Fresh Start (Genesis 9:1-17)
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Introduction
Introduction
A young couple, not married but intimately active, find out that she is pregnant. A baby? Not in their plans, not convenient, and certainly not affordable. But they have options, right?
A college athlete goes for an early morning jog at the park. Moving to the beat of music in her ear buds, she doesn’t hear a man approach from behind her. As a consequence, her daily exercise routine becomes a crime scene and her life is snuffed out.
A teenager is deceitfully seduced online. He and the seducer exchange images online. Then he is blackmailed, and can only think of one solution to avoid shame: his father’s handgun.
A man — husband, father, friend — is overwhelmed by the stress of a job, making ends meet, and anxiety. Relationships sour, and he finds medication for the pain in a bottle. Before he knows it, he is imprisoned by addiction.
Each of these scenarios are real; they’re not a preacher’s made-up stories for the sake of illustration. But they do illustration humanity’s struggle with the main point of today’s passage. I’ll get to that later.
Two Parts
Two Parts
Genesis 9:1-17 is a story in two parts.
Part 1 consists of a command with a blessing (9:1-7).
Part 2 consists of a covenant with a promise (9:8-17).
Each consists of a prohibition.
Put together, there is one central theme, wrapped up in God’s decision to give creation a fresh start.
Part 1: People partner with God to produce and preserve life (9:1-7)
Part 1: People partner with God to produce and preserve life (9:1-7)
1. There is a command from God: “Be fruitful and multiply” (1, 7).
It is possible because of God’s blessing.
It is possible when people obey.
2. There is authority from God: “They are placed under your authority” (2-4).
The consequences of sin is still evident: “fear and terror”
There is a prohibition: “blood”
3. There is an image to bear: “made … in his image” (5-6).
There is a penalty for taking human life and abusing animal life.
Life is sacred.
Part 2: God makes a covenant with all living beings (9:8-17)
Part 2: God makes a covenant with all living beings (9:8-17)
God is a Covenant-Making God
Covenants are relationships God establishes with people on the basis of his promises. Another way to describe covenant is a treaty. A covenant contains promises that will be fulfilled if the people remain faithful to God. Even so, God keeps his promise, even if people are unfaithful to God. People may abandon God and his covenant but God never abandons us. Of course, a judgment day is coming for all people: in death and in the last judgment when Jesus returns. The covenant of salvation, ratified by Jesus' death and resurrection, is conditioned on belief and repentance. Generally speaking, covenants include two parties. Each party agrees with the conditions and requirements of the covenant. In ancient days, to break a covenant was a very serious offense.
On the night of the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus established a new covenant, which he later ratified by his sacrifice on the cross (without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. )The new covenant was established by a perfect sacrifice so that no future sacrifices are needed. The conditions of the covenant are grace and faith, not keeping the law, which was proven impossible. The "old covenants” were not abolished; they were fulfilled by Jesus. It's interesting to observe the old covenants as progressing toward the new covenant established by Jesus. The covenant with Abraham was
rooted in justification by faith: Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. The sign of the covenant was circumcision. I set apart.
Abraham
In the covenant between God and Abraham, animals ware sacrificed and their corpses we placed on the ground in two rows. Abraham passed between the corpses as a sign of his commitment to the covenant. The torch that Abraham took implied that God is passing through with him. The purpose of the corpses was to remind Abraham of the cost of the covenant and the consequences of breaking the covenant.
Meaning: The covenant with Abraham was rooted in justification by faith: Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. justification by faith
Sign: The sign of the covenant was circumcision: to be set apart.
The covenant with Abraham was renewed with each passing generation: Isaac and Jacob.
Moses
With Moses, God renewed his covenant on Sinai. It was there that God gave the law.
Meaning: Righteousness
Sign: the law
David
Meaning: The covenant with David promised an eternal kingdom with heirs. Again, the promise was conditioned on Israel's obedience.
Sign: a coming Messiah
Jesus
Meaning: Jesus' covenant fulfills all three: We are justified by faith, we are given the righteousness of Christ, and we are heirs of the God’s kingdom.
Sign: The Holy Spirit, who represents the rule of the Messiah in our hearts, and whose presence empowers and inspires us to love Jesus and obey all his commands.
The question is: How does God's covenant with Noah fit into these series of covenants and God's redemptive story? "This covenant with Noah declared that God holds life sacred and that humankind too must preserve life on the earth.” (Ross)
1. God promises to preserve life (8-11).
Considering the inclination of the human heart, this is a gracious promise.
It carries a divine guarantee: “I will never
again …”
2. God gave a sign as a reminder of his promise (12-17).
Only Earth Has Rainbows
Only Earth Has Rainbows
Life on Earth requires a lot of “fine tuning.” Our planet is just the right distance from the Sun to allow freezing and melting, and the planetary axis tilted just so for seasons. There is a moon for tides to circulate and cleanse shores and oceans, an atmosphere to distribute heat (otherwise the sun-side would cook as the night-side froze), and a magnetic field that contributes to our protection from harmful solar radiation.
That all these needs were met (and many more) is all a big coincidence for evolutionists – we just lucked out and got just what we needed.
But we didn’t need rainbows. And yet, as astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez recently noted, we’re on the only planet in the Solar System to get them. What’s needed for a rainbow is:
Suspended water droplets in the atmosphere and the direct sunlight that results from the sun being between the horizon and 42 degrees altitude. This typically occurs just after a thunderstorm has passed and small droplets are still in the atmosphere, and the sky is clearing in front of the sun. Seems like a simple setup. This must be a common phenomenon in the cosmos, right?
But it isn’t so simple. Our moon doesn’t have the atmosphere. Mars doesn’t have the moisture. Venus has too thick an atmosphere and as we head further out, the other planets don’t have liquid water. So, the only planet to have rainbows is the only one with people on it to see them. To evolutionists that’s just one more (coincidence). To God’s people, just another example of his love and care. It’s as if someone has been trying to get our attention with a pretty shiny object writ large across the sky, saying, “Look here. ... This is important!” “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Gen. 9:13).
What does the sign of the rainbow signify?
It is an all embracing sign: it circles the earth.
It is a sign of peace: “I have hung my bow”
It’s a reminder of God’s faithfulness: “Remember” in Scripture always points to God’s faithfulness and his redemptive acts.
It is a reminder of humanity’s responsibility to honor and preserve life.
Two Parts
Two Parts
Part 1: Command and blessing
Part 2: Covenant and promise Put together, there is one central theme: the Sanctity of Life.
Today’s Meaning
Today’s Meaning
1. Since all people are made in God’s image, we must honor life as sacred.
1. Since all people are made in God’s image, we must honor life as sacred.
Make disciples (“be fruitful and multiply”). The greatest respect for the sanctity of human life will compel us to share the gospel with those who are lost so that they can enjoy life in the presence of God forever.
Love people (gossip, prejudice, selfishness, and hostility are an absence of love). God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. That Son, who gave his life for all people, has commanded us to love people, even strangers, even our enemies. The greatest respect for the sanctity of human life is to seek opportunities to serve others. Jesus taught us that greatness in God’s kingdom is becoming less. As divine image-bearers, we give every life the dignity that God intends.
Preserve life (abortion, euthanasia, and addictions destroy life) Life is a gift from God. The greatest respect for the sanctify of human life will motivate us to treat our bodies as God’s temples, speak out against violence, honor the unborn, give mercy and grace to those who choose abortion, and help those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.
2. Since God holds all creation and life precious, we must be good stewards of the earth.
2. Since God holds all creation and life precious, we must be good stewards of the earth.
Conserve its resources. The greatest respect for the sanctity of life will keep us from polluting the world. Though we have dominion over the earth and its resources, honoring God’s creation keeps us from stripping the earth of its glory and selfishly abusing the planet and all life.
Enjoy its beauty but worship God. The greatest respect for the sanctity of life will inspire us to praise God for the beauty of creation.
3. Since God has given us a sign of his promise, we can live in faith and hope.
3. Since God has given us a sign of his promise, we can live in faith and hope.
Though God holds life sacred and all of humanity are made in his image, the sanctity of life is often compromised. Around us are many forms of violence, wickedness, oppression, greed, abuse, and death. The rainbow is one of many reminders of God’s grace and faithfulness. One day Christ will return. He will judge sin. He separate evil from the saved. And he will create a new heaven and a new earth, where we will live forever in the presence of God, in a world where there is no more tears, no more pain, no more death, where the sanctify of life will be maintained forever.
This gives us great hope. We look forward to Christ’s return. And in the meantime, we multiply the gospel, we honor the gift of life, and we worship the giver of life.