Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 21

After that, God heeded supplications for the land.
2 Samuel 21:14b

Consider your land. 

Perhaps you can look out your window to see your yard, or a patch of grass, or a park. It’s summer time! Leaves are green, the grass grows, and the world looks alive. In our recent travels, we have seen corn growing tall against blue skies and a mountainous backdrop, we’ve seen peach and apple orchards beginning to bud; the world alive. 

But we know this to be a fragile ecosystem. Times of drought can change such growth in a heartbeat. At our house in Macon, we see the effects of a hot summer: plants withering, flowers that die too quickly. I recall trying to plant a cherry blossom tree when we first moved in. That June proved hotter than average and, no matter how much I watered it, the tree didn’t make it. 

Droughts, heat waves, and the like are more frequent as our climate changes, showing our relationship with the land. This is something David knew, and something at the core of Old Testament theology. 

The people knew they had a relationship with the land, a spiritual relationship. If they acted righteously, keeping God’s commandments, crops grew and the tortures of climate stayed at bay. If they failed, droughts or heat waves or blizzards or other climate catastrophes would occur, and the land would yield less fruitful harvests.

Here, we get a grizzly tale of David making “expiation,” as it says in verse 3, by killing sons of Saul. He then goes and gets the bones of Saul and Jonathan back from the tribe who had them, and they have a funeral for them all. Then, we get the focus text for today. Expiation has been made, and God now hears the prayers for a good harvest and a fruitful yield. 

David, and the writers of the Old Testament, believed that their actions, their righteousness or lack thereof, could change the climate and the fertility of the land. We would not kill, nor do we think that we need to make “expiation,” but we do have a responsibility to the land because we recognize, like David, that we have a spiritual relationship with the land. God, in the creation account of Genesis 1-3, makes humans stewards, caretakers, of all creation. We have a responsibility to take care not only of the plots of land entrusted to us, but to think about how our actions affect the world around us, recognizing, like David and the authors of the Old Testament, that what we do has an impact on creation.

Think
How often do I consider how my actions affect the land, the climate, the world around me? How can I take steps to improve my stewardship of creation?

Pray
Ask God to show you how to take the next faithful step in your stewardship of creation.

Do
Do something today to engage in stewardship of creation. Perhaps add a new plant to your home; a tangible reminder, as you care for it, of our call as Christians to stewardship of creation.

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.