They will be yours for food
Genesis 1:29 - The most important lesson to learn from this single verse is that God has always provided for mankind’s sustenance, from the time we were created until the present day.
Genesis 1:29 as depicted by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”
Genesis 1:29 NIV
In the beginning… there was Genesis. And on the sixth day of the Creation, God made mankind and everything that mankind would rule over, “the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26 NIV)
I’ve mentioned before that every time Barb or I write one of our devotionals for Heaven On Wheels, we learn something new. Although Genesis 1:26 pointed out that mankind (which was created in Genesis 1:27 as male and female humans - note the clear distinction between the sexes) was to rule over all of the other creatures on the earth, it didn’t say that those other creatures would be food. Today’s verse defines what mankind would eat, and it would be “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.”
Does this mean that we were meant to be vegetarians? No, although up until the time of Noah animals were not thought to be food. Mankind was given God’s permission to eat the other creatures only after the flood that Noah and his family survived, in Genesis 9:3 — “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
If you’re like me, you probably thought that Adam and Eve and their progeny enjoyed the occasional lamb stew with vegetables. No, those first ten generations of humans only ate the fruit of plants with seeds. Lesson learned.
With that information out of the way, let’s look at the rest of the verse bit by bit. It begins with the words “Then God said,” three little words that emphasize God’s authority over His Creation and the power of His Word. What does He say next? “I give you,” teaching mankind that God provides for all living creatures, and that He has set aside a particular gift — “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it” — for mankind’s sustenance.
Now why would God set aside only plants with seeds being food for mankind? Well, these plants can (like humans) reproduce, making them a sustainable and continuous food supply. By opening up the food store to “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.,” God was anticipating the spread of mankind across the planet when they followed His command in Genesis 1:28 to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” Wherever mankind went, God would provide for them.
Those plants and trees would sustain human life for the ten generations until after the flood subsided and God gave His approval for humans to eat everything else… until the dietary laws were set down in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. God set up these restrictions to set the Hebrews apart from all other races on earth, to basically mark them as His possession. At the time the kashrut (כַּשְׁרוּת - kosher law) was handed down by God, most Near Eastern cultures ate shellfish, pork, and carrion birds.
Bible Hub notes that
“Anthropological field studies (e.g., Mary Douglas’ “Purity and Danger,” 1966) confirm that food taboos serve almost universally as ethnic boundary markers; Leviticus anticipates this sociological reality millennia earlier.”
and also
As a behavioral scientist, one recognizes that habits create neural pathways (see Hebb’s rule, 1949). Repetitive ritual obedience in food prepared Israel for deeper moral obedience (Leviticus 19:18). The apostle Paul later notes that the Law acted as “a guardian” directing behavior until faith was fully revealed in Christ (Galatians 3:24).
Although they didn’t know it at the time, God was also protecting His people through the dietary laws, since shellfish concentrate dangerous bacteria and heavy metals, pork was often infected with parasites such as Trichinella spiralis, and carrion birds are reservoirs of salmonella and avian flu!
The most important lesson to learn from this single verse is that God has always provided for mankind’s sustenance, from the time we were created until the present day.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord in Heaven, we thank You for providing us with nourishment through the variety of foods that sustain our bodies and enrich our lives with enjoyment. May we always recognize and be thankful for Your hand in the blessings of the earth. Help us to be good stewards of the resources You have given us, and remind us to share Your blessings with others so that all have access to the food You provide. AMEN.
I hope you don't mind my sharing this...
HOW NOAH'S FLOOD CHANGED EVERYTHING - THE ATMOSPHERE, PEOPLE'S AGES, SEASONS, SOURCES OF FOOD (A Summary)
Since Genesis says at first, it never rained but the earth was watered by a due rising up from it. That would be possible by a constant cloud covering like what Venus has. Finally, during Noah's time, Genesis 7:11 says (1) the fountains of the great deep (oceans) burst OPEN, and the flood gates of the sky were OPENED causing it to rain.
It rained 40 days. I used to live in Washington state where it rains every day except around September and October. So, 40 days of rain is not enough. But we know there are springs under the ocean. So, God added them to the rain with what we might call a great Tidal Wave.
Genesis 7;19-24 says the flood prevailed more and more on the earth for 150 days five months) until it was over 20 feet higher than the tallest mountain.
Now look at Genesis 8:2. the fountains (springs) of the deep (ocean) were CLOSED back. But the rain was only STOPPED/RESTRAINED.
Many scientists believe that our atmosphere of a constant cloud covering (causing a greenhouse effect) was broke up possibly by an icy moon breaking through it. We know that the moon affects our tides. Remember how the waters rose for 5 months? Remember all the mammoths that used to exist here? Remains of them found intact at the Poles show that they were frozen immediately and even had unchewed prairie grass in their mouths. That would have happened when the icy moon crashed through the atmosphere.
Now, notice what else happened after the flood. People's ages went down. Noah lived to be 969. Son Shem lived to be 600. Son Arphaxad lived to be 438. Grandson Peleg lived to be 239. With a constant cloud covering would be the protective ozone layer keeping out radiation from the sun. That is why a nuclear bomb is so dangerous; it can kill just from the air breathed.
That meant no more long-living animals with their "tough meat". So, God made the animals fear us, and he gave us animals to eat (Genesis 9:1-3)
Annnd last, but not least is the beautiful rainbow which God put into the sky (Genesis 9:13-14) that could be seen among rain clouds. Of course, with a constant cloud covering, no one could even see the sky, let along a rainbow. So, after the flood waters stopped and Noah looked up, he saw BLUE SKY for the first time. And among the few remaining rain clouds, he saw a RAINBOW for the first time.
SOURCE: "The Biblical Flood and the Ice Epoch" by scientist Donald Wesley Patten
What else? Genesis 8:22 says we now had seasons. And last but not