QT 8/8/2025 Gen 9:8-17, Life is not as God originally intended, we rebelled

Genesis 9:8–17 (ESV) —

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is 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. 11 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.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 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. 16 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.” 17 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.”

 

NOTE: In my mind, this passage confirms a different type of climate on the planet prior to the flood, as well as confirming a universal flood and not a regional flood. Leupold writes,

 

“It is not impossible that with the Flood came altered atmospheric and cloud conditions, for geologic evidence points to an earlier age when a climate uniformly tropical prevailed also in the artic region.”

 

This covenant which God establishes is perpetual and unconditional. It is not dependent upon man, it is one-sided, completely dependent upon God. The previous covenant, the Edenic covenant was conditional.

 

Within this covenant is the continued command to procreate and care for the earth. Additionally, is the requirement for men to judge other men over issues such as capital punishment (government is required).

 

With God's covenant, what about regional floods? There is nothing implied that floods in general were no longer possible. In fact, the change in the climate from the post-Edenic to the post-Noahic guarantees floods and severe weather. Survival is much more difficult in this new world. Lifespans are greatly shorten. In a certain sense, the changes give less time for sin by occupying our lives with tasks that are more important. Floods do still happen, and now, so do earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Jesus even spoke to these issues, but his only response to these deaths, was that people need to repent. At first, that doesn't seem to answer the question, but it really does. Life is different because we rebelled. Death is around every corner. The only thing we can do is repent of our rebellion and return to God, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

 

PONDER:

1. God has not abandoned us, we abandoned God. Why are we so quick to blame God when life does not go our way?
2. Have I repented of my sin and turned to Jesus for salvation? There is no other hope.

 

PRAYER: Father, this world is a hard place to live. There is catastrophe after catastrophe, but it is also not what you intended from the beginning. A new day is coming where you will rule on earth and we will be delivered from these sinful bodies. I look forward to serving you in that day.