Genesis 9:1-7

GOD RENEWS THE CULTURAL MANDATE

9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”

As God blessed Adam and Eve, so God blessed Noah and his sons, commanding them to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. Noah is like a second Adam. He is the patriarchal head of the human race after the Great Flood.

It is interesting to note that the specific command to “have dominion over the earth and subdue it” that was given to Adam at creation is omitted here. This is because after Adam’s fall into sin the Serpent (Satan) usurped man’s dominion and became the ruler of this world.

John 12:31 Judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Of course we know and understand that ultimate dominion over all things belongs to the Creator of the universe who exercises sovereign control over all things. That includes the great serpent, Satan himself.

Psalm 83:18 Let them know that You, whose name is the Lord — that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

GOD SOVEREIGNLY CHANGES THE NATURE OF ANIMALS

9:2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.

A part of being created in the image and likeness of God was to have dominion over the animal kingdom as God’s representatives. This meant that the animal kingdom as first created, willingly submitted to man’s leadership over them, with no fear of harm.

As a consequence of the fall, there was already a fear of humans being hurt or killed by other humans. Enmity existed between humans but not between humans and animals or between animals and animals.

Those kept safe in the ark would soon start hurting and destroying one another. Some animals would become carnivorous; begin feeding on other animals, and attacking and even killing humans.

Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

GOD GIVES MAN PERMISSION TO KILL ANIMALS FOR FOOD

9:3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

For Noah, as for Adam, God provided an abundance of food, but again, the situation is different. Now mankind was permitted to eat meat. Humans now had the power of life and death over the animals.

The flood had made it impossible for mankind to sustain life from the ground alone. As a result, animal protein in meats became necessary for man’s survival.

God also desired to show the great separation between man (created in His image) and animals (who were not created in God’s image).

GOD RESTRICTS MAN FROM EATING ANIMALS WITH THEIR BLOOD

9:4 But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

While permission was given to eat the meat of animals (birds and fish included), it had to be drained of its blood.

The blood of an animal is symbolic of life. Abstaining from eating blood showed respect for life and the source of all life.

Deuteronomy 12:16, 23-25 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water... But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Leviticus 17:10-14  Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood — I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood

Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.

This restriction must also be seen in the context of sacrificial blood. God allowed the shedding of animal blood to atone for human sin. The sacrificial blood symbolized a substituted life taken to cleanse from sin’s defilement and to temporarily satisfy God’s anger.

All these animal sacrifices were symbolic of Christ’s once and for all perfect sacrifice for those the Father gave him.

Hebrews 9:12-14 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

GOD REQUIRES DEATH FOR THE TAKING OF A HUMAN LIFE

9:5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.

Although mankind is free to take the life of an animal, they may not take the life of another human being. A distinction is clearly made between the life of an animal and the life of a human.

The threat to human life by animals is dealt with first. While humans are given the right to kill animals, animals do not have the right to do the same to humans. If an animal kills a human, it must be destroyed.

The sanctity of human life is underscored here. God strictly forbids the unjust taking of human life.

GOD INSTITUTES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT

9:6-7 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

A murderer must pay the ultimate penalty for the ultimate crime. Unlawfully killing someone who bears the image of God is a monstrous crime. It clearly exposes the human heart’s rebellion against God. It deserves the sentence of death.

Note that humans are responsible for carrying out the enforcement of the punishment. The preposition “by” in the Hebrew is instrumental, thus mankind is to be the instrument by which capital punishment will be applied.

Though God has ordained for men to carry out just laws of punishment it does not mean that they will do it perfectly. The best institutions are run by people who are sinful and fallible. Mistakes are sometimes made, but this in no way invalidates the principle laid down here.