God’s Promise of Preservation

Let's open this lesson with what science tells us about the age of the planet Earth.  According to current theories, Earth is estimated to be some 4.5 BILLION years old.  Science also  estimates that human-like ancestors first appeared between some 5 and 7 million years ago. Homo Sapien's ancestors are some 300,000 years old.  All of this is not presented as indisputable fact, but is merely to paint for you the length of time involved when dealing with Earth and its human-like and Homo Sapiens human beings.  

Humanity, in some form or another, has been around for a LONG time. 

• Earth is estimated to be some “4,500 MILLIONS” of years old.  
• Human-like animals arose between 5 and 7 MILLION years ago.  
• Modern Humanity is said to have arisen some “0.3 million years ago.”  
• Some documented cataclysmic event occurred some “0.012 million years ago.”  
• Jesus incarnated approximately “0.002 million years ago.”  

The Bible tells us that God destroyed ALL life at one time during Noah's flood and then repopulated the Earth through Noah's family and the animals that they rescued in the Ark.

Natural disasters have long plagued our planet. Depending on where one lives, we can be fearful of the destruction that comes from events like hurricanes, tsunamis, drought, and monsoons. We may not understand the why behind such events, but we can trust God that He will not abandon His  creation. Even though humanity, and animals, were "wiped" out in a cataclysmic event, God has promised to preserve his creation. 

Today we look at part of the flood account in Genesis and learn that WE have God's promise of preservation.  We are looking in Genesis 9:1-13 as God continues his covenant with Humanity through the Noahic covenant.

Using the numbers of human’s science, God has dealt with humanity on Earth for some 5 to 7 MILLION years.  All the other 20+ species who were considered members of the genus Homo, and which are now extinct, are known collectively as archaic humans while the sole surviving species, Homo Sapiens, has been around for some 300,000 years.

Archaic as a word means ancient, old-fashioned, antiquated, primitive. It is from words meaning beginning, original.  

"Not merely crude, the archaic has a rudeness and imperfection implying the promise of future advance."  Archaic humanity choose self preservation rather than the pursuit of God’s wisdom.  The result is that there are no more living archaic humans.  Noah, the "father of modern humanity" at least offers us the chance to USE our sapience – our wisdom and understanding – to choose to live by God's ULTIMATE goodness wisdom.

Last week we looked at the Adamic or Edenic covenant.  Today we look at part of the flood account in Genesis and learn that WE have God's promise of preservation, as we look in Genesis 9:1-13 at the Noahic covenant, as God’s continues covenants with Humanity.

The flood account is found in Genesis chapters 6-9 and begins when God saw the wickedness of all humanity. We tend to think of the word wicked as meaning "bad", harmful and the like, but just to set the record straight the word wicked is not derived from a meaning for harmfulness.  It originally referred to clan, village.  The word wicked is derived from the word wick but came to be derived from Old English wicca meaning wizard, sorcerer, or a man who practices witchcraft, a Word which has meanings all over the place, from to be strong, be lively, to divination, idol, the practice of incantations, to skill in the use of drugs.  

What ever the English word's origin, witch, sorceress parallels that of the Hebrew word used for witch, sorceress by the Hebrew priesthood.  In a circa 1250 translation of Exodus the word witches is used of the Egyptian midwives who save the newborn sons of the Hebrews.

It is safe to say, at least, that the humanity prior to Noah's day relied upon their own powers, or manipulation of natural or supernatural powers, rather than up to God's promise of leadership and preservation.  This was basically relying upon humanity to solve its problems rather than turning to God for expert advice.

Humanity was excluding God from their lives to such an extent that God determined to just wipe out the experiment and start over.  BUT Noah alone caught God's attention.  Noah continued to rely upon God’s wisdom rather than humanity’s wisdom.  So much so that even when commanded by God to build an ark...a SHIP in a place where there was no ocean; even when humanity mocked Noah, he followed God’s wisdom.  Noah, his family, and the animals gathered, entered the ark for a "little cruise".  The flood came and all life, except that placed in the Ark by God, were destroyed.  Just over a year after the rain began, the waters receded. Noah left the ark after their "little cruise" and he built an altar (basically an elevated spot) to worship God.  In Chapters 8-9 God then makes a covenant with Noah that we will investigate today. 

Genesis 9:1-3

1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3 Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.

God blessed Noah as He had the first man and woman. In this new covenant (the Noahic covenant), Noah served as the "father" of the human race. Noah and his descendants were the ones through whom God would bless humanity and ultimately through whose lineage the Messiah would be born. They also served as God’s covenant representatives (stewards) who would act on His behalf in relation to God’s creation.

Sometime prior to the flood, God had told Noah it was His intention to destroy every living creature on the earth, but to also preserve representatives of humanity and all the animal species through the ark. After the flood, right before God commanded Noah to disembark from the ark, the Lord had stated His intention that all the creatures on the ark should repopulate the earth. God now commanded Noah and his sons to be fruitful, multiply, and repopulate the earth.

God blessed Noah.  To bless meant to fill with benefits. God pours his blessings most fully IN Christ.  Those who repent and put their faith in Christ as their Lord and their savior have their offenses against God forgiven are reconciled to God, become children of God and citizens in the Kingdom of God. Whereas archaic humanity lived separated from God, modern humanity HAS the opportunity to make a choice for God or to continue to live an archaic life separated from God.    

Similar to the Adamic covenant, God reaffirmed humanity’s dominion over the animal kingdom. However, the nature of this dominion changed significantly. Where the archaic humans had apparently lived in harmony among the Earth creatures, after the flood, God placed all animal life under Noah’s authority. From that point forward instead of humanity living in harmonious co-existence among the animal kingdom, that relationship would now be characterized by fear and terror – in Hebrew, referring to terror, respect, or reverence, depending on the context, or to extreme dread. Every living creature would now fear humanity. 

Where archaic humanity was basically a part of the animal kingdom, modern humanity, Homo sapiens (or "wise humans") were to be the stewards of the animal kingdom, even though the animal kingdom was afraid of humanity.  Maybe some of this animal fear came as a result of one of the most significant differences between the Adamic and Noahic covenants.

God had blessed archaic humanity with every seed-bearing plant and the fruit of every seed-bearing tree for food. This was also the source of food for all wildlife. While God blessed Noah in a similar manner in providing food for he and his family, after placing all animal life under Noah’s (humanity’s) authority, God told Noah that the animals would now be a source of food for him. In fact, newly discovered science demonstrates that some 300,000 years ago the diet of the earliest humans included plenty of gazelle meat, occasional wildebeest, zebra, and other game an perhaps a seasonal ostrich egg. This verse is the first mention of God’s explicit approval of eating meat, and human science seems to confirm it.

Whether it is acknowledged or not, God is the ultimate Source of all blessings, including His provision for humanity’s sustenance.  BUT God provided some stipulations for Noah and modern humans just as stipulations had been placed on archaic humans.   

Genesis 9:4-7

4 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5 And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life. 6 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image. 7 But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”

In addition to reestablishing the call for us to be fruitful, God also reaffirmed our role as His image-bearers. Therefore, we are to join Him in preserving the lives of other life. God also placed a stipulation upon His provision of animals for food.  This prohibition uses the exact Hebrew wording God spoke to Adam regarding the tree of knowledge (translated in both passages “you must not eat”. This command necessitates the draining of the blood from the meat after the animal is killed. 

The word blood refers to a bloom so we are not to eat the bloom of life.  

The term comes from two Hebrew words. The first (nephesh) literally means “breath”. It is also used to refer to a living being, life, people, the self, and the heart in the sense of the seat of desires and emotions. The second word (dam) literally refers to the blood in a human’s or animal’s body. Figuratively, it refers to bloodshed. Blood equals life and is sacred because God is the giver of life and human beings are made in God’s image. In addition to reestablishing the call for us to be fruitful, God also reaffirmed our role as His image-bearers. Therefore, we are to join Him in preserving the lives of other life. God also placed a stipulation upon His provision of animals for food.  This prohibition uses the exact Hebrew wording God spoke to Adam regarding the tree of knowledge – “you must not eat”. The word blood refers to a bloom so we are not to eat the bloom of life.  

The term comes from two Hebrew words. The first (nephesh) literally means “breath”. It is also used to refer to a living being, life, people, the self, and the heart in the sense of the seat of desires and emotions. The second word (dam) literally refers to the blood in a human’s or animal’s body. Blood equals life and is sacred because God is the Giver of life and human beings are made in God’s image. 

This prohibition foreshadows the Mosaic covenant’s sacrificial system of temporary atonement through animal sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews declared that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.  So in the Old Testament period sacrificing some of the “life” that you were responsible for was a way of temporary atonement with God.  

But the New Testament brings an eternal atonement.  In the upper room at the Last Supper, Jesus took the cup and told the disciples it represented His blood which established the new covenant. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross provides complete atonement for sin for all who repent and place their faith in Him. Christ’s ultimate sacrifice of willingly shedding his OWN life under the new covenant resulted in complete atonement on the cross.

The value of something is most often determined by what it costs; in this case, a life costs a life. God’s judgment in this context is a far-reaching general condemnation of the taking of human life (murder). 

Three times in this verse, God said, “I will require” emphasizing that there will be an accounting to God for anyone taking a human life. That accounting extends to animals as well as humans. In this context, it refers to the blood which leads to a person’s death when it is shed. The sacredness of human life requires the penalty be enforced whether the culprit be another person or an animal. The literal translation of the Hebrew is “his brother.” As one commentator observed, “murder is fratricide [the killing of one’s brother or sister] by virtue of the inherent covenant all people have with God as created in his ‘image.’ We are to that fundamental degree all brothers and sisters in that we are all human.”

To further emphasize the sacredness of human life, God repeats the theme from the last part of verse 5. The punishment applies to anyone who intentionally takes a human life. Additionally, whoever emphasizes this penalty applies equally to all persons, regardless of their stations in society—regarding both the offender and the victim. It applies equally to the slave or the freeman, family, friend, or foe. 

It is reasonable to infer that the taking of life was a frequent occurrence in the preflood world. This is most likely, the total wickedness and corruption of humanity that led to God’s decision to wipe humanity off the face of the earth – reckless disregard for human life. Scripture describes how Cain murdered his brother, Abel; and Lamech killed two people and boasted about his crime.

Instituting such a death penalty for murder, in some ways might have discouraged a quick return to the complete wickedness that occurred before the flood, and it served as a reminder of the sacredness of human life in the post-flood world. Disregarding human life insults God as the One who gives life. To strike against one made in God’s image is to attack God Himself and usurps God’s role as humanity’s Judge. 

God now refocused on His purpose for Noah and his family repeating God’s command to Noah to be fruitful and multiply and spread over the Earth. It also foreshadows the tower of Babel incident in Genesis 11 where Noah’s descendants rebelled against God’s command to spread throughout the earth. For fear of being “scattered throughout the earth” humanity attempted to establish a single civilization in the valley of Shinar.

Next we see God's promise of preservation.

Genesis 9:8-13

8 Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, 9 “Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: 13 I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

The first time God declared He was establishing His covenant with Noah, his descendants, and all the living creatures preserved on the ark. In one sense, God’s covenant with Noah is new. God promised never to destroy all living creatures by a flood. In another sense it is also a renewal of a portion of the Adamic covenant. Like Adam and Eve, Noah and his family are to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.

This covenant is unconditional. God promised to never again destroy all life on earth through a worldwide flood. Interestingly, the reason for the flood was the wickedness and corruption of humanity, but this covenant God made with Noah, his descendants, and all creation was made even though human nature had not changed. 

Because the Noahic covenant is unconditional, there was nothing Noah and his family had to do for God to fulfill this promise. While considered a covenant with Noah, it also includes all of Noah’s future generations. They are the ones who would be responsible for repopulating the earth.

God gave His unconditional promise never to do this again by a flood. These words are repeated twice for emphasis. It is important to note God does not promise to never destroy the earth again; the promise is specific to destruction by a worldwide flood. The destruction of the earth on the Day of the Lord when God will destroy the world by fire will not violate God’s covenant with Noah. God’s covenant with Noah will be in effect for as long as human and animal life exists on the earth.  

Another aspect of covenants is they included signs.  In this case a reminder of the covenant God had made with Noah and all the inhabitants of the earth, both humans and animals. The sign of the bow confirms the Noahic covenant. The rainbow should remind humanity about the flood and what led to God wiping out all life on earth save for Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. Unfortunately, humanity works to appropriate God’s covenantal sign as a sign of their own perversion.  Satan, is ever working on humanity to replace God with Humanity. Unfortunately it seems Satan is very successful in our current era.

God summarized His covenant as being between Him and the earth. The sign of the rainbow would serve to both remind people of God’s judgment on sin (destruction) and His mercy in the midst of judgment (deliverance from destruction).

As descendants of Noah, Homo Sapiens gets to make a choice.  We may choose to live as archaic humanity did and be destroyed, or we may choose to accept God’s mercy and be delivered from separation from God and its resulting destruction.  

We have a promise of preservation from God…if we but choose it.