God’s first directive to humans took place in Genesis 1.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “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” (Genesis 1:28)
Genesis 1:28 is repeated to Noah and his sons after leaving the ark.
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1).
This is a command that humans have fulfilled quite readily. At this point in history, the Earth’s population is estimated to be 8 billion.
A very tragic statistic is that an estimated 733 million people, or 1 in 11 people, are experiencing chronic hunger. This is a significant number, considering that the world produces enough food to feed everyone.
Wealth inequality is possibly one of the major reasons behind worldwide hunger.
According to data from Credit Suisse, the top 1% of households globally own approximately 43% of all personal wealth, meaning they hold nearly half of the world’s income.
Compared to Venezuela, where the average household income is a mere $30 per month, it becomes evident that the poorest nation in our continent faces an almost insurmountable challenge to have an even playing field with wealthy nations.
Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world, and widespread hunger is an issue in that nation. However, when Haiti is compared to Venezuela, the monthly income of Haiti is between $150 and $200, not the mere $30 of Venezuela.
It appears that humans have done a very good job of obeying God’s command to be fruitful and multiply.
Join me in praying that we will also be faithful in observing the second greatest commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
Permission to Eat Meat
In his commentary on Genesis, Victor Hamilton writes: “The opening chapter of Genesis was quite explicit: in the beginning, man and animals were vegetarian. Human exploitation of animal life is set within the context of a post-flood deteriorated situation, different from the ideal of Genesis 1.”
The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered.
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you, and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood (Genesis 9:2-4).
The key point of these verses is that God has given us both green plants and animal life to eat; however, He restricts eating the blood. This is a consistent theme throughout the Old Testament.
This is God’s command through Moses in Deuteronomy.
“Yet whenever you desire you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as they would of gazelle or deer.
The blood, however, you must not eat; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat” (Deuteronomy 12:15-16, 23).
Today, science explains why there is life in the blood.
“Blood is essential to human life because it acts as the body’s primary transport system, carrying oxygen to cells, delivering nutrients, removing waste products, regulating body temperature, and fighting infections through white blood cells, making it crucial for every bodily function to operate properly.
Without blood, organs cannot receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive, leading to death.”
God’s Reckoning
The sixth of the Ten Commandments is “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). God is the Creator and only God has the right to determine life and death.
He spelled this out to Noah’s family after they exited the ark.
For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.
Whoever sheds the blood of a human,
by a human shall that person’s blood be shed,
for in his own image
God made humans. (Genesis 9:5-6)
What God said about humans in Genesis 1, He repeated to Noah’s family and subsequent generations.
So God created humans in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)
To be created in God’s image is to receive the dignity that God confers on human beings. No human being possesses the authority to usurp God’s power and destroy something created in His image.
Consequently, God will hold accountable those who engage in such destructive acts.
Reflections
It appears that we have done an excellent job of multiplying and filling the earth with humans.
We’ve failed miserably at loving our neighbor like we want to be loved ourselves.
The world needs to constantly be reminded that throw-away people and nations are created in God’s image, just as we are.
No one is so insignificant that they should be “meat” for Russia’s “meat grinder” in Putin’s war against Ukraine. The same sentiment applies to wars, conflict, and violence around the world.
To be created in God’s image is for all humanity, not just those who live on the top of the heap.
YouTube Discussion
I discussed this passage on YouTube today. Tomorrow, Rudy Ross and Bruce Kirby will join me for more on Genesis.
Real Voices 