Genesis 9
Gospel According To Genesis • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Last Time…
Last Time…
The Flood was meant to be seen as God “De-Creating” & “Re-Creating”
So many parallels to the Creation account
We’ll see that continue into chapter 9
But first, I want to point out an interesting chiasm in the flood story that makes this same point
7 days of waiting for the flood (Gen. 7:4)
7 days of waiting for the flood (Gen. 7:10)
40 days of rain (Gen. 7:17)
150 days the waters prevail on the earth (Gen. 7:24)
150 days the waters subside (Gen. 8:3)
40 days the ark rested on the mountain before Noah opened the window (Gen. 8:6)
7 days between the first and second sendings of the dove (Gen. 8:10)
7 days between the second and third sendings of the dove (Gen. 8:12)
In the middle of a chiasm is where you find the key point:
Right in between the 150 days we find Gen. 8:1
1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over the earth and the waters receded.
The key point we’re supposed to focus on in the flood story…
Is that God, in His loving mercy, is faithful to keep His promises
And that He creates this new creation just the way He created His original creation
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
The earth has been cleansed
Now it’s time to start over with the original plan:
For humanity to multiply & fill God’s planet
2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.
Just as God told Adam & Eve…
He now tells Noah that he is to rule over all the animals
Except this time God tells Noah that he can now eat the animals
Up to this point, humans were to be vegetarians
But now the animals will be terrified of humans…
Because humans will now begin to hunt & eat animals
Like with Adam & Eve…
Noah was given a food restriction:
Do not eat the blood of an animal
Why?
Because blood is the life source of living things
God does not allow humanity to eat the source of life
Does that sound familiar?
Adam & Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit…
Were banned from eating from the Tree of Life—
The source of eternal life
Now humanity is banned from eating from blood, the source of life
When the Law comes along…
This command will be repeated again:
10 “ ‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,11 for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood. 13 “ ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil, 14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood—all who eat it will be cut off.
After humanity is fallen, corrupted, & sinful…
They are no longer allowed to eat sources of life
But then Jesus comes along
He gives his own life & blood for the fallenness, corruption, & sin of humanity…
And tells us to drink His blood in remembrance of His sacrifice
Because of Jesus, we are now welcome to eat from the source of life once again
5 For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative. 6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.” 7 But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
The reason God sent a flood to destroy all life in the first place…
Was because of the abundance of violence on earth
Now He is setting a new standard in place:
If you intentionally take a life, then your life should be taken
This included animals that kill people as well
This new principle of capital punishment…
Wasn’t for the purpose of bringing about more death
It was to hinder it
If you take life, then your life will be taken
So, don’t take life!
God’s ultimate reason for this principle…
Is because humanity was made in God’s image
We are the representatives of God on earth
To murder a human is to murder God’s image
It’s an attack against God Himself
Instead of death, God wans life
He wants humanity to repopulate the planet…
And fill the whole earth
A world full of people living in harmony with one another
That’s what God’s original intentions were for His creation
And that is our mission as Christians
Make disciples of every nation in the world
Fill the world with God’s glory & image
8 God said to Noah and his sons,9 “Look! I now confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you10 and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature of the earth.11 I confirm my covenant with you: Never again will all living things be wiped out by the waters of a flood; never again will a flood destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the guarantee of the covenant I am making with you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all subsequent generations: 13 I will place my rainbow in the clouds, and it will become a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures of all kinds. Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy all living things.16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.” 17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things that are on the earth.”
God makes a covenantal promise to humanity & the animals
He will never again destroy the earth with a flood of water
The sign that He will keep his promise is the rainbow
The Hebrew word for “rainbow” is simply “bow”
Like the weapon
Some have interpreted this to signify…
That God has hung up His bow of judgment
Some have interpreted this as…
God pointing His bow of judgment at himself
Meaning, He would bring judgment upon Himself…
Were He to ever break this promise
Regardless, the point is that God has made a promise will all living creatures…
That He will not destroy the world with water again
And He’s given us a sign that shows us that He remembers & will keep His promise:
A rainbow
