The whole world is the product of one family unit, going back to Adam and Eve. We are, then, essentially brethren, all of us. It seems that the antediluvian world was governed by the family, the senior head being the firstborn of each generation after Adam. The firstborn was the chief and oldest member of each extension of that first family. It would seem, therefore, that freedom and love should have reigned in the world of Noah, prior to the Genesis Flood. Sadly, however, that wasn’t so. Instead, violence reigned among the limbs of the first family tree, and violence filled the world (Genesis 6:11).
The basic problem the Lord had to deal with was “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). How, then, could this be corrected, or at least checked and kept from filling the earth with violence, once again, as it had done in those days prior to the Lord’s judgment upon the antediluvian era?
The very first thing God told Noah and his sons was basically what he told Adam, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1; cp. 1:28). He also gave mankind authority over all the animals of the earth and the birds of the heavens and the fish in the seas. Once again, the Lord was reiterating what he first told Adam (Genesis 1:28), but he adds, “the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moves upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea” (Genesis 9:2). This seems to imply a different relationship would exist between mankind and the lower lifeforms, vis-à-vis, while there may have existed a peaceful relationship between man and beast prior to the Noahic Flood akin to friendship, there would now exist a more tense relationship between men and other lifeforms.
No doubt, after leaving the ark in the beginning of summer (Genesis 8:14-16), there were fruits available for consumption, but something was different. For example, mankind’s lifespan decreased rapidly after the Flood. What changed that? It is difficult to say, but perhaps the new diet that the Lord prescribed (Genesis 9:3-4) was intended to help make up for the loss the antediluvian world supplied. I’m guessing here, but, if the age of men is accurate as recorded in Genesis, chapter five, something changed, and mankind’s average age drastically decreased. The new diet may have helped compensate for whatever loss was experienced, but this is also a guess. Whatever the case may be, the Lord changed mankind’s diet, and why this was done isn’t clear. However, the scriptures tell us that life is in the blood (verse-4), and the Lord forbade man eating the flesh of animals with its blood. The beast was providing life for mankind. Therefore, the life for life principle must apply, if a man chooses to eat meat. The Lord reminds us in our diet that man is sinful and life, innocent life, is required to cover his sin Genesis 9:4).
Finally, the Lord concluded with his judgment upon mankind’s sinful nature. If a man became violent and slew another man, the Lord required life for life. This command was intended to keep mankind’s natural tendency toward violence in check. God demanded Noah and his sons and their descendants to judge the murderer and slay him for the innocent life he took. The Lord required the blood of the murder at the hands of both man and beast. The Lord required life for life, because God created mankind in the image of God (Genesis 9:5-6). Thus, the Lord concluded by reiterating his original command to men, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:7).
Smoodock's Blog 