1. God commanded Adam to SUBDUE the earth

I wrote in the previous post that God made Adam in His image and likeness, thereby establishing proprietary rights to His creation.  Furthermore, God then made Adam King over the earth by first delegated the rights of  direct rule or DOMINION of the earth and its living creatures, including satan and his demons:

Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and SUBDUE it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Gen 1: 28).

 

2.  What  did God mean by this command to SUBDUE the earth? 

Kabash (H3533) is the Hebrew word for subdue. I again explored how the word was used in the scriptures in order to paint a picture of what God meant when He told Adam to subdue the earth.  I was relieved to discover that kabash occurs 15 times in 13 verses in the Hebrew concordance of the KJV

  • the second reference to the word subdue occurred when Moses spoke to three tribes telling them that they had to go over Jordan with the others and war against the Canaanites until the Lord had driven out His enemies and subdued the land (Num 32: 21-22).
  • Joshua 18: 1 showed that the Israelites warred against    the Caananites, taking possession of their cities and property and as a result the land was subdued before them. 
  • 2 Samuel 8 is a brief description of  how King David subdued enemy nations in war. He took possession of their territories, placed Israeli forces there, made the people  his servants, made them bring gifts/dues to him.  King David was a terror and his enemies feared him
  • King David commanded the people to help Solomon his son, since the Lord had helped him to conquer the nations and subdue them (1 Chronicles 22: 18)
  • To subdue means to bring someone else into bondage or make them a servant or slave (2 Chro 28: 10; Neh 5: 5; Jeremiah 34: 11, 16)
  • Weapons are used to subdue enemies (Zech 9: 15)

3.  Adam was therefore given the right to exercise military strength over God’s enemy satan

It is  important to twin the words subdue and have dominion because God twinned them in Genesis 1: 28.  In discovering their meanings, we find some important revelations:

  • God commanded Adam to treat satan as an enemy and not as a friend
  • Most of the references to the action of subduing  relate to the conquest of the Land of  Canaan in which ungodly, demon worshipping nations were replaced with people who God called “a Kingdom of  priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19: 6)
  • We can therefore infer that God’s intent when  He created Adam was the deposing of satan
  • God also intended that HIS  KINGDOM  OF RIGHTEOUSNESS would be transfered into the earth through an earthly ruler 
  • Adam’s job was to fill up the earth with God- like people who would worship and serve Him  AND keep the devil in his place so he would have no territory to occupy.
  • Adam and Eve were commanded to rule over the devil with strength;  prevail against him; run him out of their earth; and teach their descendants to rule as Kings and Princes in the earth. 
  • If  you scan through the Old Testament, you will discover that the nations of the earth understood the concept of ruling as Kings and Princes in the natural sense.  However, they gave up control  of the invisible realm to the devil, allowing him to subdue them and bring them into bondage of  many heinous sins.
  • Time does not permit, but you will see that God called Abraham a Father of  many nations.  Jacob was called a Prince because he had prevailed with God.  Ishmael was also a ruler who produced 12 princes, but ungodly men.

 

4.  There are two realms of  rulership – the natural and the invisible.

Here are some important questions that I would like you to answer:

  • Are you ruling  in the natural realm but a victim  to satan? 
  •  Are you like God or like satan?
  • Are you a member of  the Kingdom of  God or the Kingdom of  satan?
  • You will know whose Kingdom you belong to based on the beliefs and lifestyle practices that you pursue
  • God’s  Kingdom can be entered only by  a rebirth of that tainted, sinful spirit.  To read more about the transformation of  your spirit, please visit

https://pppministries.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/jesus-said-tha…-be-born-again/

Blessings!