Day 2 of 7
Dominion and Keeping: The Two-Fold Mandate
What radah means — royal stewardship, not exploitation
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Genesis 1:26-28: "Then God said, '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 heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth.'"
Then read Genesis 2:15: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it."
Reflection
The word "dominion" has become one of the most controversial words in the Bible. For environmentalists, it represents the theological license that gave Western civilization permission to exploit the earth without limit. For some Christians, it represents a God-given right to use natural resources as we see fit. Both readings are wrong.
The Hebrew word translated "dominion" in Genesis 1:28 is radah. It is a royal word — it describes the rule of a king over his realm. But in the ancient Near East, a good king did not exploit his people. He protected them, provided for them, and ensured their flourishing. A king who devoured his own subjects was not exercising dominion — he was a tyrant. The dominion God grants in Genesis 1 is royal stewardship: the authority to govern creation on behalf of its true owner, for the benefit of all creatures.
Genesis 2:15 makes this even clearer. God places Adam in the garden "to work it and keep it." The Hebrew word for "keep" is shamar — the same word used for a watchman guarding a city or a shepherd guarding a flock. It implies protection, preservation, and vigilant care. Adam is not placed in the garden to consume it but to tend it and guard it.
Francis Schaeffer saw the distortion clearly: "The dominion God gave to man is not a license to exploit but a charge to care for. A king who destroys his own kingdom is not exercising dominion — he is committing treason against his sovereign." This is a devastating reframe. If the earth belongs to God, then those who destroy it are not exercising their rightful authority — they are betraying the King who entrusted it to them.
Tim Keller drew out the practical implication: "The garden is God's garden. Adam is God's gardener. The relationship is not owner to property but steward to trust. This distinction changes everything." A steward does not ask, "What do I want to do with this?" A steward asks, "What does the owner want done with this?" The question for Christians is not "How can we use the earth?" but "How does God want his earth to be cared for?"
The two-fold mandate of Genesis — dominion and keeping, ruling and serving — holds together what our culture has torn apart. Humans are uniquely positioned in creation: made in God's image, given authority over the natural world, and charged with its care. We are neither gods who may do as we please nor animals who are merely part of the ecosystem. We are steward-kings, answerable to the true King for how we govern his domain.
Going Deeper
The dominion mandate is not a license to drill, mine, clearcut, and pave without limit. Nor is it a call to leave the earth untouched. It is a call to develop creation wisely and carefully, always remembering that we are managing what belongs to another. What would change in your daily habits if you took the word "steward" as seriously as the word "dominion"?
Key Quotes
“The dominion God gave to man is not a license to exploit but a charge to care for. A king who destroys his own kingdom is not exercising dominion — he is committing treason against his sovereign.”
“The garden is God's garden. Adam is God's gardener. The relationship is not owner to property but steward to trust. This distinction changes everything.”
Prayer Focus
Ask God to reshape your understanding of dominion — from 'this is mine to use' to 'this is his, entrusted to me.'
Meditation
What areas of creation have been entrusted to your care — a yard, a pet, a garden, a community? How are you stewarding them?
Question for Discussion
Historian Lynn White Jr. argued in 1967 that Christianity's doctrine of dominion was the root cause of the environmental crisis. Schaeffer responded that the problem was not the doctrine itself but its distortion. Who do you think is closer to the truth — and what would a properly understood dominion look like in practice?