Earth's hope

"Sing to the Lord all the earth..." - Psalm 96:1  (Image: cjost/Pixabay.com)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 96:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "Let the field be joyful and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth."  Psalm 96:12,13

The picture of Earth (specifically the world of nature) celebrating as it anticipates God's future judgment brings up the question, what would cause the natural world to look forward to judgment?

Paging back, way back in my Bible, I review what happened to Earth as a result of Adam and Eve's sin in Eden.  At that time God made this pronouncement on Earth:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”

- Exodus 3:17-19.

In a sidebar article, Jack Hayford elaborates on how this curse affects us humans and planet Earth:

"Everything of his delegated realm (Earth) comes under  a curse as his relationship with God, the fountainhead of his power to rule, is severed (Genesis 3:17,18). … Beyond the tragedy of man's loss two other facts unfold. First … man's rule has been forfeited to the Serpent. … A second fact offers hope … God begins to move redemptively, and a plan for recovering man's lost estate is promised (Genesis 3:15)." Jack Hayford, "Impact of the Fall" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 10.

I would suggest it is that redemptive plan, that includes judgment of Satan Earth's current administrator, that the heavens, seas, fields, trees, and woods applaud and celebrate.

Though we still inhabit this very-much-under-a-curse planet with every day news of natural disasters wreaking havoc on homes and people, not to speak of what we humans do to each other, let's take our cue from nature. Let's look forward with HOPE to the day God will bring nature and humankind as part of it, back under His reign of righteousness and truth—the last verse in our psalm:

"For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth." Psalm 96:13.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the hope of all being set right in nature and with people when You return. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.