Genesis 9:1-7 (NIV), “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and move about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
‘But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
Whoever shed human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
"As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
God’s part: 1. He put the fear of man into all creatures. 2. He gave us all animals and plants as food sources. 3. He will require an accounting for any human who is killed.
Man’s part: 1. Don’t eat bloody meat i.e., drain out the blood. 2. Don’t kill people. 3. If a man or beast does kill a human being, he (it) shall be put to death. 4. Have children to populate the earth.
When the Apostles met to work out what practical requirements God desired of the gentile converts to Christianity, they essentially reaffirmed the covenant of Noah. (Acts 15:19-21)
