Genesis 9 (2)

1. God’s Mandate and the Sanctity of Life (9:1–7)

Renewed creation mandate: Be fruitful and multiply

Human dominion with responsibility over creation

Sacred value of human life grounded in the image of God

Justice established: God holds humanity accountable for bloodshed

2. God’s Covenant of Preservation and Promise (9:8–17)

Universal covenant with Noah, his descendants, and all living creatures

Promise of mercy: Never again a global flood

The rainbow as the enduring sign of God’s faithfulness and grace

3. Humanity’s Spread, Sin, and Sovereign Plan (9:18–10:32)

Noah’s family repopulates the earth

Ongoing reality of sin after the flood (Noah and Ham)

Blessing and judgment shape future nations

God sovereignly orders the nations, setting the stage for His redemptive plan

Big Idea: After judgment, God sustains life by His covenant, upholds human dignity, and advances His purposes through flawed people under His sovereign grace.

Introduction:

After the storm of judgment in Genesis 6–7, chapter 8 shows us the mercy of God. “God remembered Noah”—not because He forgot, but because He faithfully acted to save. The waters receded, the ark rested, and Noah stepped into a cleansed world. His first response was worship, and God responded with grace, promising never again to destroy the earth by flood.

Now in Genesis 9, God speaks again—not in judgment, but in covenant. He blesses Noah, reaffirms His purpose for humanity, and establishes a lasting promise marked by a sign in the sky. Genesis 9 answers a crucial question: How does God relate to humanity after judgment? The answer is grace, responsibility, and promise from a faithful God who keeps His word.

1. (V1) Be fruitful and multiply

a) God gave to Noah and his sons the same command He gave to Adam

Be fruitful and multiply

It is through Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth the world was populated

Shem is the line of Abraham in which God would use to form the Jewish Nation

From that nation would come our Redeemer

1.1 (V3) Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you

a) Animals given for food

I have given you all things

Romans 14:14 “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”

However, don’t eat or drink the blood

1.2 (V4) But you shall not eat flesh with its life

a) Command to not eat the meat with its blood

The word blood is used 424 times in 357 separate verses (in the New King James Version).

The importance of the idea of blood in the Bible is shown by how often the word is used.

Blood represents the life of the being, whether animal or human. When blood is poured out, life is poured out

Many different examples of the importance of blood in the scriptures:

·  Blood was the sign of mercy for Israel at the first Passover (Exodus 12:13).

· Blood sanctified the altar (Exodus 29:12).

· Blood set aside the priests (Exodus 29:20).

· Blood made atonement for God’s people (Exodus 30:10).

· Blood sealed the new covenant (Matthew 26:28).

· Blood justifies believers (Romans 5:9).

· Blood brings redemption (Ephesians 1:7).

· Blood brings peace with God (Colossians 1:20).

· Blood cleanses believers (Hebrews 9:14, 1 John 1:7).

· Blood gives entrance to God’s holy place (Hebrews 10:19).

· Blood sanctifies the Christian (Hebrews 13:12).

· Blood enables believers to overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11).

1.3 (V5-6) Whoever sheds man’s blood shall be shed

a) Value of life

Made in the image of God and we are valued

God did not take it lightly to wipe out humanity with the flood

God Established this covenant to ensure the stability of nature

Prior to this, Cain killed Abel

Lamech killed a young man and bragged about it

The earth had been filled with all kinds of violence

b) A life for a life

God was establishing the law of the land

In the OT days, it was up to the family of the victim bring the murderer to justice

Numbers 35:33 “So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.”

In Romans 13:1-7, Paul makes it clear Government authorities carry the sword and have the right to use it

Our culture has little respect for life, as murder is rapid in our country whether you call it abortion or someone taking the life of another person

There no respect for our law enforcement

2. (V9-11) I establish a covenant with you and your descendants, and with every living creature

a) The Noahic Covenant

A covenant is a bond or agreement between two or more parties, often confirmed by oath.

The Noahic Covenant is an unconditional covenant because it does not depend upon anything Noah or his descendants had to do to fulfill the covenant.

The covenant was made to Noah, his descendants and their descendants, and all living creatures

The promise was God would never duplicate a world wide flood ever again

No matter how wicked man kind will become, the promise remains

However this is not a promise to never destroy the earth, but it won’t be by the flood

2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, 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.”

2 Peter 3:11 “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,”

2.1 (V13) My rainbow in the cloud shall be a sign of the covenant

a) The rainbow, the sign of the covenant

Every rainbow is a reminder of the faithfulness of God and every one of His promises.

After God’s judgement, He gives a sign of peace

In the midst of a storm we can always look forward to a rainbow or a promises of God’s faithfulness

3. (V20) Noah began to farm and he planted a vineyard

a) Noah began to work to provide for his family

Noah followed the vocation of his father Lamech

It seems good, Noah is working hard to provide

3.1 (V21) Then he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered

a) Noah drank and became drunk

Some think it was only after the flood that man made (or was able to make) intoxicating drink.

Others think Noah knew what he was doing when he made the wine and began to drink

This is the first mention of drunkenness in the Bible.

Drinking Alcohol is not a sin in its self, it is to be drunk

Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”

Did Noah intend on getting drunk or did have a few to many?

b) In the scriptures we are warned of harmful affects of alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant. It loosens people because it depresses their self-control, their wisdom, their balance, and judgment.

I have known a few teenagers who have killed people after having a few beers

They didn’t feel drunk

1 Corinthians 10:23 “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.”

c) Noah became uncovered

Noah was a preacher of righteousness, but his shame was uncovered

The phrase became uncovered and the idea of nakedness are sometimes associated with sexual conduct (Leviticus 18:6-20).

3.2 (V22) Ham saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers

a) Ham did a shameful thing

To the ancients, seeing your father’s nakedness was a breach of a family ethics and the sanctity of the family is destroyed because the strength of the father was destroyed

He could of covered his fathers nakedness but instead went outside and told his brothers

The ancient Hebrew says that Ham “told with delight” what he saw in his father’s tent. He determined to mock his father and was undermining his authority as a man of God.

3.3 (V25) Cursed be Canaan

Because of the incident Noah prophesied about his son’s descendants

Noah’s words referred to the nation of Canaanites that would come from Ham through Canaan