Genesis 7-9

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:1).  God’s purpose for humans from the beginning had been abundant life: fellowship with Him and peace with one another while working fruitfully on the earth.  After humanity’s level of violence reached an unbearable height (ch 6), God wiped out a generation and re-started with Noah’s family.  Noah’s family received a new covenant, a call like Adam and Eve’s: live fruitfully under God’s rule.

“For God made man in his own image” (9:6).  Even if humans reject God, they are still His image-bearers.  Our lives and relationships bear peaceful fruit when we follow His design for life on earth.