Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them. "Be fruitful, and multiply, and *replenish* the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
Much more than 'birth control' is instructed in this verse. Wonder what God was saying to us when He said to *replenish* the earth? What I do not get is the snip and clip of the instruction given. Now which sect of the Church has dominion over the fish of the sea, or fowl of the air, or over every living thing that moveth upon the earth?
It is even better in the Hebrew. I am in my twelth year of teaching an Intro Scripture course, and this verse is so incredibly rich and important. Of the five verbs of command, my favourite for the last eight years or so has been the fourth—the verb is from the same root as lamb—one might also translate it as “lambify” or “make lamb like,” which makes little sense at first glance to a secular urban culture. That said, if one has spent a fair bit of time around sheep, or if one has familiarity with the Lamb of God and His ways, the verb begins to shed light on all sorts of things.
Not a coincidence that Abel, the one raising the sheep, offered something pleasing to God—he was doing his part to fulfill the fourth verb. I could go on (indeed, I do go on, probably for several hours over the course of the semester, as this verse sheds incredible light over the whole of the Pentateuch, Joshua, and Matthew, which is what we cover).