38 “if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears, 39 if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
Job recognizes that he has a responsibility, not only to do the right thing in connection to other humans, but he recognizes his responsibility to the land as well. He was an environmentalist in the best sense of the term. He put the land in its proper perspective. He had a responsibility to take care of it because it took care of him. But he did not place the land higher in priority than is should be. That is the issue with the modern form of environmentalism. It places the land higher than people. It has turned into a worship of earth. In the Old Testament we read many principles of land management, including allowing the land to rest every seventh year. Job says he has properly cared for his land it its crops. Unfortunately, our world has not taken care of either very well. We have polluted and exploited. We have a responsibility to the land and to future generations. We are responsible for the care of the planet. It is here for us to use, but not to abuse. Profits have driven land use, rather than good stewardship. We abuse the resources and then move on to other land, and in the wake we leave land that cries out in pain. But even though Job speaks of the land as having a voice, he is just pushing his point: he has been a good steward, a faithful steward of his land. He is not deifying the land. The land is just land, and he has a responsibility to take care of it. The land does not have responsibility for Job. The higher takes care of the lower. This is where the moderns get things backward. They blame everything on man, and then some even say the planet would be better off without humans.
The Arnold Journey 