The Covenant given to Noah

(Gen. 9:1-17)

Introduction: Two weeks ago, I preached with the title of ‘Noah’s Ark’ based on Gen. 6:9-22. The descendants of Cain and Seth were all corrupted and the earth was full of violence. But Noah had a right relationship with God and was called a righteous man. We believers became righteous in front of God through the blood of Jesus. After we become righteous, we can continue having a right relationship with God through the Word of God and prayer. Noah’s ark is a symbol of salvation. Noah and his family were saved when they were in the Ark. If we are in Christ, we will be saved without condemnation. Noah also obeyed God’s command. Obedience is faith expressed in behavior. Today’s passage is Gen. 9:1-17. After the Flood, God gave Noah the Covenant that God would not destroy the earth with flood again. Important things in the Bible take the form of covenant. Covenant is a promise given through words. God gave His covenant to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and us through Christ. We will learn about God’s covenant through today’s passage.
1) Blessings (1-7): After the Flood, God blessed Noah and his family. God always wants to bless us. God gives blessings through eternal life, peace and joy in our minds. God commanded Noah to be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. God also allowed them to eat meat in addition to green plants. One thing they should be careful was not to eat meat with the lifeblood because the life of each creature is its blood (Lev. 17:14). If someone sheds another person’s blood, the person should be killed and shed his own blood. God made man in the image of God, and human life is precious. If someone takes another person’s life, he should lay down his own life. It is necessary to establish the law in order to maintain a fruitful and blessed society.

2) Covenant (8-11): God gave His promise to Noah and his sons, but the covenant would apply to all Noah’s descendants and all animals. God’s covenant is that God will not destroy the earth with flood anymore. There will be no flood which will destroy all lives on the earth. However, we should remember that God will judge this world with fire again (II Peter 3:5-13, I Cor. 3:13, Rev. 16:8). Another lesson we can learn from this paragraph is that God is faithful and absolutely keeps His promise (Num. 23:19). Thus, even though we only received God’s promise for salvation, we can say we are saved.

3) Sign (12-17): After God gave Noah and his family the Promise, God also gave them a sign. God gave them the rainbow as a sign of God’s promise. Whenever there are clouds after rain, there will be rainbow in the clouds. God’s understands our weakness for unbelief, so He gave a sign for our faith. When we see the rainbow, we will be reminded of God’s promise. When God gave us His salvation, God gave us a sign, evidence for our salvation. God’s evidence for our salvation is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Rom. 8:16). If the Holy Spirit is in you, He will give you the assurance that you are God’s child through the Bible. God also gave us a proof for His promise for salvation, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Acts 17:31). As we can see, the Covenant given to Noah is a direct illustration for our salvation. Thank you and God bless you.