God’s Covenant with Noah

Genesis 9:1-17

¹ So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. ³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. ⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. ⁶ Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. ⁷ And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ⁹ “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. ¹¹ Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Genesis is a book of beginnings. We have seen the beginning of the heavens and the earth in God’s work of creation in Genesis 1; we’ve seen the beginning of relationship with God and man in Genesis 2. In Genesis 3, we saw the beginnings of human sin, the consequences of sin, and the promise of a deliverer. In Genesis 4, we’ve seen examples of the sin and grace which co-existed in the human family descending from Adam and Eve. In Genesis 5 we saw the godly line from Seth to Noah. Genesis 6 through 9 tells the story of Noah and the flood. In particular we saw in Genesis 6:1-8 the corrupt, sinful condition of the world prior to God’s judgement in the flood of Noah. In Genesis 6:9-22, we saw God’s judgment and grace on the last generation of the old Adamic world. In Genesis 7 we saw the deluge itself, and in Genesis 8, we saw how God remembered Noah, dried the land and brought them off the ark. The flood brought an end to the pre-Adamic world with its corruption and violence.

But by God’s grace Genesis does not end with the flood, nor does the story of mankind. In Genesis 9 we have a new beginning. God gives mankind a new start with Noah and his sons. As we go through this passage, keep in mind that it’s all about God. He’s the only person who speaks or acts. Noah doesn’t say a thing and he doesn’t do a thing. God is the subject, the actor, the initiator. He establishes a new beginning, puts forth a new command, and gives a new promise.

Peanuts characters Lucy and Linus were looking out the window on a rainy day. “Boy, look at it rain,” said Lucy, “What if it floods the whole world?” “It will never do that,” Linus replies confidently. “In the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.” “You’ve taken a great load off my mind,” says Lucy with a relieved smile. Linus affirms, “Sound theology has a way of doing that!” If we pay attention to the scripture here in Genesis 9, we will discover sound theology that will bring hope to us as well.

First we see God establishes:

1. A New Beginning (Gen. 9:1-3)

God’s words to Noah in Genesis 9:1, 7 sound familiar to us because they’re a repeat of what God said to the first man and woman in Genesis 1. Genesis 1:28 says, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Moses wants us to see this as a new beginning for mankind. God commissions Noah and his family to spread out across the earth and re-establish human civilization. Just as Adam was head of the human race in the beginning, Noah is now the head of the reconstituted human race after the flood. All humankind will flow from Noah through his three sons. God values human life and ordained the propagation of the human race through families to promote His purposes.

In Genesis 9:2 God reiterate the dominion of man over the animals as He had at the beginning, but here God’s words take on a more negative effect than in Genesis 1. God gives the animals into man’s hands, but their relationship will now be unfriendly. The animals will now “fear” and “dread” man. This change in relationship between man and animals probably reflects the curse on the ground due to man’s sin.

Another reason for this fear is the permission that God gives for men to now eat meat. In Genesis 1-2 God had given the green plants and the fruit of the trees to man for food. But now He gives permission to hunt animals for food and to raise animals for meat. Human life takes priority over animal life.

So God establishes a new beginning for mankind with Noah and his sons. Second God gives,

2. A New Command (Gen. 9:4-7)

In Genesis 9:4-7 God is stressing to Noah the principle: “Respect Life.” Everything flows from that. That rule is applied in two commands. First, don’t eat living animals. That’s the meaning of Genesis 9:4, “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” Since God now gives people permission to eat animals for food, He adds the restriction that they must first be put to death and the blood drained from them. The point of first killing the animal, draining the blood, and then eating it is to show respect for God who gave life in the first place.

This text anticipates the later biblical instruction that the life of the flesh is in the blood. God here is preparing man for understanding the connection between blood sacrifice and atonement. In Leviticus 17:10-11 the Lord will command Moses,

¹⁰ ‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

God’s command here in Genesis 9 and the laws He gives under Moses are meant to establish the connection between the blood and life and atonement. The ultimate fulfillment of this principle is the shed blood of Jesus Christ that atones for the sins of the world.

The second command for respecting life is: Murderers should be put to death. This is the plain meaning of Genesis 9:5-6

⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. ⁶ Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.

If a man sheds the blood of another man, by the hand of man his own blood shall be shed. Life for life. If you show such disrespect for human life that you murder it, then you have forfeited your right to your own life. The reason given for this rule is crucial. Genesis 9:6 says it is because man is made in the image of God.

Everyone we know, everyone we meet, every person in the whole world is made in the image of God. We were each created with the ability to know God, to love Him, and to worship Him. That makes each one of us unique and valuable and worthy of respect and honor and protection. And that image of God means that human life is valuable inside the womb, from the very moment of conception.

This is the biblical foundation for capital punishment. We all understand that God is the source of life. He alone has the right to give life or to take it away. But in this passage God delegates to human authority the right to take life in certain circumstances. Later on in the Old Testament God will specify for the nation of Israel certain crimes where the death penalty is justified.

To discuss the issue of capital punishment in depth would take an entire message, but suffice it to say that I am not aware of any passage in the rest of the Bible that contradicts, cancels, nullifies what is said in Genesis 9. Romans 13:4 tells us that when a civil authority (judge, police officer, soldier, etc) acts to uphold righteousness and to punish evildoers, “he does not bear the sword in vain.” That sword of punishment—which includes capital punishment—is part of God’s judgment against those who do evil, and especially against those who take innocent human life.

So God establishes a new beginning, makes a new command and third, God gives,

3. A New Promise (Gen. 9:8-17)

Genesis 9:8-8 says, “Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you.”

The idea of the covenant is the central theme of this section. The word “covenant” is used seven times in these verses (Gen. 9:8-17). In the Bible God makes several covenants with people. A covenant is “a pledged and defined relationship” (Herbert M. Carson, Basic Christian Doctrines [Baker, 1962], ed. by Carl Henry, p. 117). God pledges to do certain things in a defined relationship with certain people. This is the first great covenant of the Bible, the Noahic Covenant. When God makes a covenant, He makes promise. The promise is in Genesis 9:11, “Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Consider the following aspects of God’s covenant with Noah:

It is a unilateral covenant. God took the sole initiative. God said (Gen. 9:9), “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant …” Noah didn’t think this up. He didn’t negotiate with God. God originated this covenant and announced its terms to Noah.
It is a universal covenant. God said (Gen. 9:9-10), “I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.” God included all Noah’s descendants (that’s every human being since then). God even included the animals. God’s promise not to destroy again by the judgment of a universal flood extends to every living thing. While there have been local floods that have killed many people and animals, there has never been a flood of such proportions as the one in Noah’s day.
It is an unconditional covenant. That is, there are no conditions to be met by Noah or any other person. God didn’t say, “If you obey me, I promise never to flood the earth again,” or “If you offer a sacrifice, I promise never to flood the earth again.” God asks nothing of Noah or the human race. No obedience, no sacrifice, no faith, no prayer. This is an unconditional promise made by God in spite of the fact that the world had just been destroyed because of sin, and in full knowledge that the world would soon plunge back into sin. This is a covenant of pure grace, free grace, grace greater than our sin.
It is a covenant guaranteed with a sign. Genesis 9:12-13: “And God said: ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.’” Some think the rainbow first appears here; others think that God is giving new significance to something Noah already knew about. Either way, God’s sign of the rainbow was both gracious and appropriate.

God put the sign in the clouds, where Noah and his family would have looked with fear when the storms came. The same water which destroyed the earth now causes the rainbow. The rainbow appears due to the conjunction of the sun and the storm. It points to God’s mercy breaking through even in His judgment. Coming at the end of the storm, it shows that the storm of God’s wrath is past. Rainbows occur all over the world, thus making the sign available to the same extent as the flood itself. Rainbows display their colors across the full spectrum of light, covering all possible shades and hues. Here is a sign perfectly fitted for the entire human race, at all times, in every location. And it is a sign easily understood by all ages.

Listen to what God says about the rainbow (Gen. 9:14-16),

¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Twice God says that when the rainbow appears in the cloud that He will remember: in Genesis 9:15 God says, “and I will remember My covenant …”; and in Genesis 9:16 God says, “I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant …” I our last study we saw that when God “remembers” it means that God acts on His promises. When the rainbow appears it means that God is acting on His promise not to destroy the world by a flood again. It means God is faithful to keep His promises. And God keeps His promises to the end because,

E. It is an eternal covenant. God calls it an “everlasting covenant.” It will never be revoked or come to an end.

In closing I would like to point out some parallels and differences between God’s covenant with Noah and our new covenant in Christ. Just as God destroyed the world through the flood, and the only ones saved were those in the ark, so He has said that He will yet destroy the world through fire and only those who are in Christ will be saved (2 Pet. 3:4-7, 10). Jesus instituted the New Covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20), through which He promised to deliver all who trust in Him.

The New Covenant is unilateral. Like the Noahic covenant, the new covenant in Christ comes completely from God. He initiated it, He laid down the stipulations of it. God He has done it all in Christ. We can only receive as a gift what He has done.
The New Covenant is universal. That is, it is available to all who will believe in Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:2 says, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” Christ purchased for God with His blood those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev. 5:9). Does that means that all will be saved? Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). It includes all that the Father has chosen and given to the Son.
The New Covenant is conditioned on faith in Jesus Christ. God’s covenant with Noah applies to everyone, apart from their faith. It even applies to all the animals. But God’s new covenant in Christ applies only to those who put their trust in Him as Savior. John writes, “… whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition of the new covenant. Faith not a work that we do. Faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8) that He imparts to your heart as you hear the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ in His Word (Rom. 10:17).
The New Covenant sign is the Lord’s Supper. When the Lord, on the night He was betrayed, offered the bread and the wine, He said that the cup was the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). Just as Noah could look at the rainbow and know that God’s judgment was past, so we can contemplate the emblems of the Lord’s Supper and know that His judgment for us is past. Our sins are forgiven. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,
Slain for us: and we remember:
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross. …

The body of our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Torn for you: eat and remember.
The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life,
Paid the price to make us one. …

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you: drink and remember.
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God. …

The New Covenant is eternal. Jesus said in John 6:51, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

If you come to Jesus, He will not turn you away. His blood will save you. God’s mercy is for you.