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The opening section of Gen 9 we are going to look at over the next couple of days can be divided basically into 2 parts. The first thing God does is He gives some rules pertaining to the natural order of things in general. Then in the second part of the passage he makes a promise. At this point in the narrative of Genesis and the flood in particular the waters have receded, and the Ark is now empty the animals have begun to scatter over all the earth. God now reminds us of a subject he had first disclosed in Genesis Ch 1. When God first created Adam and Eve it tells us this in Genesis chapter one.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

(Gen 1: 28) 

Now in chapter 9 he repeats, that but listen carefully he doesn't repeat all of it.

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

(Gen 9: 1) 

The only part he repeats is to be fruitful multiply and fill the earth. God does not repeat the phrase to, “subdue it” nor it seems will humanity have “dominion and rule over it”. So, the question is why doesn't God repeat the whole original phrase, has anything changed? It appears the fall of man has affected the original intent God had. It appears that after the flood humanity is not able to subdue the earth and will not have dominion over the earth in quite the same way as Adam and Eve did, before the fall. Some theologians suggest that this tells us that Satan now has dominion over the earth and that humanity will not have that level of control again until the Jesus returns. It seems toil will be needed and perhaps a level of responsibility and co-operation with the created order will be needed to allow the earth to flourish. But in the meantime, this verse is telling us man is to continue to populate the earth and to be fruitful and multiply. 

The second thing is explained in verses 2&3

The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your  hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

(Gen 9: 2-3) 

Every moving thing that lives should be food for you that's also different than before. The second thing he does is he makes provision to enable humans to fill the earth. He not only tells Noah and his sons and his family to populate the earth, but God also tells them he has provided animals for food to sustain human life on the earth. Remember God said this to Adam already in chapter one.

See I have given you every herb that you'll seed which is on the face of the earth and every tree that use fruit that you see, and it shall be your food. 

(Gen 1: 29)

Nothing is said about meat in chapter one. Some people actually use the chapter one passage to suggest that God intended for us to be vegetarians and that we should not eat meat. It is true that nothing is said about eating meat one way or another prior to chapter nine, but here God gives human beings explicit permission to eat meat.  In this passage God said to Noah you can eat all forms of meat. I give you all the animals, all the birds, the fish. At this point God it seems explicitly allows the eating of animals for food. There is a new provision allowed by God. But alongside that new provision comes a new prohibition. 

But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

(Gen 9: 4-5) 

In verse 4, it says, you can eat the flesh but not the blood. The idea being is the life is represented in the blood. The point being made here is that all life is valuable and is to be respected but contained within the idea is the perspective that we should respect and enable all life to flourish life. 

There's one more principle at work here and we shall take a look at that next time.