Genesis 9:1-17 "The New World"

Let’s Pray!

Good evening, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 9. Genesis 9:1-17 this evening.

After the creation of all things… mankind disobeyed God and was expelled from Eden…

The firstborn of Adam & Eve… Cain… killed his brother and set a pattern of rebellion that the Bible refers to as the Way of Cain.

In Gen 6… added to this rebellion was an unholy union of the sons of God… which seems clear from Job 1 & 2 to be fallen angels… and the daughters of men… creating giants (fallen or mighty ones)…

“… the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5)

Thus the only remedy by God was to cleanse the earth… and He did so with a worldwide flood.

Only Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives… eight in all… plus 2 of every clean and 7 of every unclean animal were sparred.

Noah found grace in the eye of the LORD. He was a just man and a preacher of righteousness… and perfect in his generations… his genetics not corrupted by the sons of God.

God gave Noah the plans for the Ark and Noah built the Ark as God commanded him to do.

In Gen 7, we observed the great flood destroy all life on earth except for those in the Ark… a type for God preserving His people through the coming Tribulation.

And in Gen 8, we observed the waters of the flood peak covering all the mountains of the earth… and then the waters began to recede… and the Ark settled on the mountains of Ararat…

Noah’s family exited the Ark after a little over a year of the flood waters being on the earth…

And Noah’s first order of business upon exiting was to build an altar to the LORD and offer many burnt offerings.

An offering of total consecration… as an act of worship and surrender to God.

Now we enter Genesis chapter 9… and we see “The New World” after the flood.

“The New World” will be our message title today and reflects upon what we see in the opening of this chapter…

God’s establishment of the beginnings of human government.

And, the Noahic Covenant.

In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage.

Genesis 9:1-17 “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.” 8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

So… post-flood… all life must begin anew… and the words that God speaks in vv 1-2 to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”

And all creatures would fear and dread mankind… and they would be “give into your hand” or “place in your power.”

These word of Gen 9:1-2, should remind you of original creation when God spoke similar words to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God renews his mandate… sharing His will for the earth to be rapidly full of human life.

God wants the habitable earth to be filled with mankind.

I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at the “Worldometer” website? I find it fascinating as it calculates the real time death and birth rates… and the ever increasing fruitfulness and multiplication of mankind.

When I looked on Monday… Global Population was north of 8.2 billion.

The “Day of Seven Billion” was Oct 31, 2011.

The “Day of Eight Billion” was Nov 15, 2022.

The “Day of Nine Billion” is projected to be 2037-2038.

And people get anxious about global sustainability…

There a many today who are panicking by the global population.

Even where they shame those… who would hold to God’s command to be fruitful and multiply… as though having many kids is irresponsible.

They argue against growing population numbers reasoning…

With population growth the argument is resources of food, water and energy are scarce.

There is an environmental impact as more people means higher carbon footprints, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.

There is an economic and social strain where higher populations can overwhelm infrastructure, healthcare, and education systems.

There are many arguments based in human logic… but they remove… the God Factor.

They ignore the original command of God to be fruitful and multiply… and they reject the many promises of God that look forward to…

“the fullness of the Gentiles” (Rom 11:25)… the day the last Gentiles believes in Jesus Christ…

And, the future Rapture…Tribulation… Second Coming of Christ… Sheep/Goat Judgment… Millennial Kingdom…

If you believe the word of God… population increase is not an issue.

God will remove all believing population, the Church, at the Rapture prior to the Tribulation. (1 Thes 4:17)

During the tribulation, the wrath of God is poured out on the world… and population massively decreases. (Rev 6-16)

Plus, some will believe in Jesus during that time… and refuse the mark of the beast… and they will killed by Antichrist’s forces… which is the persecution of the martyred saints.

At the Sheep / Goat Judgment at the end of the Tribulation (Matt 25:31-46)… population decreases again as unbelievers are cast into everlasting punishment.

There will be another population explosion during the Millennial reign of Christ, but then a great multitude will rebel at the end of that time resulting in another massive population decrease. (Rev 20:7-10)

But, once we enter eternity… the New heaven, earth and New Jerusalem… Rev 21…

I get the impression that eternity is well equipped for any population total.

In fact, all saints from the entirety of the earth’s 6000 year history will be resurrected… that has to be a huge number!

Old and New Testament believers and Martyred Saints… will be resurrected…

… in various stages called the “First Resurrection” or the “Resurrection of the Just”… for the Millennial kingdom and after will enter eternity.

And here are cross references for those various stages:

Jesus… the Firstfruits: 1 Cor 15:23

Some saints rose after Jesus’ resurrection: Matt 27:52-53

The Church at the Rapture: 1 Thes 4:13-18

The Two Witnesses: Rev 11:11

The Martyred Saints who died during the Tribulation: Rev 20:4-6

And, Old Testament Saints: Isa 26:19-21, Ezk 37:12-14 and Dan 12:1-3.

And, with all that to say… back to the point in Genesis… I’m NOT worried about the growing world population… 8.2 billion… bring it on…

God has a plan… and he commanded “be fruitful and multiply.”

One can trust in God’s instruction in the beginning and His prophetic plan for the end.

Or, they can deny God… and disguise murder as a humanitarian effort to reduce population through various means of population control.

I trust in the word of God… I trust in the prophetic plan of God…

Psalm 127:3–5 reads, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. 5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them...”

We had four kids… I think we did our part.

But my wife was told, back in 2014, by two Christian ladies in California that we needed to have one more because a “quiver” was five.

Which was just them joking because they had five.

Anyway… I did some research and a quiver could hold anywhere from 12-24 arrows… so we’re probably… all a little behind on our fruitfulness and multiplication.

Before we move on… it’s noteworthy to observe that to Adam in Gen 1:28, God said to “have dominion over the earth and subdue it”, but to Noah God downgrades this to living creatures will have “fear and dread” of you.

Why is that? Well… in the Garden… Adam and Eve submitted to Satan, thus when mankind fell… the dominion of the earth was transferred to Satan.

And, even with his wicked agents wiped out by the flood, he still retained dominion.

This seems be the case just prior to when Jesus began His earthly ministry. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness listen to his claim on authority… in Luke 4:6 we read, “And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”

In the NT age… this church age in which we live… here are some to the titles given to Satan:

“The god of this age” (2 Cor 4:4)… the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2)… “the ruler of the world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11)

1 John 5:19 declares, “… the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

But, Satan’s time is limited…

In John 12:31–32 Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth [the cross], will draw all peoples to Myself.”

Satan… is losing his dominion. He only functions as he does now as permitted so by God.

Because… who presently has ultimate authority.

Well… post resurrection… Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Walvoord wrote, “In His death and resurrection, Christ wrested [or pulled] from Satan any authority the devil may have had over death.”

And Walvoord cited Hebrews 2:14–15 “Inasmuch then as the children [believers] have partaken of flesh and blood [mortality], He Himself [Jesus] likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” [we no longer fear death, for we hold to the promise of immortality through faith in Jesus Christ]

Further, in Rev 1:18 Jesus says, “I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

And keys grant authority to unlock and enter.… or lock and depart.

And, when Jesus returns to reclaim what is rightfully His… the earth and all in it…

Satan will be bound a thousand years… and then released and cast into the Lake of Fire (or eternal hell). (Rev 20)

Whatever limited dominion is granted to Satan at present… whatever influence he has over the world… it’s coming to an end.

And, we say praise God… Hallelujah to that!

Well, back in Genesis… moving on to V3… we read the most glorious words in all the OT and insight into why the animals would fear and dread mankind… because now they would be hunted or farm-raised for processing…

We read in V3… “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.”

Prior to this… mankind were instructed to be vegetarian… to eat herbs and fruits… fruits and veggies… according to Gen 1:29-30.

And there is no record pre-flood of people eating meat in the Bible.

Now I struggle to imagine the rebellious people that lived pre-flood adhered to this restriction, but the Bible is silent to anyone eating meat.

But… NOW… Meats on the Menu!

Your mind might be drawn to the Lord of the Rings quote, "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!"

But that wouldn’t be accurate, because meat was never ON the Menu prior to this.

“Looks like meat's… on the menu, boys!"

Hey… and what a great day this was.

In the Marc translation of the Bible… it also reads, “And Noah ate a tasty Ribeye… he and his sons… and their wives. And it was pleasing in their sight.”

The Marc translation has all kinds of good thoughts.… you just have to look past the “Buyer Beware” sticker.

A fear of mankind is instilled in animals… which serves for their protection… as mankind hunts animals.

I read one serious thought on why God may now have permitted meat.

Morris wrote, “Possibly the Lord also desired thus to show the great gulf between man and the animals, anticipating the dangers implicit in the evil doctrine of the evolutionary continuity of life of all flesh, which ultimately equates man with the animals and denies the Creator, in whose image man alone was made.”

Mankind and animal kind are not on the same plane of existence. Only man is made in the image of God… mankind uniquely having an eternal spirit…

… and animals being created for mankind… who were assigned dominion over them.

Humankind has a terrible tendency to as Romans 1:23 states… to “… [change] the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”

To worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator… which are descriptions unbelieving mankind who is condemned apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

So… perhaps… as far back as Gen 9… God started to show a divide between man and beast so as least some of mankind would not worship animals.

Or dress like furries… oh wait. What a world!?

Now… in V4 of Gen 9… a restriction is given… “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

So, that’s a bummer. No medium rare steaks.

In the OT… when animals were eaten, mankind was to properly respect the blood.

Blood represented a principle of life… and therefore here and written into the Mosaic Law… eating the blood was restricted (Lev 17:14, Deut 12:23)

Leviticus 17:11 reads, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’”

Blood would serve as a covering for sins in the OT… which would find ultimate fulfillment in the work of Christ… and how in the shedding of His blood… atonement is made for the souls of mankind.

Jesus Christ’s shed blood and faith in Him… reconciles believers to God… cleanses them… and makes them righteous before God.

424x in 357 verses in the Bible the word “blood” is mentioned… so this is an important topic to God.

Guzik made a list of 13 of the most significant mentions of blood in the Bible.…

Shadows of things to come at Passover… in the temple… for the priests… as atonement for the people…

Sealing the New Covenant… linked to justification… redemption… and peace with God.

Cleansing us… sanctifying us… giving us victory.

So, blood was not to be eaten in the OT as it served many purposes held sacred… namely as the life of the animal was spilled… it served as a substitutionary death… for the life of a guilty sinner.

… pointing the the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Now… we see the formation of human government come into light beginning in vv 5-6 which speaks judicially about requiring life for life.

If the lifeblood of a person is taken, God will require the offenders life… be it man, beast, or even one’s own brother.

Here we see God’s high view of life. God holds to the sanctity of life.

The word “require” is a judicial term. It carries the idea of investigating…

And as you read vv 5-6… you can see the investigative and judicial authority being passed down to man by God.

Which we don’t read about pre-flood. There was a patriarchal system, but not an established human government that could carry out sentencing… even up to capital punishment.

So, perhaps to help avoid a repeat of the violent and wicked pre-flood world… now… God establishes laws to protect life.

If a life is taken… the guilty party will pay for the crime.

Even animals… in Ex 21:28… we also read about an ox being stoned if they were to gore a man or woman to death.

Human life… above all life is precious to God.

And again… unique to mankind… read the final word of V6 again, “For in the image of God He made man.”

Animals and humans a alike in that we both are made of body and soul.

But only mankind has an eternal spirit. I love my dogs… but I don’t think ‘all dogs go to heaven.’

I do see support for animals being in the millennial kingdom… perhaps in eternity as well, but animals are not equal to mankind… only mankind was made in the image of God… as we read in V6 which reflects Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...”

And, then in V7… God reiterates “be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth...” Lit. to “bring forth in swarms.”

Abundantly means “to swarm.”

The survival of the human race literally depended on Noah and his family having many more kids…

And, they certainly did their part. Life after the flood was something like 4,300 years ago…

And the population has swarmed from 8 people to 8.2 billion people.

So… selfishly… I say to God… “It’s time to wrap this program up.”

And the word replies back… in fact turn to 2 Pet chapter 3… which is 3 books after Hebrews.

2 Pet 3 is a great passage… that references the flood… and God’s plan to in the future again destroy the earth… not through flood, but through fire…

And, addresses the heart attitude of scoffers (mockers)… who question the Lord’s return… they look around and access… “same old, same old… what happened to that promise that Jesus is coming again?”

So, Peter writes to Christians and reminds them about what the prophets said long ago about the day of the Lord…

2 Peter 3:3–13 “… knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. [they forget about original creation and the flood] 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. [which points to the Great White Throne judgment and the end of this earth by fire… and then the new heavens, new earth and new Jerusalem… or eternity] 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [God is outside of time… He counts differently than we do, and…] 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

God’s is not counting time… He is counting people… and God has a set number of people in mind… and He desires all would be saved.

V13 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, [beginning with a most unexpected Rapture] in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, [which is a challenging application from Peter to us… how are you living now… knowing all of this?] because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

That’s how we are to live… in anticipation of the Lord’s coming… and a heart for a world that can be saved from judgment… if they believe in Christ Jesus.

Now… we read several times that God will in the future destroy the earth once again… yet by fire.

And, that does NOT stand in contradiction to what we read next in Gen 9… where God promises He will never again flood the entire earth.

I think a key difference is when God destroys the earth by fire… it’s total destruction of this whole ball of dirt.

An entirely different earth, heavens (universe), and Jerusalem await us in eternity.

Verses the flood which still catastrophic to life, but the earth and heavens remained.

And, as Moses continues in vv 8-11 we read God’s promise to never again destroy by flood, “Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Here God enacts what is called the Noahic Covenant… a covenant by def. is “an agreement enacted between two parties in which one or both make promises under oath to perform or refrain from certain actions stipulated in advance.”

Here and Gen 6:18… still in context of Noah… are the first usages of the word “covenant.”

It is suggested by some that there is an Edenic covenant and Adamic covenant… but the word “covenant” is never used in connection with Eden or Adam.

This is an “unconditional covenant” where it is NOT based upon mankind or animals being faithful to keep their end of the deal… it’s only based upon God never again flooding the earth entirely to destroy the earth.

Interesting to note that God makes this covenant not only with Noah, but also with the animals.

And, while animals do no possess and eternal spirit… the are created by God… and are God’s creatures.

And, scripture declares He cares for them…

He provides food for the birds of the air… Matt 6:26

He provides water and food for the beasts of the field, birds, and wildlife… Psalm 104

Sabbath rest was also for the oxen and donkey… Exo 23:12

There are several examples of how God cares for animals… including writing them into the Noahic covenant… even despite animals not being made in the image of God.

Another interesting observation are two proofs here supporting a global flood… over a localized flood as some like to argue.

First… notice the words in V10 “with you” and “all that go out of the ark.”

God made His covenant with all animals who were with Noah… those that exited the ark… which suggests the flood must have been global.

If animals had survived on land from a mere local flood… they would now be excluded from the covenant because the covenant was only with the animals with Noah on the ark.

So… either God cares not about surviving land animals… which I highly doubt… OR God made His promise to all animals… and all animals were only those on the ark.

Second… for God to make a covenant that there would never again be a flood… it had to be a Global flood.

Because… how many local floods have there been in the last 4000+ years?

There’s been countless local floods. So, to suggest God is making a covenant against any more local floods would make God out to be a liar.

AND scripture declares “…it is impossible for God to lie...” Heb 6:8

Tit 1:2 reads “… God, who cannot lie...”

God is a covenant keeping God. He doesn’t break His promises.

Deuteronomy 7:9 declares, “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…”

So… while people mock God… and slander His name… and says that He lies…

Scripture in many passages testifies the opposite… a

Not to mention the testimony of time… prophecy… archeology… SO many ways…

Over and again… God is proven faithful and true.

In fact… faithful and true in not just His character…

… in Revelation… Jesus is called the “Faithful and True Witness” (Rev 3:14) or simply “Faithful and True” by name (Rev 3:7, 19:11)

So… when the Faithful and True makes a covenant… you can trust it as so.

And, this is important for us, because most notable to our lives is the New Covenant…

God made a covenant that for anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior…

He will redeem them from sin and back into relationship with Him… He will give them His Holy Spirit as a guarantee that He will begin a heart transformation and complete the work bring the believer into eternity.

And, if we can’t trust that God keeps His covenants… then we have a big problem.

So… it’s a big deal to understand the importance of the Global flood… and to trust it as so… because if we can’t trust that reality… how can we trust our New Covenant reality?

Well… as we continue in vv 12-17… we see the emphasis God put on this covenant in two ways… one… he repeats the word “covenant” seven times between vv 9-17… even to call it “My covenant” and an “everlasting covenant”…

And God assigns the most spectacular sign over this covenant… the Rainbow.

Let’s again read vv 12-17 “And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations [all future generations]: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

In the Bible… there are 5-7 Covenants…

Christians don’t agree on all that are officially covenants… but five are widely accepted… the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and the New Covenant.

Some would also add the Adamic and even combine with that the Edenic… and then there is the Land or Palestinian covenant.

Four of the Covenants come with visible signs…

The sign of the Abrahamic Covenant is Circumcision… Genesis 17:11 “… and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

Don’t worry… no circumcision jokes tonight… I got that ALL out of my system on Sunday.

The sign of the Mosaic Covenant is Sabbath Exodus 31:13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

Also vv 16-17 of the same chapter.

The sign of the New Covenant is Communion.

In Luke 22:20 reads, “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

And, here in Gen 9:13… the rainbow is the sign of the Noahic Covenant.

So, when gave the covenants to Noah, Abram, Moses, and the New Covenant… He set forth a sign.

But to David… no sign was given.

But, the covenant was an everlasting covenant (2 Sam 23:5) that from David’s lineage… one would come who’s throne and kingdom would be established forever (2 Sam 7:12)… fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

But, of the visible signs… the rainbow, circumcision, sabbath, and communion… the rainbow is the most visible sign for all peoples of the earth to behold.

On a rainy yet sunny day… we rush outside to catch a glimpse of the rainbow… it’s a most spectacular sight… and it’s original intent is as a reminder of this covenant where God would never again flood the earth… and destroy all flesh.

The flood came because mankind fell into all kinds of depravity, wickedness, violence, continually evil thoughts, rebellion… and demon infiltration into the human gene pool.

Ironically, many people today who reject God and call good evil and evil good have adopted the rainbow as their sign.

I find that interesting because I believe we are in the last days… and by adopting the rainbow… it’s just further visible.

And, it’s not stolen. You can’t steal the rainbow from God. It’s His… in V13… God says, “I set My rainbow in the cloud...”

It’s His rainbow. And we will see it three more times in scripture…

In Ezk 1:28 the rainbow surrounds the throne of God as He prepares judgment for Israel.

In Rev 4… again around His throne just prior to the judgment of the Tribulation.

And then in Rev 10:1, a parenthetical chapter, where a mighty angel has a rainbow upon his head… and he seems to give John the vision of the Revelation prophecy.

But, to close… I want to look at the scene of Rev 4:3… which I have a slide of.

The rainbow appears in Rev 4:3… and some artist attempts to depict this most glorious heavenly scene.

I’m confident they fail miserably… just as we fail attempting to describe God in human words.

Regardless… the slide is trying to portray all of Revelation 4… which we will study soon enough… Lord willing… in our Revelation study…

We don’t have time to discuss all of Revelation 4 tonight, but in that scene… John is caught up into heaven… and beholds the throne room of God.

Truly… it’s one of the most glorious scenes in the Bible… and here’s where the rainbow appears in that scene:

Revelation 4:3 “And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.”

This verse is thick with imagery and symbolism.

He who sat on the throne may be the Father… to be consistent with Rev 6:16 and 7:10 where God is on the throne… and the Lamb (Jesus) is distinct.

Yet in Rev 3:21 both Jesus and the Father appear on the throne… and Jesus multiple times describes unity in the trinity…

John 10:30 “I and My Father are one.”

And Jesus repeats the thought of oneness with the Father in John 17:11 & 21.

Jesus also said in, John 14:9 “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

I like the idea that “He who sat there” points to Jesus because…

The Jasper and Sardius stones were the first and last on the Breastplate of Judgment that the High Priest wore in Exo 28.

And, Jesus is the First and the Last… the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:11) and our Great High Priest (Heb 4:14).

Jasper and Sardius are also assigned to the first and last sons of the Twelve Tribes… Reuben and Benjamin.

Reuben means “behold, a son.” Benjamin means “son of my right hand.”

And, Christ is the first begotten Son and the son of God’s right hand.

Jasper here is thought to be clear (like a diamond)… and symbolically represents purity and the sardius (fiery red) to represent redemptive purpose.

Both which point to the purpose of Jesus’ coming.

Just wait until we unpack the rest of the scene in our Revelation study… truly glorious.

Oh… and the rainbow… I almost forgot…

I like this insight from Constable, I quote, “The rainbow around the throne was apparently only the shape of a rainbow rather than the colors of one, since this one was only green “like an emerald.” This bow completely encircled the throne, perhaps resembling a halo. It evidently symbolizes God’s mercy that surrounds His rule (cf. Gen. 9:8–17; Ezek. 1:28). The rainbow that God gave Noah was a sign of His mercy. This rainbow may have been various shades of green, suggesting the variegated mercy and grace of God. Another possibility is that the emerald was a green crystal that served as a prism and so yielded a rainbow of colors.”

(worship team please come)

Wild scene… and a great insight of how God’s throne of mercy… is circled by a rainbow… and the rainbow stands as God’s sign of mercy to never again flood the world… to this day.

We read in Genesis 9:16 “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

And we praise God for His continued mercy and grace!

Let’s Pray!

If you need prayer for anything, please let us pray with you before you go.

Numbers 6:24–26… a blessing from the LORD reads, “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’”

God bless you as you close out this week.