Day 52: The Rules

Genesis 9:1-7

God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you. But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat. I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image. Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it.”

God never makes any mistakes so it is not possible for Him to learn from them. He already knows everything so He has no need of learning. When He changes the rules, it isn’t because He wants to try something different. He changes the rules for some other reason and God changed the rules for the earth at the time of the flood. Evidently, animals used to not be afraid of people. Now they would be. At the same time, animals would now be allowed for food, as long as the blood is drained out.

There would be no more protection for murderers. In fact, if anyone commits murder, they would now be killed by another man. Notice that the reason God gives is that mankind was made in God’s image. Murder is wrong and punishable by death because mankind cannot be allowed to live in a way that dishonors the image of God.

Philosophy: Ever wonder why you know murder is wrong? The Christian worldview supplies an adequate reason. Murder is wrong because it goes against God’s character and we were made in God’s image. Outside of the Biblical worldview, why would it be wrong to murder? For instance, why would an evolutionist believe that murder is wrong if it increases his survival value? The Bible tells us that we know because we were made in the image of God and He has made Himself known to each individual.

Environmentalism: God does not allow wild animals to kill humans. Notice that His rules clearly state that animals that kill must be killed. Environmentalists today believe that they must preserve the animals over mankind. God says the opposite. Animals must not be allowed to kill humans. This means that wolves, wild cats, bears and so on should not be protected in such a way that they are allowed to harm humans. Clearly, God is interested in the preservation of man and the animals. The biggest concern He has, however, is His image and how failing to preserve this image is harmful to the environment.