With or Without You: Genesis 9:1-17
We only understand why we need God when we can honestly see ourselves without Him. This is true in so many areas of my life. I need to stumble over my pride before I can really see its effect in my life. I needed to experience the devastation lust can bring before I saw why it has such a bad in my life. It’s one thing to intellectually know such things are bad, but sometimes experience is the best teacher.
God tells Noah and his family to go out and fill the earth. Considering the human population has spread across the planet and are currently pushing the limits of necessary resources, such as potable water, we’ve done plenty good at listening to that mandate.
God also alters the approach to life in a significant way. In the garden, God declared all the plants good for food. After the flood, God declared all things good for food. Human beings are now permitted to eat anything with life. Our diet expands quite a bit.
Why would God make this change? God doesn’t declare His mind on this matter. There are, however, some hints pointing to the reason.
God brought the flood because He saw human violence. When we hear the word violent, we think of bodily harm or even murder. The word violent has a much broader context. In Latin, the word giving root to our word for violence means to be intense or extreme. God saw human beings pushing the limits to intense or extreme levels. Sure, they murdered and injured each other. But humans are also intensely greedy, extremely proud (and demeaning to others), or intensely lustful. God saw our desire to push against His ways to see what we can get away with.
Notice how God describes our relationship with the animals after the flood. The animals will fear us. This is in grave contrast to God’s declaration of dominion with Adam and Eve. Under Adam and Eve, the animals had trust, knowing humanity had the best intentions for them. As humanity leaves the garden and spreads over the earth, the animals know we become more interested in thinking about our desires rather than what is good for them.
We can only conclude God knows us well. He knows the violence that lives in our heart. He knows the selfishness through which we think. He knows the lust that lives in our eyes. He knows how deeply we want to push against the boundaries He sets. For this reason, He declares we can have everything that moves as food.
It might sound like God is giving in. He’s not, but it does sound like it. God’s plan is to redeem creation. To redeem creation, we need to be given enough freedom so we learn why we need to be redeemed. We only understand why we need God when we can honestly see ourselves without Him.
