.”
Suddenly both verbs are used to describe the creation of mankind. He formed (asah) man out of the dirt of the ground (Genesis 2:7). He took something that already existed and shaped it and transformed it, thus creating (bara) something completely new, with a new nature as an image-bearer of God. God breathed into mankind a part of Himself – His Spirit – to provide life into this special creation, something that no other creature experienced in all of Creation. It speaks directly to God’s care, passion, love, and special creative design for all mankind, male and female, as no other creature received an impartation of God’s own Spirit to provide life.
All other creatures were created with nothing but a spoken word, but with mankind it took special attention and time and consideration. Close intimate involvement in the creative process beyond mere words. That is how much God loves you more than any other aspect of Creation. That is why He would pursue you to the ends of the earth to make His great love for you known. That is why He would put His own reputation and life on the line for you – because by impartation of His Spirit upon His creation, He was in effective declaring you as His special creation.
As such, as we are His image bearers, He granted us dominion over all of the other creatures that had been created on both days five and six. All the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and creatures of the land are given into our authority and dominion. The word dominion is a peculiar word – “rada” which is translated as “to rule”. But it is a very different word from “melech”, which is translated as “to govern”. A governor or even a king is still subject to a higher authority in context. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson stated that “Governments are instituted by Men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government, becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” A melech is ultimately subject to the will of the people. But a “rada” is subject to the will of God.
Additionally, the term “rada” carries with it the connotation of subjugation, or to tread down and trample. To dominate if you will. The word is used 27 times in Scripture. Three times in Leviticus 25, God reiterates a limit to the dominion of man – “you shall not rule over another with rigor.” Contextually speaking, the vast majority of the time the word “rada” is used in the Old Testament, it is used in the context of judgement (Nehemiah 9:28, Lamentation 1:13) or exposure of a king’s sin (Solomon – 1 Kings 9:23, 2 Chronicles 8:10; Ezekiel 34:4) when applied to ruling over other men. Otherwise, when it is in a positive context, it is referencing God’s dominion over His creation and mankind (Psalm 72:8, 110:2; Isaiah 41:2).
As an image bearer of the living God, we are responsible for dominion and stewardship of the earth, not dominion over one another – male or female, black or white or any other ethnic “color”, tribe, language, etc. As image bearers of God, we have a five-fold responsibility:
1. be fruitful (be productive)
2. multiply (procreative)
3. replenish the earth (work the land)
4. subdue the earth (be a master of your assignment)
5. have dominion (be a steward) over every other living creature (aside from mankind).
It is what we call the “Creation Mandate” to participate in God’s work. As God’s special creation, we were all graced with the privilege to participate in His creation, not worship His Creation. We were all privileged to have dominion over Creation, not be subjugated to the created world order. We were all called to work productively together to ensure that the land produce the resources required for us all to survive and to do so with excellence to the best of our God-given ability.