Genesis 1:25-31
Have you ever wished you could’ve stood beside Adam and Eve as they gazed upon the perfect world God created for them? Imagine viewing the amazing variety and color of flowers, tasting the succulent fruits growing on heavily laden vines and trees? Imagine observing all the different birds and animals, living in harmony with each other and their human caretakers! What a perfectly balanced, pristine environment. What a delight to all the senses.
Imagine yourself standing there with Adam and Eve as they survey the scene before them. And as you stand in awe of God’s creative ability, He speaks both a blessing and a command. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill 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 moves upon the earth.”
In our study today we turn to these verses in Genesis chapter one to address a very important subject; “Man in Dominion.” Since God created man in His image and likeness, He appointed man as caretaker and steward over the earth and all living things – plants and animals. The created world was made especially for the enjoyment of God’s highest creation, mankind.
In the past few weeks, we’ve spent considerable time looking at the themes and principles contained in these verses from Genesis chapter one. We have by no means exhausted them, so I make no apology for returning to them again. They give us much insight into God’s original intention for His relationship to man and man’s relationship to the rest of the creation. So then, to begin our study of “Man in Dominion,” I will read
Genesis 1:25-31
In this text we observe several Divine COMMANDSthat anticipate “Man in Dominion.”
The First COMMAND is,
Populate the Earth
In the beginning God created just two people: a man and a woman. And while the Scriptures don’t specifically say so, it seems that God created vast numbers of animals. In reading about the creation of the beasts and living creatures we encounter words like “swarms” and “abundantly.” Even if there was only one pair of each animal created, they most likely still outnumbered the first two humans by the thousands!
This wasn’t an issue of personal safety; none of the animals were fearful of mankind, nor were they dangerous. They only became that way after sin entered the world and accelerated after the worldwide flood. What did God have in mind when He gave this command to “fill the earth”? To further answer this question, we need to consider the whole scope of divine revelation.
Isaiah chapter 11 gives us some insight. In the first four and a half verses Isaiah describes the first advent of Messiah, the “rod out of Jesse.” But then, in the middle of verse four there’s a transition and the final phrases of verse 4 are descriptiveof Christ’s millennial kingdom. Later verses inform us that during that time creation will be restored to its original state. The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the cow and the bear will feed together, and so on.
Now, let me read verse 9 of Isaiah chapter 11 because here, I believe, is the answer to our question of why God commanded Adam and Eve to populate the earth. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” This wonderful promise is stated 5 times in the Old Testament! To be full of the knowledge of God, experientially, as the word is used here, is to worship Him! Worship is the response of all those who truly know God.
I believe God commanded Adam and Eve to populate the earth so that the knowledge of His name and His love would fill the earth. He would have vast numbers of people, made in His likeness, on which to bestow His limitless love! In turn they would genuinely worship Him and bring glory to His name.
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