Be Fruitful and Multiply

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” (Genesis 1:28)

When God made man and woman, He gave them a blessing—a blessing which was also a command: “Be fruitful and multiply.” He gave the same blessing/command to the fish and the birds (v. 22), and, boy, have they obeyed! And although it is not recorded specifically here, I have to believe God gave the same sort of blessing to the land animals and creepy, crawly things—at least to rabbits and mice, cockroaches and fire ants—and He may have even given it to things like my mistakes and the items under my children’s beds. At any rate, the world has had no problem filling up, and mankind has, for the most part, been happy to comply.

I say “for the most part” because at times (and there is no time like the present) man has not only foolishly rejected the blessing but has withstood it, slighting the command. On the other hand, we can look at the refusal on the part of men and women either to marry or have children or both as one more sign of God’s judgment and the withdrawal of His blessing. Either way we look at it, God’s command to us to “get married and have lots of kids” is found in that corner of creation He labeled “very good” (see v.31), and we are blind and foolish not to see it that way too. That is the message of God’s Word from here at the beginning to the very end: Fruitful marriage is a blessing. Give God thanks for it, and do your part to bring it about.

As with so many other things in this fallen world, however, it needs to be said quickly that if an otherwise happy couple cannot have children, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are “under God’s curse” or that they are somehow being disobedient. There are people who are as fertile as all get out who also don’t want to have children, and there are people who are not but do. That is part of the Jobian world in which we live, where God’s purposes for each of us are overly scrutinized in vain. What is one to do? As with all things, pray, obey, and give thanks. Pray for good marriages, be obedient to God in them, and pray for God to reward you with children. And then give God thanks for whatever comes about (“in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you—1 Thessalonians 5:18).

“Lord God, we give You thanks again for the creation of man and woman, and we thank You for Your creation of billions upon billions of men and women and children down through the ages to the present. We thank You for the “be-fruitful-and-multiply” blessing You have poured out on mankind—to the tune of over five billion living in our time—and we pray for Your blessing to multiply as well. God, grant us good marriages, and, God, grant us good children, who will love You and serve You and glorify You in their lives forever. We pray You would grow Your kingdom through the multiplication of converts, and we pray You would grow Your kingdom through the multiplication of godly families and the godly individuals who fill them. Fill the earth with Your people, dear God, and help us to be both faithful and grateful, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”