Battle For The Truth (Part 44)

Genesis 9:1-7, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (2) And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. (3) Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (4) But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (5) And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. (6) Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. (7) And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein."

Introduction

The flood waters have abated, the ark has rested on dry land, and the sun is shining bright. There is nothing like A Fresh New Start. The old world has passed, and the new world has dawned for Noah and his family. This had to be both exciting and intimidating at the same time. There is so much more I could say by way of introduction, but I will resist and get right to the text.

V.1 – “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

As they prepare to depart the ark, God gives instructions to the 1st family on this side of the Flood. Notice that God did not simply tell them to leave the ark, but He also informed them of their primary purpose: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” God did not leave it up to them to figure out on their own. They did not have to guess what they were supposed to do. This same instruction was given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28. Being the first instruction indicates that it is of extreme importance. Reproducing is not only a blessing from God, but also an act of obedience to God.

Side Note: [Saints, let me tell you something.] Although unpopular to talk about, I believe abortion is a violation of God’s instruction for humanity to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” As Psalm 127:3 informs us, God loves children. It reads, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” And according to the words of Jesus in Luke 17:2, anyone who violates them faces harsh judgment. Jesus said, “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” Amen somebody. That said, Genesis 1:28 and 9:1, lets us know at least two things: (1) The ability to reproduce is a blessing from God Almighty; and (2) Life comes with instructions. Life is not about us simply doing our thing, but rather fulfilling the purpose for which God gave us life. From the time we were first able to comprehend, we were given instructions for living. It starts in the home, continues in school, reinforced in the church, and expected in society. Society’s laws, statutes, codes, and ordinances assumes that a general level of training and understanding has already been learned and accepted by each citizen. Practically everything we do in life includes instructions. Rarely, if ever, do we get to create our own instructions but on the contrary, we are obliged to follow established instructions issued by an authority greater than ourselves. Amen somebody.

V.2, “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.”

God makes clear man’s position within the created order. As God’s image bearer, man occupies a superior position in the entire animal kingdom. However, unlike life in the Garden of Eden, when man ruled the animals by affection, he now rules by fear. Without question, man is to dominate and rule over all earthly created beings. Man’s position is not the result of natural selection, nor did he evolve into this position by chance. God, the Maker and Creator of heaven and earth gave man, the lesser being, dominion over every creature within the earth realm. King David, the great psalmist of Israel put it like this in Psalms 8:3-9:

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; (4) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (5) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (6) Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: (7) All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; (8) The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. (9) O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” Amen somebody.

V.3, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”

From the beginning of man’s existence, God gave man instructions about what he was permitted and prohibited to eat. God informed Adam and Eve that every tree of the garden they may freely eat. However, they were prohibited from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So initially, man was a vegetarian or non-carnivorous. Nevertheless, after the fall many things changed with man. Genesis 3:7-10, 21 informs us of the explicit changes that the fall caused:

Ø Loss of innocence

Ø Shame

Ø Fear

Ø Hiding

Ø God kills

Furthermore, in the Cain and Abel encounter, which is after the fall, we observe animal sacrifice as a form of worship. Thus, after approximately 1,667-years man has experienced many changes, which apparently now includes being carnivorous. Thus, with A Fresh New Start, God establishes man’s food source: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”

Side Note: Notice God said, “Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you.” Meaning man was not to be a scavenger. And, since dead animals could be diseased and/or contaminated with harmful bacteria, they are likely harmful to man. Also, notice that God made no distinction between clean and unclean, but only moving and living. Scavenging is not suitable for man’s digestive system, but rather for lower life forms.

Vv.4-6, “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (5) And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. (6) Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

Here we discover that they were not only given instructions regarding what they may eat, but also rules to obey. In other words, there were restrictions concerning the eating of these moving and living animals. The prohibition or rule was consuming the animal’s blood. God commands that man is required to drain the blood from the animal before eating it. There is something very sacred about blood that God reserves for Himself. We later learn in Leviticus 17:10-14, why God prohibits the human consumption of blood:

“And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. (11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (12) Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. (13) And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. (14) For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.”

For the first time, God now establishes government for man. With the violence that plagued the previous world, God establishes a universal law to govern this type of behavior. Man has proven that if left to himself without law, society would devolve into violence and death. Life is precious and God establishes that it will be treated as such—among men and beasts. If an animal kills a man, that animal was to die. If a man kills another man, that man will pay with his life. This is the beginning the government’s right of capital punishment or the death penalty. The Apostle Paul reaffirms government’s role in exercising capital punishment in Romans 13:1-5, which reads:

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. (2) Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: (4) For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (5) Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.”

Side Note: Instructions and rules go together like heads and tails of a coin. And, as already mentioned regarding instructions, rules are the same. We are all given rules to obey. Life is full of rules to regulate behavior. Rarely are we afforded the opportunity to make our own rules, but we are always obliged to obey them, which are always issued by an authority greater than ourselves. Amen somebody.

Side Note: (Continued…)

Rarely, if ever, do we get to create our own instructions but on the contrary, we are obliged to follow established instructions issued by an authority greater than ourselves. Amen somebody. Finally, this text clearly informs us that God is not pleased with the shedding of innocent blood, which is exactly what the practice of abortion is. This law that God has established supersedes any law that man may create—including Roe v. Wade. Amen goes right there.

Conclusion

Next week we will look at the covenant that God makes with Noah and family. So, until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved. Amen.