The Promise of With

The Preciousness of Life

Genesis 9:1–7 (NIV)

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

“Whoever sheds human blood,

by humans shall their blood be shed;

for in the image of God

has God made mankind.

As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

Noah and his sons are commissioned like Adam and Eve in Genesis 1 to go out and reproduce. We were designed for relationship. Take note that our very existence centers around the blessing of multiplication. We can not reproduce on our own, but it is a blessing from the Lord, a continuation of His blessed act of creation.

New relationships form. Fear and dread describes the new relationship between man and the rest of creation. This could be to protect mankind as they multiply. But with this fear comes a responsibility given to man by God. Man is responsible for the life of animals.

In the blood is the life. Life is precious.

The Covenant of With

Genesis 9:8–11 (NIV)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

God makes a covenant with Noah to preserve creation. Never again will life be destroyed by water.

This is a one sided covenant between God and His creation.

In spite of sin, God will not destroy His creation but will bring about salvation by another means.

The problem of sin is far more than just making better choices or putting new practices/habits into play. Sin rots our very hearts. Sin is always a heart issue because the violation of sin strikes at more than just action or deed but it corrupts motivation, perspective and violates the heart of our relationship with God. At the heart of sin lies our rebellion against God. This can not be rooted out with a restart of corrupted people. Sin must be rooted out of our hearts. We need a Savior.

The Sign of Promise

Genesis 9:12–17 (NIV)

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

The rainbow becomes a reminder to us of the faithfulness of God to uphold His promise. It is a sign of the patience of God and His willingness to not destroy us but provide a means for our redemption. It is a sign of the importance that the Lord has placed upon relationship with us. It is the promise of With for the rest of time.

As the proclaim the promise of the rainbow, we are reminded that above all else, God values His relationship with us.