Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them… The foremost question I want to answer concerning this verse is: “To what extent are we required by God to ‘be fruitful and multiply’?” I see three ways to argue the point:
1. God blessed us with fruitfulness, but did not necessarily command us to multiply.
The proximity of “God blessed” and “God said” (“And God blessed them, and God said unto them…”) appear to make the two clauses parts of a single act. God said “Be fruitful and multiply” two other times, once to the animals in v22 and once to Noah and his family in 9:1. All three times the statement was intimately linked to a blessing. Therefore, the phrase “Be fruitful and multiply” is merely a blessing much as we might say, “Get well soon,” to a sick friend. The problem with this argument is that there is a vital difference between the way that God blessed the fish and birds and the way that he blessed mankind. In v22, he does not appear to be speaking to the animals so much as over the animals: “God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply…” which could be reworded as “God blessed them by saying…” However, in the verse currently under consideration, Moses wrote “God blessed them, and God said unto them…” implying a qualitative difference in the nature of the blessing,1 as well as a logical division between the blessing and the “command.” But is this difference enough to make a command? In Genesis 14:19-20, Melchizedek blessed Abram in very similar words, but gave no command, following the pattern of v22 and strengthening the idea that this instance in v28 is also only a blessing and no command at all.
2. God categorically commanded mankind to be fruitful and multiply.
The qualitative difference demonstrated above, namely that God spoke directly to mankind and that the name “Elohim” is repeated as the subject of both clauses, certainly seems to support this interpretation. Elohim is Hebrew for “judges” or “rulers” and so it appears that, by repeating the name of the Creator, Moses was emphasizing the authority with which God spoke. The command is valid until the Kingdom in which men will become like the angels and no longer lawfully procreate. (At least that is the commonly accepted interpretation of Matthew 22:30.) However, it must still be understood that this is a command to mankind in general and not to each and every individual. Obviously, we cannot ascribe guilt to those whom Yeshua and Paul commended for their celibacy, nor to those whom God has made barren for his own purposes.
3. God commanded mankind to be fruitful and multiply, but only to a certain point.
God commanded us to multiply, but if the purpose of the command was to enable mankind to effectively govern the earth2, a point might come (or might have already come) at which further multiplication becomes unfruitful. “Replenish the earth” is an integral part of the command to multiply, so once we have populated the earth, the command may be considered fulfilled. This is the argument of the environmentalist who favors zero or negative population growth (and commonly also favors abortion and coercive measures to discourage growth, but these negative and ungodly attitudes are not inherent in the argument). Although most theologians and men of God whom I respect believe this is not the case, I am not convinced either way. As will be seen in the next section on “subdue it” and in the comments for Genesis 2, governance of the earth is at least a major part of the purpose for man’s creation, so this argument cannot be easily dismissed.
Deciding that “be fruitful” is a blessing and not a command might or might not change how we affect family planning.3 Rejecting a blessing from God seems too presumptuous and might actually invite curse in its stead, so the course most people choose should not be affected at all, whether command or blessing. We should graciously accept what God chooses to give to us, realizing that he knows our needs and capabilities better than we do. However, no one should be ostracized or harassed because they choose not to have a large family or perhaps choose not to have children at all. I believe economic reasons for not having children to be petty and faithless, but there are many other reasons that I am not capable of judging, such as precarious health of the potential mother, genetic disorders in either parent, or any number of other reasons. Paul wrote that under certain circumstances it is better to remain unmarried, and it might be that under certain circumstances it is better to remain childless or to stop conceiving children. I cannot say for certain what those circumstances are, but I am not willing to judge the hearts of other men and women based solely on how many children they have. God knows and judges the heart in such situations.
<1> The same Hebrew word, amar, is used in v22 for “saying” and in v28 for “said unto them.” The King James Version does not have “unto them” italicized, so it does not appear to be an insertion by the translators. I have assumed that the difference may be one of declension or case that cannot be directly translated into English. To the contrary, two Hebrew scholars have told me that there is no difference in the Hebrew, and “unto them” was an extrapolation on the part of the KJV translators. Brenton’s translation from the Septuagint agrees that the English should read “God blessed them, saying…” This lends more weight to the idea that God was blessing mankind with fertility rather than commanding them to be fruitful.
<2> Although I doubt that he would have openly supported the idea which I wrote next, this is the view promoted by Rushdoony: “The meaning of the family is thus not to be sought in procreation but in a God-centered authority and responsibility in terms of man’s calling to subdue the earth and to exercise dominion over it.” Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law. (The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973.) 164.
<3> I do not mean abortion, abortifacients, oral contraceptives, or the self-centeredness which our society calls “family planning.”
Doing quite well after several years together.
