And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28 KJV

After God created mankind in his own image, he blessed both male and female, commanding them to “be fruitful and multiply.” The Lord directs men and women to fill the earth with offspring, bringing it under their control. God tells mankind to subdue, or tame the land, giving them dominion or authority over all living creatures. 

The meaning of God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply’ is clear enough. Our Creator intends for us to come together as man and wife to have children with each successive generation increasing our population. Jesus teaches the godly foundation of marriage in Mark 10:6-8 saying, “But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. WEB”

Subdue the Earth

Beyond that, God made us stewards over the land. To subdue the land, we transform the wild,uncultivated landscape into something more manageable for each of us. This great responsibility led mankind to build roads, create organized communities, plant crops and do many other things that demonstrate our mastery of the environment. 

Finally, the Lord gave us authority over other living things of his creation. This too is a great responsibility. We manage our livestock for food and fish the waterways for the same reason. We raise chickens and gather their eggs. But beyond this, we ensure that animal populations are kept under control and that each of them thrive. To do so, we protect endangered species, caring for wild creatures as we do our pets and domesticated animals. Clearly, mankind is unique in this respect.

Yesterday’s Devotional: The Way