Our Hunger and God’s Supply
January 2, 2019 | Genesis 9:1–5
Author Wendell Berry writes about agriculture, culture, and the decline of American farming. When people ask what to do in these areas, he replies, “Eat responsibly.” Humans are created to be more than consumers.
After the judgment of the Flood, humanity was granted a new beginning, and with it came new instructions. Noah and his family had been saved by God from destruction. Their task now was to complete the original mandate to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (see Gen. 1:28). Vastly outnumbered by the creatures that had come with them in the ark, God promised to confirm humanity’s dominion over creation by placing them at the top of the food chain (vv. 2–3).
As in the Garden of Eden, however, a limitation was set, specifically a prohibition regarding blood. Every animal that lived and moved was to serve as food, but only after the blood had been removed. In addition, Noah and his family were given a corresponding prohibition about the shedding of human blood (v. 6).
More is implied in these mandates than simply that murder is bad. These commands foreshadow the importance that blood would eventually play in God’s plan of redemption. As this plan unfolded, these same stipulations were encoded in the Law of Moses, which required “nearly everything” to be cleansed with blood (Heb. 9:2).
Ultimately, these new rules set the stage for the one and only sacrifice that has the power to deal with the sin that grips all mankind. At the right time God provided the perfect sacrifice for sin, and it was a sacrifice of blood—not the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats, which could not really take away sins (Heb. 10:4), but the blood of Jesus Christ.
APPLY THE WORD
Often it’s not easy to eat responsibly, especially with limited resources of time or money. We are often inattentive to what we put into our bodies, choosing food that tastes good in the moment but has long-term health effects. Many of us pay even less attention to our souls. Your soul cannot flourish apart from Christ’s sacrifice made for you.
PRAY WITH US | NIGERIA
Seven-year-old Rashida is scared and tired, as she recovers from the physical and emotional wounds suffered during recent Fulani militant attacks. Pray with her.
Today in the Word is a publication of Moody Bible Institute.
