A Daily Genesis
Genesis 1:27-28
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, 08-27-2015 at 07:46 PM (655 Views)
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[B][COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 1:27a . . And God created man in His image,[/B]
I think it is really important to emphasize that man was "created" in God's image. In other words: God didn't give birth to Ruddy like as if he were God's biological child, so to speak. Certain ancient Greek poets thought that was the case (Acts 17:28-30) but Paul labeled that kind of thinking "ignorance".
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 1:27b . . in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them.[/B]
Some women would be offended to be called a "him" but it's a biblical designation nonetheless. Regardless of one's gender, all human beings are of the genus of man and can be legitimately referred to as a him or as a he. Bible students really have to watch for that because when they run across the word "man" and/or "men" in the Bible, it doesn't eo ipso indicate males.
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 1:28a . . God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and increase,[/B]
Some interpret that verse to be a mandate requiring married people to have children; and that they have no business getting married for any other reason. But the wording is so obviously a blessing rather than a mandate; especially since God said the very same thing to the winged creatures, and the fish, and the reptiles, and the bugs, and the beasts.
It's always best to regard blessings as benefits and/or empowerments unless clearly indicated otherwise. Some blessings have to be merited (e.g. Deut 28:1-13) but not this one. It was neither requested nor was it earned-- it was freely given without any strings attached and nothing asked in return.
[B][SIZE=1]NOTE[/SIZE]:[/B] The belief that couples should enter marriage for no other reason than procreation is an invention right out of an ascetic imagination; and if truth be known, it's in defense of a celibate clergy. According to Gen 2:18-24 and 1Cor 7:7-9, marriage is primarily for the purpose of companionship rather than procreation. If in fact deliberately childless marriages are wrong, then Catholicism's platonic union of Joseph and the Lord's mom would be a sinful relationship.
Without the gift of fertility, Man would be just as sterile as a soup spoon. So it was a very essential blessing. And a very interesting blessing it is because the blessing of fertility empowers living things to pass their own kind of life on to a next generation. God quit creating after six days. So unless creatures were enabled to reproduce, all would soon die out and become quite extinct in a very short time.
Libido therefore, is an essential element of the blessing of fertility. God intended for His creatures to reproduce; and to ensure that they did, He wired them all with libido rather than instilling within them a sense of duty. It isn't necessary to cajole creatures to mate; no, they will do so on their own, propelled by built-in sensual proclivities and predilections.
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 1:28b . . fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.[/B]
The Hebrew word for "master" is from [I]kabash[/I] (kaw-bash') which emphasizes coercion and force; and means: to disregard; to conquer, and to violate.
The word for "rule" is from [I]radah[/I] (raw-daw') and means: to tread down; to subjugate.
kabash and radah are very strong language. Those two words combined leave no room for doubt regarding Man's supremacy in the sphere of things. God blessed humanity with the authority to dominate and to violate planet Earth at will, and exploit it to his own advantage. Man answers to no plant nor animal on this entire globe. The whole Earth is within the scope of humanity's purview. If aliens ever come here unannounced, they can be arrested for trespassing, and/or charged for parking.
But the interesting thing is; the Ruddy species is also the monarch of the whole cosmos; not just the dinky little third rock from the Sun where he hangs his hat.
"For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him." (Heb 2:6-8)
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