Genesis 1:22 Commentary and Bible Study

Now you can see it building up. You see light first, what a prince among gifts is light! Then the land, the dry land to dwell on, and the sea which is so beautiful in itself and speaks of power and of might. I think in those early times, it was a very beautiful thing, and innocent and harmless and not violent. But with the vegetation and the creatures there comes great beauty. In spite of the abundance of life created on earth, there was still scope for each of these kinds to expand their populations. We learn that it is a blessing to multiply and even the fish and birds could be said to be blessed by God in this way. It is a blessing from God that his creatures were ever given the means to reproduce. It is a blessing that they are enabled to make use of that means. Life is a wonderful gift of God. Without his first creating life they would have been no way for them to multiply. But if those that God made originally were good, so also with those who were the product of that mechanism of reproduction. And the way in which God bless them was to command them that they should be fruitful and multiply. This is the effect of his command though not a command that is consciously obeyed as in the case of man. So why does God command them if they cannot understand his command? He does it to show that it is by his word that all is accomplished, and if the inanimate part of creation abases voice, much more to the fish and the birds which possess life. Nevertheless they obey without knowing that they obey. They simply follow those instincts that God has put in inside them to procreate and to multiply.