Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I will make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Genesis 9.8-17 ESV
A few observations:
Context. There’s a reason Noah and family find themselves where they are. That is, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose…The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6.2, 5)
It seems that this is the “bottom of the barrel.” Because of sin ie. Gen. 3, man spiraled out of control. The results of sin was as bad as it could be. A righteous God cannot allow the prevalence of sin.
God’s grace. Whereas God could have completely wiped the world away, He chooses to save Noah and Noah’s family. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen 6.8)
A simple definition of grace is “unmerited favor.” We’re not led to believe Noah nor his family were holy. In fact, it’s the opposite. Noah and family aren’t immune from the sin described in verse 5.
But God’s grace. Because of God’s unmerited favor, Noah and family are allowed to live. In a nutshell, this is the Gospel. At times, I wonder if the Apostle Paul had Genesis 6.5 and other Old Testament texts in mind, when he penned Romans 3.23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I’m almost positive he had his own sinfulness in mind.
A promise. Once the judgment has occurred, God promises Noah and his descendants that the judgment of the flood is sufficient. Isn’t it good to know that a righteous God will not hold things over your head? Sure, there are consequences for sin. But the idea of an ogre in the sky who is set on destroying you once you are out-of-line is unbiblical! On the other hand, a god who is malevolent is not the God of the Bible. Once the discipline or judgment has occurred, it’s done.
The covenant God mentions is signified by a rainbow in the sky. Did you notice how often the word “covenant” is used throughout this text in the English Standard Version? Let me save you the time. It’s seven times. Throughout rabbinic literature, the number seven connotes perfection. Think about all of the times the number seven occurs in the Bible. This is a covenant that is perfect!
A just and holy God must judge completely.
A gracious God who wants relationship with creation, will go above and beyond for relationship - even to the point of saving eight persons in the ark, reminding them of His goodness by way of a rainbow, and sending His own Son who died on the cross.
That’s unmerited favor. That’s grace!
This is incredibly well written. As an Irish Franciscan Catholic and a reader of The Sword, the Biblous (Greek), The Book, the Bible on a daily basis I found your analysis refreshing!