January 1, 2020
Ten Different Portraits of Creation in Scripture and Our Human Roles
Dr. Dn. Diane Jacobson
Saint Paul Area Synod
Care of Creation Work Group
Portrait #1 Creation as God’s Good and Ordered Place - Genesis 1 and Psalm 8
Humans are the royal images of the divine creator called to have dominion as God would rule – a challenge to rule justly.
Portrait #2 Creation as God’s Garden and Temple – Genesis 2 and Psalm 24
Humans are those called “to serve (till) and to keep” God’s garden.
Portrait #3 Creation as a Reflection of God’s Wise Design – Proverbs 8
Humans are those called to use reason and the power of observation to seek answers to our problems. Humans are those who seek to live our lives in accordance with the cosmic wisdom of God by which God ordered the universe.
Portrait #4 Creation as God’s Intricate Web – Psalm 104 and Job 38-41
Humans are just one creature among many, one part of God’s vast family.
Portrait #5 Creation as Sign of God’s Victory over Chaos – Psalm 74
Humans are those who believe in the promise, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Portrait #6 Creation as an Instrument of God’s Judgment – Genesis 6-9; Exodus 14: Amos 4:13; 5:8-11; 9:5-7
Humans are those who take heed to God’s judgment and act on the warning.
Portrait #7 Creation as God’s Witness to Human Injustice – Deuteronomy 30:19-20; Jeremiah 4:23-28
Humans are those who hear the cries of creation as a witness to our sins, calling us to active repentance.
Portrait #8 Creation as God’s Covenantal Seal and Promise – Genesis 8:21-22; Hosea 2; Jeremiah 31:35-36; Revelation 21:1; Isaiah 11:6-9; Ezekiel 47
Humans are prisoners of hope.
Portrait #9 Creation as Singer of Lament – Romans 8:20-22
Humans are those who lament not just for, but also with creation.
Portrait #10 Creation as Singer of Praise - Psalms 148
Humans join all of creation in singing the praises of God.
Dr. Dn. Diane Jacobson
Care of Creation Work Group
Saint Paul Area Synod
Dr. Diane Jacobson is professor emerita of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, MN where she taught from 1982-2010. She also served as director of the Book of Faith Initiative for the ELCA from 2008-2016. She is a rostered deacon of the ELCA. Jacobson has been a frequent speaker throughout the Church, including the 2011 and 2013 Churchwide Assemblies, the LWF 50th Anniversary Assembly in Hong Kong, and numerous synodical assemblies, rostered leaders gatherings, and churchwide consultations.
Jacobson currently serves on the St. Paul Area Synod Caring for Creation Workgroup and the EcoFaith Planning Team for Ecofaith Summits. She was one of the writers of the 1993 ELCA Social Statement, Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice.
Jacobson’s main academic areas of teaching and publishing have been in Wisdom and Psalms. She wrote her dissertation on creation imagery in the psalms and was a principal translator of the psalms for the ELW.
Jacobson is, first and foremost, a lover of Scripture. "I'm in love with this Book," she says. "My calling is to teach Scripture for the sake of God’s world, and to invite others into the wonders and rewards of exploring the Bible together."
Dr. Diane Jacobson, professor emerita of Old Testament, Luther Seminary and retired director of the Book of Faith Initiative for the ELCA
https://www.luthersem.edu/faculty/djacobso/