Covenants: Noah

Go with me to Gen 6:9-22

As anyone else enjoyed this series?

I have loved studying it and I have loved hearing it

The purpose of this series is for us to better understand and see how God is true to His word! If God said it - we can believe! We can have faith for it! He is a covenant making God.

Who knows its never good to make agreements with someone who is dishonest? Any one ever play monopoly with a cheater?

That IS NOT God! He is the best person to make agreements with because He will never lie!! He is wholly good - Completely HOLY!

Covenants help us to understand Gods purpose and His will.

There are 3 components in every Covenant God makes:

The Words of the Covenants (the vows, the promises, or curses)

The Blood of the Covenant (there is a sacrifice, there is a cost, “This is my body; this is my blood)

The Seal of the Covenant (your wedding ring, the clothing God provided)

So I initially talked about Adam, Pastor has talked about Abraham, today I’m going to be speaking about the Covenant God affirmed with Noah.

I have essentially 2 main points today: God is faithful and steadfast and His purpose for us has not changed /// & /// that God is full of redemption - even after our failures.

Genesis 6:9–22 (ESV)

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

As many of you may know the story — Noah built the ark, rain and floods came, only Noah, his family, and all the animals God told them to bring were saved.

You see this through chapters 7 and 8

God then made the waters subside and then established His covenant with Noah …

The Words of the Covenant

Genesis 8:20–21 ESV

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.

Genesis 9:7–13 (ESV)

7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.

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.

All of these covenants are not independent.

They are the continuation of the same covenant. Each one building or refining upon the other.

It all goes back to the same Covenant God initially made with man — and is finally fulfilled and seen in Jesus: the New Covenant.

The purpose of man has not changed.

Adam didn’t make God have a “oopsy”

Regardless of the sin you might have committed — your purpose is the same! God hasn’t given up! The Covenant is still available for you to walk in! God’s end of the bargain remains!

As Romans 3:3-4 …

Romans 3:3–4 (ESV)

3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar

And we see how these are all the same Covenant from the original Hebrew of Genesis.

Remember — the Bible was not written TO you but FOR you.

Genesis was written TO the Children of Isreal nearly 1,500 years before Jesus was even born.

So sometimes we have to do a little work to take our cultural lens off and do our best to see whats really being said — What the authors original intent is

Karat Berit vs Heqim Berit

Karat Berit means to cut a covenant - it is the initiation of a covenant.

But that’s not the word used here in verse 18. Moses, who wrote Genesis, uses the words “Heqim Berit”

Which means to affirm a previously established covenant

So exactly what Pastor Mark has been saying

Gen 9:9 pic of the Hebrew — I think that stuff is cool

-What you’re going through isn’t new - What God wants to do in you and through you isn’t new! A covenant has already been established! Walk in it!

Your problem may be new to you — but your solution is very. very old

Hear me - you don’t need something new. You actually need something very very old.

GK Chesterton sailing to a “new” land.

Orthodoxy Chapter I—Introduction in Defence of Everything Else

I have often had a fancy for writing a romance about an English yachtsman who slightly miscalculated his course and discovered England under the impression that it was a new island in the South Seas

Thinking he was the first to arrive he was actually the last

Orthodoxy Chapter I—Introduction in Defence of Everything Else

I have kept my truths: but I have discovered, not that they were not truths, but simply that they were not mine. When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all Christendom

What is he saying?

The only new discovery we need is the need of an old religion

God has laid out the answer and purpose to life since the garden of Eden … it hasn’t changed.

The answer to your situation and your life is not something NEW

You don’t need a new car - new house - new city - new job.

You need something very, very old.

God isn’t crafting a new covenant with Noah but reaffirming an old one through Noah

God is always true to His word even when we are not.

And Noah wasn’t perfect …

Genesis 9:20–23 (ESV)

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

Some of the similarities between Adam and Noah

Gen 1 - Waters of chaos cover the earth

Gen 7 - Waters of Noah cover the earth

Gen 1 - Spirit hovers over the face of the water

Gen 8 - Dove “hovers” over the face of the waters

Gen 1 - World was finished and God rested

Gen 8 - World remade and God receives sacrifice of rest

Adam - Man is commissioned in God’s image

Noah - Man is recommissioned in God’s image

Adam - Commanded to fill the earth

Noah - commanded to fill the earth

Adam - God brings animals to be named

Noah - God brings animals to be delivered

Adam sinned in a gardan

Noah sinned in a vineyard

Adam partakes in fruit from the tree of knowledge

Noah wrongfully partakes of the fruit of the vine

Adam shamefully naked

Noah shamefully naked

Adam’s sin bring curse upon his seed

Noah’s sin bring curse upon his seed

These are NOT new issues or new failures. It is showing a pattern of fallen man.

You and I - outside of God - are in a pattern, a cycle, of sin.

The Word of God is always timely in that it is TIMELESS.

This isn’t relevant because it happened to them but because it happens to everyone.

In spite of great sin - God’s plan of redemption is on display!

In spite of great sin - God initiates covenant with Noah and a plan for redemption — what we read in 6:18

Even in a godless world that deserved death — God, through His Covenant, made a way for redemption!

The Blood of the Covenant

What was the first thing Noah did when he got off the ark?

He built an altar — this is the first mention of an altar in Scripture. Especially “to the Lord.” This was a set place dedicated only to God.

Genesis 8:20 ESV

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.

There were distinctions between clean animals and unclean animals. Remember this is before Moses and the law.

Noah wanted to do it right!

And Noah does “some of EVERY clean animal” — this was costly. This was a lot!

Noah is willing to sacrifice these NEEDED animals in worship because of what God has just done for him.

Worship is sacrifice — there was an extravagant amount of worship - because Noah recognized the extravagant amount of Grace God had given Noah in saving him.

Is our worship an accurate representation of the Grace God has given to us?

The Sign of the Covenant

The seal of this Covenant is clearly and famously - the rainbow

The rainbow is a sign of Gods purity and Gods redemption.

Its not a sign of pride … They honestly couldn’t have used a more ironic symbol for pride. It was pride that sent the flood in the first place.

Man exalting himself over God

no — The rainbow is a sign of Gods purity and Gods redemption.

His purity because He will not stand for sin — He is holy and perfect.

And His redemption because - in spite of great sin - he still initiates relationship and redemption for us

There is great judgement on those outside of covenant and great mercy shown on those inside of covenant.

We see this same thing played out in the new covenant with Jesus today — Remember — ITS THE SAME EVERLASTING COVENANT

But now — we don’t sacrifice bulls and lambs to enter into covenant — the BLOOD OF JESUS has been shed and THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS we get to enter into relationship - into covenant - with God!

I am about to rapid fire scripture at you Mark LeMarr style … You ready?? Because …

AND AT THE END OF IT ALL, WHAT DO WE FIND WITH JESUS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION?

Revelation 10:1 ESV

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.

Regardless of how messed up we may find ourselves - the wrath of God has been poured out on Jesus and so under the blood of Jesus there is redemption

The wrath of God is still on unbelievers …

Romans 1:18 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

These are those outside of the ark — outside of relationship, covenant with God

It’s not that God is picking on unbelievers or even sending them to hell … its that they are headed there already

John 3:18 ESV

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Jesus is our only escape — our only chance for life — our only chance for Covenant — our only chance to walk in the Creative Purpose that has been there from the Garden

Romans 5:8–11 (ESV)

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Romans 5:17 ESV

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Originally, Noah and his family survived because of the ark’s protection. Now, believers are baptized in water in identification with Jesus, who was plunged into the earth and ultimately raised from the dead.

1 Peter 3:18–22 (ESV)

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Just as Noah obeyed God by climbing onto a boat to save a few, Jesus obeyed his Father by climbing onto a cross to save many.

Isaiah 54:9–10 ESV

9 “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

The rainbow is the seal — it is the sign — that points to redemption and God’s compassion.

That even in our failures. Even in a world ruled by lawlessness and sin — in spite of that — God is still a God of Covenant and will uphold His Word.

God is not finished with you! Even after judgement — there is always a road to redemption. We know that - and see that now through Jesus.

God will always uphold his promise.

Don’t search for something that is NEW but something that is OLD. This old Covenant is still for you.

God’s purposes for your life haven’t changed.

You need to be under Covenant — You need to be under the blood of Jesus. Because there is a flood coming. It’s not going to be a literal flood again — but its going to be Jesus returning — and returning as a Conquering King!