Ezekiel we find a similar message. In Jeremiah when the people are being warned to repent God calls to Judah and Jerusalem, saying to “[b]reak up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—burn with no one to quench it” (Jer 4:3–4). This sentiment is repeated when Jeremiah prophesies about a new covenant of the heart (31:31–34). Similarly, Ezekiel equates unbelievers as “uncircumcised in the heart” (Ezek 44:7–9).
This brief review of fruitfulness in the Old Testament confirms several conclusions. First, God’s promise for mankind to be fruitful and increase in number is supported throughout the Old Testament. Second, the intent to increase in number is in a greater context than just multiplying the population. Third, there is a clear link between God’s promise to increase in number and God’s covenant with Abraham. Therefore, there is also a link between the symbol of circumcision as the sign of the Abrahamic covenant and fruitfulness. Finally, fourth, the intent of increasing in number to become a steward of the earth finds support in the prophetic books.
Implications for Reading the New Testament
Turning to the New Testament, we need to understand how the Abrahamic covenant is fulfilled. The promises of the covenant are effective upon Abraham’s heirs. The Jews at the time of the New Testament understood this literally, either 1) to be under the covenant one had to be born a Jew or 2) one could come under the covenant if they were physically circumcised. The New Testament teaches that anyone could be grafted into the descendants of Abraham (and therefore into the family of God) if they believed in Jesus.
Jesus serves as the link between the people of God (i.e., the spiritual offspring of Abraham) and Abraham’s physical offspring promised in the Abrahamic covenant. At the end of Matthew Jesus asserts his authority over all nations and commissions his disciples to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything he had commanded them (Matt 28:18–20). Similarly, Mark records a scene where Jesus’s physical mother and brothers stand outside the house where Jesus is teaching. To those seated in the circle around him he asks, “who are my mother and my brothers?” Looking at this same group of people Jesus rhetorically responds, “Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:33–35). In Luke, Jesus forecasts through the parable of the tenants that God will take the vineyard (i.e., the right to be the people chosen to mediate his moral rule) away from Israel and give it to the Gentiles (Luke 20:9–19). In John, Jesus speaks of having other sheep (i.e., the Gentiles) who “are not of this sheep pen” (i.e., physical Israel) (John 10:16). Each of these establishes that all mankind (including Gentiles) can be part of the family of Abraham if they have faith in Jesus.
Paul and Barnabas fulfill what Jesus predicts. Abraham’s physical offspring had the first opportunity to represent God’s rule and mediate the blessing (Acts 3:25). But when the Jews reject the gospel, Paul turns away from them to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46; 18:6). By the second century the church was composed almost entirely of Gentiles. In Galatians, Paul refers to the seed God covenanted to give Abraham as finding fulfillment uniquely in Jesus (Gal 3:15–29).
In Romans, Paul interprets God’s promise to make Abraham a father of many nations in the sense that they reproduce his faith. The church at Rome undoubtedly had representatives from many nations at the center of the Roman Empire. To them the apostle writes,
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. (Rom 4: 16–17)
Paul goes on in Rom 16:20, likely identifying the promised seed of Eve with the church at Rome, which represents the nations subject to his rule: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” However, Paul adds in Romans that God is not yet finished with Abraham’s physical progeny. God always retains a remnant among them who also reproduce Abraham’s faith. Indeed, the apostle implies that they may again become the dominant group among the people of God (see Rom 11).
Finally, using language reminiscent of Gen 17, Rev 7:9 envisions, “there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands” praising God. This passage brings us full circle from the beginning of creation to the fulfillment of the blessing to be fruitful and increase in number. Under the new covenant, Abraham’s spiritual seed fulfills God’s plan to have mankind increase in number and act as God’s viceroy on earth. Most importantly, all of mankind comes together to praise God. This review of the New Testament demonstrates that to “be fruitful and increase in number” is closely tied to the evangelistic goal of spreading the gospel message and increasing the number of believers in Christ.
Implications for and identity with the Modern Christian Church
One test remains for our analysis, and that is to take the exegetical information that we found in our analysis of the theme of “be fruitful and increase in number” and determine how that theme should be applied to the modern church. In Gen 1:28 God blessed Adam and Eve 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.” At face value the blessing is straight forward and simple—go and be fruitful and increase in number—in other words, go have babies.
Therefore, our first hermeneutical take-a-way from the study is that children are a blessing from God. This finding is supported in several passages including Ps 127:3, which explores the theme of legacy and the necessity for God at the center of life. The passage reads: “Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from [God]” (cf. RNIV, Ps 113:9). This theme of children as a gift from God and legacy for the family is echoed in Prov 17:6: “Grandchildren are like a crown to older people. And children are proud of their parents.” In another example, Joseph gives God the credit for providing children when Joseph introduces his children to Israel (his father), who passes along the family blessing (Gen 48:9; cf. 33:5).
Children are clearly a blessing from the Lord and they bring joy to a family and a sense of legacy. However, the core meaning of Gen 1:28 goes deeper. The imperative command of the blessing is to have children so that mankind can 1) fill the earth, 2) subdue creation, and 3) rule over God’s creation. Let’s focus on the second and third points, which are ongoing commands. Our second hermeneutical finding is that the modern church needs to act as God’s stewards over creation.
But what does that mean? When we talk about dominion (rule over), it’s helpful to think of it this way: As God’s image bearers in creation, we were commanded to act as his representatives. We were designed, in a very real way, to show the world what God is like (see Gen 1:26). So, when God gave us the command to rule over the earth, the expectation was to do so in a way that reflected his character. Ezekiel 34:4 unpacks God’s expectation of stewardship. In a tirade against Israel’s kings, God says through the prophet, “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.”
The dominion that God desires is one that protects the defenseless and gives justice to the oppressed. Applying this to the command for humanity to exercise dominion over creation, we can see that while we rule over creation, we’re called (as stewards) to protect it. The Bible outlines the role of the king in an ancient Near Eastern context. As an ancient Near Eastern king accepts tribute or taxes from his subjects, so too we may receive a bountiful sustenance from the fruits of creation. Yet also as a king should take care of the weak and poor in his kingdom, so too we are called to guard natural beauty, preserve endangered species of God’s creatures, and even to restore the places that we have too often ruled “harshly and brutally.”
Finally, and perhaps most