To be clear - I don't consider this passage to be prayer. It's more like God speaking His authority over Adam and Eve, and establishing reality through His spoken word.
However, the study group is contemplating a statement made about Enosh, Seth's son in Genesis 4:26, stating that men began to call upon the name of the LORD. We wondered if all the communication between God and mankind had been initiated by God up to that time.
With that in mind, at this point in the historical overview, God has created the first people and speaks to them:
God blessed them 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.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so
So - not prayer, but a tally for the count of God-initiated communication toward man.
Some thoughts on this section:
ReplyDeleteThe man and woman don't start making babies until after they are removed from the garden. Do they know what "be fruitful and increase in number" means at this time?
And everything is plant-eating at this point -- the people, the beasts, the birds and the crawling things. No mention of swimming things -- so does that mean no mosquitoes, no carrion birds, and no hyenas - but sharks are around?