Green Theology: To fill and to subdue the earth

Humans to fill and to subdue the earth (land), but not at the expense of other creatures.

This point of discussion is one of the famous passage about the role of humans in creation in Genesis 1, where God says to the newly created human pair: ‘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 air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth’ (Gen. 1:28).

The two had to cooperate in order to complete the task of filling the world. God made Adam and Eve differently physically so they couldn't finish the mission on their own. Similarly, in order to have a large number of children, both would need to cooperate on an emotional, spiritual, relational, and societal level. Both a mother and a father were necessary for the creation and upbringing of children in God's perfect plan. Even though single parenting is widespread nowadays, the situation is frequently difficult and calls for assistance from friends and family.

It's crucial to remember that God's instruction to procreate and multiply is typically seen as a personal directive to the heads of the human race (Adam and Eve, as well as Noah and his wife). God would permit some couples to be infertile without requiring everyone to "fill the earth" or have as many children as possible. God calls some people to stay childless and unmarried, while others are incapable of producing children (1 Corinthians 7:8).

God not only gave Adam and Eve the ability to populate the planet, but also to work and conquer it. The definition of "subdue" in the original Hebrew is "to make subordinate, dependent, or subservient." The concept of subduing the earth is actively controlling it with physical force or effort, cultivating it to make it fruitful and life-sustaining rather than destroying it.

The Lord made everything for us, but it is our responsibility to manage it. He wanted us to endeavour to keep chaotic situations from ruining the planet and making it worthless. In order to support themselves and serve the Lord, Adam and Eve had to make use of God's creation. "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15) is how God assigned us the duty of caretakers in addition to the privilege.

Humans are endowed with "every see bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it" by God. 

You will be able to eat them (Genesis 1:29).  In the Garden of Eden, people were vegetarians, but after Noah's day, God expanded their diet to include animals (Genesis 9:3).

One of the main purposes for which humans were created was to serve as God's representatives throughout the globe and to reign over everything in His name. This was demonstrated when the Lord commanded Adam and Eve to fill the land and tame it (Psalm 8:6; 115:16). In order for us to represent God on earth, we were created in His image. And in order for us to have a connection with Him, we were created to be like Him. God loved having a personal relationship with us and wanted to bless us with His wonderful creation from the beginning.

It is not often well enough noticed that this command refers to two rather different matters. It refers first to the relationship of humans to the earth, secondly to their relationship to other living creatures. The latter is the dominion, and we will come to it under the next heading. Having dominion over other living creatures is not the same thing as subduing the earth.

‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.’ Humans are not alone in being told to be fruitful and to multiply and to fill. The fish are to multiply and fill the sea, the birds are to multiply on earth (1:22), and although the text is not explicit we must assume that the creatures of the land are also to be fruitful and multiply. Only humans are told to fill the earth and to subdue the earth – and in their case the two activities go closely together. Only by means of agriculture were humans able to fill the earth, to live in at least a large proportion of the available land space. To subdue the earth is to take possession and to work the soil in order to make it yield more food for humans than it would otherwise do.

But what about all the other land animals? Are humans to fill the earth at their expense? Are humans supposed to supplant them? God’s words to the humans continue in this way:

See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon 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 air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. (Gen. 1:29–30)

Why does God tell humans that he has given every plant for food for the other living creatures? Why doesn’t he say this to the animals themselves? It is not because they cannot understand him, for in verse 22 he has already spoken to the sea creatures and the birds. Surely it is because humans need to know this. They need to know that the produce of the earth is not intended to feed them alone, but also all the living species of the earth. 

Humans are not to fill the earth and subdue it to the extent of leaving no room and no sustenance for the other creatures who share the earth with them. God has given them too the right to live from the soil. So the human right to make use of the earth, to live from it, is far from unlimited. It must respect the rights of other creatures. Once again, we come up against the biblical fact that we are one creature among others, and that that is how God intended it to be.