The New World – Genesis 9:1-7
The flood is behind us; the old world is destroyed. But we serve a God whose mercies are new every morning. His sovereign and grace-filled protection over the life of Noah has provided us with another Adam – a patriarch for the generations to come, and a forefather of the line of promise. In this chapter of Genesis, we gain a fuller picture of the character of God, as we glimpse the depth of his love towards man through the great and incredible unfolding of His Covenant of Grace.
At A Glance…
What has stayed the same from before the fall?
- The Creation Ordinance (v. 1-7)
- Be fruitful and multiply
- Fill the earth and subdue it
- Dominion mandate
What has changed since the flood?
- The dread of man is now on every creature.
- Institution of capital punishment: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
- Capital punishment is not the same as murder. This God-given institution shows that human life is so sacred and so precious, that if you destroy another image bearer of God with malice or intent, then you forfeit your own right to life. The execution of murderers is not merely allowed by God, but demanded.
- This is the first pronouncement that man is still an image bearer of God after the fall. The image is distorted – we no longer reflect it perfectly – but we do reflect it.
We are commanded by God to be His stewards of the earth.
- Steward: One who manages the affairs of the estate on behalf of its owner.
- Psalm 24:1
- Psalm 50:10-12
- The Christian has the highest motive, from any worldview, for caring for the world around us. The reason goes all the way back to Genesis 1, with the Creation Mandate, and is confirmed again by God in Genesis 9.
- People are often drawn to either scorning nature or idolizing it. Christians have a God-given balance between the two.
2. Covenant Stipulations (v. 8-11)
- The covenants are frameworks through which God reveals to us redemption.
- It is not the actions of men that leads God to make this promise. God’s grace leads Him to make this promise despite the actions of men.
We can trust God because of the preservative nature of the covenant
- We witness every day – and take for granted – the preservative nature of this covenant.
- God’s grace restrains the wickedness of men. They will never become as evil as their nature allows by being left entirely to their own devices.
- God’s common grace is faithful even in the lives of unbelievers. How much more for you who are in Christ?
We can trust God because of the perspective of the covenant.
- The covenant has a global perspective. That means that God has a global concern. God plans to redeem the earth and those of every tongue, tribe and nation.
- This should give us boldness in proclaiming the truth because we can be confident that God’s heart goes with us.
We can trust God because of the purpose of the covenant.
- The sign of the covenant is to reassure you that God remembers. It is a sign of reassurance that God does not forget His merciful promises to us. It is not to cause God to remember, as if He could forget anything, but to help us remember that God remembers.
- It is not causal. It is purposeful. It is not causal of a greater reality; it reassures us of that reality.
3. The Covenant Sign (v. 12-17)
- God hangs His bow of warfare in the clouds away from the earth – and us – pointing into the heavens, toward Himself.
- The orientation of the boy foreshadows how God will satisfy His wrath toward sin. The way in which God will rescue His people will be by ultimately pointing the bow at Himself.
- Jesus Christ, in going to the Cross, took the arrow of God’s wrath for you. It is a reminder that He turned God’s wrath away from this sin-cursed world.
- The rainbow pointing to the sky foreshadows a substitutionary atonement.
- The sign of the covenant is not just a gracious symbol; it is a symbol that speaks to us of God’s grace in the midst of God’s judgment, just like the ark.