Scripture
29 God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
Audio Commentary
Abstract
The sixth day’s work continues without any new creation out of nothing: God simply provides food, appointing the plants and fruit of the earth to sustain both humanity and the animals. The point is preservation — God knows what His creatures need and, out of the richness of His love, supplies it, a provision whose fullness is finally found only in Christ. Notably, every creature, even those now carnivorous, was first given a diet of greens and the earth’s bounty.
Brief Observations
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Provision, not new creation — This third part of the sixth day contains no creation out of nothing; it concerns preservation, as God appoints food to sustain the life He has made.
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God supplies what His creatures need — God knows what is required for survival and, from the richness of His own love, gives it — every support and comfort of this life finding its fullness only in Christ Jesus.
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Food for every creature — The provision extends to the whole animal kingdom; even the creatures known now as carnivorous were first given diets of greens, fruits, and the bounty of the earth.
Full Commentary
Scripture says God preserves both man and beast, and this preservation is highlighted in these verses. This passage represents the third part of the sixth day’s work, but we don’t see any ex nihilo creation events. We see an ordination from God which determines every green plant shall be food for both man and beast. In the pre-Fall created order, there was no need for carnivorous diets. Man was given green plants, fruits, and other products of the Earth to be his food. The same was true for the animals. We don’t see any instruction to eat meat until after the Flood in Genesis 9.
I want to be careful here. I love eating meat and the thought of a vegan diet is intolerable to me. But it would not have been this way before the Fall. My craving for meat is a consequence of the cursed creation. Fruits and vegetables would have been sufficiently satiating in the pre-Fall created order. Humanity was made out of the earth and so we were maintained out of it. Our earthly sustenance keeps us alive and so we should thank God for that. But even this sustenance is temporary and can’t stave off death forever. Jesus gives us the kind of living water from which once we drink deep — we shall never thirst again.
God knows what you need to survive and from the richness of His own love He gives it to you. Only in Christ Jesus may we have all the supports and comforts of this life. Today His providence is so bountiful that most of us have lost the ability to hunt for or grow our own food. We simply take a short trip to the grocery store and all the food we could possibly imagine is right there for us. As we live and thrive in the Lord’s bounty, it’s important that we remember to thank Him and to live in His glory. With the exception of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve lived in contentment concerning their food. God supplied food for their lives, and so they did not demand food for their lusts. This should teach us to be thankful for the providence of God and not to miss it by always coveting the next best thing.
In addition to providing food for humanity, God also provided it for the animal kingdom. All creatures, even those we know as carnivorous today, were given diets of greens, fruits, and the bounty of the earth. God cares about animals. God cares about animals probably more than you do. No creature is small enough or insignificant enough to escape His careful gaze. His faithful providence for the animal kingdom is another reason we should praise and glorify God. He satisfies the daily desire of every living thing and allows them to feed at His table every day. God is a rich and bountiful steward of the Earth, and this should encourage us to vest our faith in Him that He will give us what we need to eat and what we need to drink. We don’t need to resort to soliciting manipulative trade deals or stealing goods and services in order to be fed. God provided for Adam and the animal kingdom despite their lack of reciprocity. He still provides for humanity and the animals without reciprocity. So He certainly won’t allow His saints to deteriorate into privation while granting sustenance to all these lesser creations. God feeds His birds, and so we can rest assured He will feed His human babies.