Genesis Lessons 8: 15-22; 9:1; 11-16 A Covenant and a Sign
CONTEXT: Last week, in Gen. 6 and 7, we were introduced to the story of Noah, the building of the Ark, and the coming of the great flood. The story of the flood had its roots in Gen. 6:1-6, when God saw the uncontrolled violence of humankind in the world and was sorry that He had created them. But before He acted to destroy the world by flood, God acknowledged Noah as a righteous man and commanded him to build an ark in order to save his family and the animal kingdom, and Noah did all that God commanded. In effect, God had decided to 'reboot' the entire human race except for a tiny godly remnant, and start all over again. Chapter 7 continued the story of the completed ark and the actual flood. The underlying truth of the lesson was that God brings judgment against those who oppose Him, but by His grace, always provide a way of escape to the righteous, and in our time, we only escape the wrath of God when we are made righteous by faith alone in Jesus Christ as Lord.
This week, in Gen. 8:15-22; 9:1, 11-16, we return to the story of Noah as the flood subsides and the ark comes to rest on Mount Ararat. There, its occupants wait a full year for the floodwaters to recede. Noah, in the interim, sends out birds to determine the conditions on the land. Then when the time is right, God orders Noah, his family, and the animals to disembark into a new world that has been remade by the devastation of the flood waters.
Read Gen. 8:15-19 - SO NOAH WENT OUT
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 "Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh-birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth-that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
v. 15: "Then God said to Noah," - The fact that Noah waited for God's direct instruction before leaving the ark wasn't a coincidence. Noah's and his family's survival up to this point had taught him to absolutely trust in God's timing during every step of this ordeal.
v. 16: "Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you." - Everything that Noah has done in the interval since God first spoke to him in Gen 6:13, over 100 years before-God's pronouncement to "end all flesh," the building of the ark, the coming of the flood, and the catastrophic death of all air-breathing life-had ultimately led him to this incredible moment. The fact that this verse specifically refers to Noah and his family is no accident but emphasizes that God has them in sight and understands their desire to feel dry land under their feet once again.
v. 17: "Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh-birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth-that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." - God's command to "Bring out...all flesh" implies that this was not a temporary excursion but an order to completely vacate the vessel, as opposed to living on it. We can well imagine that for the human occupants, the ark had become a source of safety and security, and the idea of totally abandoning it caused them some anxiety. But God has other plans and summarily orders every living thing on the ark, humans included, to "swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply." At this point in history the number one task of the human remnant, like the animals, birds, and insects, is to go out into the world and re-start the process of filing it up again, and to do it without delay! For them, the ark now represented their past, not their future.
v. 18: "So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him." - Once again and without hesitation, Noah sets the example of obedience to God and leadership in his family; God directs, Noah leads, and his family follows him. As they step out, they are the only humans on earth. It will be up to them to make a new beginning.
v. 19: "Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark." - Notice that after over a year of being cooped up on the ark, the animals don't stampede when they sense their freedom but depart the ark in an orderly fashion. The verse also suggests that God was controlling all these beasts with supernatural influence, and Noah surely wasn't a wild animal tamer who could have done it by himself. Since all the animals originally entered the ark in male and female pairs (Gen. 6:19-20), the fact that they left the ark "by families" reflects that they had reproduced during their voyage.
Read Gen. 8:20-22 - NOAH BUILT AN ALTAR
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
v. 20a: "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord" - Noah's first recorded act after leaving the ark is one of worship. He builds an altar to the Lord and offers animal sacrifices on it. This is the very first time Scripture records the building of an altar to God. It expresses Noah's unfailing faithfulness.
v. 20b: "and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar." - Earlier, in Gen. 7:2, God had instructed Noah to bring seven pairs of "clean" animals and birds into the ark. This is the first instance where we learn the God regards some animals as clean and others as unclean (see, Lev. 11:1-47 generally). Only clean animals may be offered as a sacrifice.
v. 21a: "And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma," - Now God responds to Noah's humble offering; He is pleased. Today, our spiritual sacrifices are fragrant offerings to the Lord (Phil. 4:18).
v. 21b: "the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth." - In the context of this chapter, God's promise means that he "will never again curse the ground" by flooding the earth. This does not lift the curse of Adam's sin in terms of having to toil in the midst of thorns and thistles; in short, it's not a return to the paradise of Eden. Man will still have to work hard to survive. But unlike the creation story, this promise is unconditional and not based man's behavior, which is "evil from his youth."
v. 22: "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease." - This clarifies v. 21: From this point in history, God promises that the patterns of nature-day/night cycles, seasons, etc.-will remain as God created them. However, the opening proviso, "While the earth remains," strongly infers this promise doesn't guarantee the earth will continue in its current form eternally. In fact, we now know from prophecy that God will re-make the heavens and the earth at some point in the future (Rev. 21:1ff). But, until then, those living on earth-the age we're in at present-will enjoy God's unconditional blessing of days and seasons.
Read Gen. 9:1 - GOD BLESSED NOAH AND HIS SONS
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." - This is God's blessing and charge to humanity (repeated for emphasis from Gen. 8:17), which echoes God's original blessing and charge to Adam and Eve in Gen. 1:28, and the phrase, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth," is reiterated for a third time in v. 7. This might seem redundant and overly repetitive to us, but it was a common Hebrew literary technique used for emphasis. Even today, we can never hear too many reminders of God graciousness and the continued blessings He gives to us each day. What God is doing here is reestablishing the ('rebooting') the human community originally begun with Adam and Eve. There will be specific differences in this re-start: (1) v. 3 God gives man the right to take animals for food, except they cannot be eaten while still alive; and (2) v. 6 prescribes a death penalty for taking the life of a human. These changes precede the covenant which follows and are not conditions placed on the covenant, which will be unconditional.
Read Gen. 9:11-16 - MY BOW IN THE CLOUD
11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
v. 11: "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." - This verse further clarifies and reiterates the promise God previously made in Gen. 8:21-22, above; specifically a covenant that He will never again destroy the earth by flood. Most covenants (a type of contract) contain terms that the specify both respective benefits and obligations between the parties; however, covenants between God and people are different, because people can't negotiate with God as equals. In this instance, God's promise does not require any reciprocal obligation from humanity. Earlier, however, in Gen. 6:18-22 God promised to save Noah and his family from certain destruction on the condition that he built, load, and provision the ark.
v. 12: "And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:" - Just as God initiates covenants and dictates their terms, He also establishes "signs" that both ratify the covenant and serve as a reminder of it. Later, with Abraham, it will be the sign of circumcision (Gen.17:11) and later still, with the Israelites, it will be the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their doorposts (Ex. 12:13).
v. 13: "I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." This is generally identified as the "Covenant of the Rainbow," however, the word used here for "bow" (Heb. qesheth [keh'-sheth]) can also refer to a war bow that shoots arrows, so that the sign can also be seen as God hanging up his war bow at the end of hostilities as a sign of peace that He will never again send a flood to destroy humanity and animals. While people in general view rainbows as a meteorological phenomena, they are in fact acts of God that symbolize the promise of this verse.
vv. 14-15: "When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." - Here again, we see the Hebrew literary practice of repeating statements over again to provided emphasis, so that vv. 14-15 form one complete thought. Earlier, God had brought clouds that had inundated the earth and destroyed all breathing life except that saved on the ark. Now, He creates a visible sign in the clouds for humanity and animals that guarantees He will never send another flood.
v. 16: "When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." This is yet another repetition of "I will...remember," which might seem odd given the fact that God is all-knowing and never forgets a promise (Ps. 105:8: He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations). While God needs no reminders, He can surely establish His Right to be reminded. He reminds Himself, so we will be reminded, too, of this and all of God's other promises, like "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jer. 29:11).
APPLICATION-God Remembers
