The Church universal has been reading and listening to the Book of Genesis being read at Mass......I also listened to Fr. Mike Schmitz, reading on his podcast, "The Bible In A Year," from the Book of Genesis. (Fr. Mike's podcast is amazing and I highly recommend it!) It is the first podcast I have listened to everyday! What a great idea!
But getting back to the first book of the Bible, it has struck me that three times in the Book of Genesis, God commands us through God's inspired Word, "Be fruitful and multiply." Be fruitful and multiply-- three times.
Where do these three demands from God appear? In the first chapter of the Bible, "God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them saying to them, 'Be fertile and multiply', fill the earth and subdue it.." (Gen.1:28)
According to the Great Flood story in the Bible, Noah and his family and all the animals were on the open waters in the Ark for 150 days and then on dry land (Mt. Ararat) for another 100 days and then...." God said to Noah, 'Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons' wives. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you-all bodily creatures, be they birds or animals or creeping things of the earth and let them abound on the earth, breeding and multiplying on it." ((Gen.8:17)
In Chapter 35 of the same book, God says to Jacob, "Jacob is your name, but your name shall no longer be Jacob, Israel shall be your name. So he named him Israel. And God said to him: 'I am God almighty- 'Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations shall stem from you...." (Gen. 35:11)
I never realized until recently that this command was given three times in Genesis. I find that interesting. It makes me think......
Nancy
