The Covenant with Noah

We spoke last week on the corruption of the world after the fall. How the world was becoming increasingly sinful. How there was a war between righteousness, and evil.

Great judgement was going to fall on the earth.

This brings us to the point of the flood. A time when God would de-create, and re-create the world. For the world would be totally changed after this point.

As we go through, I’m going to contrast parts of the Noahic covenant and the New covenant that we are part of.

First Noahic Covenant

Genesis 6:17-18

Established with Noah

This covenant is established with Noah and his family.

Why with Noah?

Genesis 6:8

Noah found favor.

The Hebrew word hen means an un-merited favor.

Why did God choose Noah?

It says in v.9 that Noah was a righteous man, but the usage of the word hen means that God chose Noah for His own glory.

God chose Noah, becasue God wanted Noah to be the 2nd Adam of sorts.

He wanted Noah to be that father that would train his kids to follow God.

When God establishes covenant’s, and calls people to be in a relationship with Him, it is on His terms.

We see the New Covenant established in the same way.

It is with the elect. They are the one’s who God places His Spirit within.

Whom God gives new hearts to.

Salvation from Judgement

Because of the wickedness of the world, the whole earth was about to be judged.

God is providing Noah a way of salvation.

With Noah, it was salvation from the physical flood.

In the New Covenant, it is salvation from hell and the final judgement.

Covenant Requirements

God tells Noah to build an ark.

He tells him how he is to build the ark, and gives Noah the necessary time to build it.

But the requirement for salvation from the flood is that Noah is to have faith in God, and build what He asks.

Genesis 7:1

Noah was righteous.

Why?

Because he obeyed God.

He fulfilled the covenant requirements that God had established.

In the New Covenant their are requirements as well.

It is only through Jesus, He is our Ark.

Not only that, but if we know Jesus, it will show in our lives by us obeying His commandments.

It is by grace we are saved, but that grace will have an effect in our lives.

The Flood

Genesis 7:11-12

The fountains of the deep burst forth, and the heavens opened.

For 40 days and 40 nights it rained.

Genesis 7:20-22

Everything was covered with roughly 22 feet of water.

The Turning Point

Genesis 8:1

But God remembered.

No sweeter words have been spoken.

God does not forget those He is in covenant with.

Though it has been 150 days that they had been locked in the ark, they were not forgotten by God!

They may have been in the midst of judgement, but God preserves and upholds those who He is in covenant with through the judgement.

Why?

God loves those who He is in covenant with.

When you are in covenant with God, you will never be forgotten.

You are a cherished son or daughter of the God of the universe. He remembered Noah, He will never forget you.

We face difficult times and believe God has forgotten us, that is why we are going through hard times.

Or maybe we believe we don’t have enough faith.

Romans 8:28-29

Romans 8:28–29 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

This means that God is using those storms in your life. To make you into the image of Christ.

We say we love Jesus, we must learn to love the process God uses to bring us to Jesus.

Skip depending on time

Genesis 8:1

A Ru-ah to blow on the waters.

Gen 1:2

Genesis 1:2 ESV

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The ru-ah of God hovered over the face of the waters.

I don’t think this is a coincidence, do you?

Just as the ru-ah hovered over the waters at the point that God was creating all, the ru-ah is blowing across the waters. God is recreating the earth.

A new world for Noah to take dominion of.

The ark finally settles, they are able to get out and....

Noah Worships

He builds an alter to the Lord and worships God for His provision.

Those in covenant with God realize the grace that they have been given, and it causes them to worship God!

How is your worship?

The result of the understanding of grace, is worship.

What comes out of your life?

Is it praiseworthy to God?

Second Noahic Covenant

God had made the first covenant to be for Noah and his family.

This time God is establishing a covenant with all humanity, the animal kingdom, and the earth.

For this is what it covers.

He Will Not Destroy the World with Water

Genesis 9:11

Within this Noahic Covenant God is understanding that the intentions of the heart of man is evil. (Gen 8:21), but God is giving grace saying that everything will continue regularly until the consummation of the age.

God will continue to extend common grace to both the seed of the woman (those who follow God), and the seed of the serpent (those who don’t follow God).

Matthew 5:45

Matthew 5:45 ESV

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God demonstrating common grace revealed by the Noahic covenant by allowing the sun to shine and rain to fall on those who are just, and unjust.

This is all a means of grace.

Genesis 8:22

God says that the world will continue as it has.

The seasons will not be disrupted.

The sun will always rise.

The seasons will always come.

Once again, this is common grace that God is extending to all mankind.

No Covenant Requirements

Unlike other covenants, God doesn’t give any stipulations for this one.

God will fulfill this, even though man doesn’t deserve it.

We have that question: why is there so much evil in the world?

God has promised not to smoke us again!

Though the world is evil, He is being longsuffering and gracious, allowing mankind the opportunity to repent.

Everything continues as it was because of this covenant.

A Re-Capitulation of the Creation Blessing

Genesis 9:1

Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth.

Not just having kids, but Godly offspring.

Genesis 9:3

Again, the dominion mandate.

God has given the things in this world as a gift for us.

Before it was just vegetables, now it is meat as well.

Genesis 9:5-6

In the creation account, God stated that He had created man in His image.

Here God states that the fall didn’t nullify that, and even that their is a great punishment for killing someone in the image of God.

To the extent that God requires a “reckoning.”

This isn’t a prophecy, such as if you kill, it will happen to you.

This is the authorization for the use of capital punishment, lawful use of force.

If you kill someone created in the image of God, the punishment, is death.

The Rainbow

Genesis 9:12-13

God gives a sign, as a reminder of this covenant with creation, that He will be gracious towards all of mankind until the end.

This sign, is the rainbow.

I believe God also gave this to Noah as a sign for whenever it started to rain again. Before this, there hadn’t been rain (Gen 2:5-6).

The first time Noah had seen rain, was when it destroyed the world.

Now whenever it rained, there was a reminder in the heavens.

God is gracious.

God has given us a sign within the New covenant

Baptism is the first sign we look at.

It is a sign saying I am dedicating my life to Christ.

I am dying to myself, and rising to live new for Jesus.

Communion

We partake in a sacred act, remembering that Christ’s body was broken for us.

That His blood, was shed for us.

When we partake, we proclaim what marvelous works He has done for us, until He comes.

Let’s remember, the amazing grace, that God has demonstrated towards us, in being in covenant with us.

Benediction:

May our amazing God who is faithful to those He is in covenant with, continue to keep you and strengthen you with His grace through this week.