Today, I will begin a series of blog posts on the Biblical command to “be fruitful and multiply.” I will trace this thread throughout 3,600 years of Old Testament Biblical history, beginning with Genesis 1 right through the Malachi 4. I will show the verse, with a brief heading and date, and offer a view brief comments.
The First Commandment At Creation
Date: 4004 BC – Year: 0 – Ref: Gen 1:28;
“God blessed them; and God said to them, “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” (Ge 1:28 NAS95)
On the sixth day of creation, God mandates that Adam and Eve take dominion over His creation. This is known as the Dominion Mandate. The command is to both of them – husband and wife. There are two major parts to the Mandate:
- populating the earth, and
- subduing the earth.
These two facets are related. The earth cannot be subdued unless it is populated. Subduing does not refer to any one particular point in history, but rather an ongoing stewardship throughout all of history. This command is given to God’s people.