WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

Genesis 9:1-17
Bob Bonner
October 3, 2004

After you have invested a great deal of your heart and soul in a project, have you ever had the party back out of the arrangement leaving you holding the bag? A business agreement? A ministry commitment? A wedding vow? If you did, how did it make you feel? Mistreated, betrayed, and ripped off?

When I have experienced that or when I hear of others who have been freshly wounded by such a disappointment, I often think about Jacob and his uncle/father-in-law, Laban. In Genesis 29, you’ll find the whole story of how Uncle Laban tricked Jacob into marrying the wrong woman and then making him work 14 years to receive his intended bride. Talk about breaking a person’s trust. If you can’t trust a family member, who can you trust?

Typically, once we have been hurt by anyone going back on their word, failing to fulfill an important promise or commitment, many of us have a hard time ever wanting to trust that person again. And sometimes, if hurt badly enough, we didn’t’ want to ever trust anyone.

Today we are going to get a glimpse at Someone you can trust, no matter what. Someone who will never fail you. Someone who will never go back on His word, never short changes you or cheats you. One of the foundational attributes of God is His trustworthiness. Whatever God tells you, you can put your complete wholehearted confidence in it. God is One Who makes commitments and stands by them, even if we don’t!

As we come to our study of Genesis 9 in which we are going to see God demonstrate His trustworthiness, allow me to summarize six practical observations that can be made about God from our last study of Genesis 7- 8, Noah and the Flood:

(1) God must punish and separate Himself from wickedness. He is holy and cannot associate with that which us unholy or wicked. Those things which are unholy or wicked must die or be eradicated, like my old self or my old sinful nature. Before God can bring birth or new spiritual life to me, my sinful nature must be dealt with. The problem of my rebellion against God and my wickedness before Him and toward others has to be resolved. That does not mean I must be perfect to be saved or that I must be perfect to have an intimate relationship with Christ. Rather, it means by faith, I must confess what I am apart from Christ; I’m a rebel, a sinner and I have to ask Him to forgive me for my sin. In addition I, by faith, put my old life on the cross with Christ and put it to death. Then, by faith, I pick up my new forever forgiven, deeply loved, totally approved of life in Christ, filled with His resurrection power that will enable me to live righteously today, and move forward.

The process is simple, death to the old before new life can come. But if I refuse to acknowledge my own sin or rebellion or wickedness, then I will never see the need for Christ in my life. In turn, I will never come to grips with the truth that God must punish and separate Himself from wickedness. In the end, I will never put my trust in Christ, and then I will be on the deserved reception end of God’s punishment for my wickedness.

In Genesis 7-8, God demonstrates that He means business when it comes to our wickedness. We cannot have a relationship with our holy God, and remain in our sin. God will not and cannot allow it to go unaddressed or unresolved.

(2) God gives warnings but eventually His patience ends and judgment comes.

(3) God has always saved people the same way: by grace through faith. In Noah’s lifetime, no one person, including Noah, was righteous enough on his or her own merit that God was obligated to save them. But because of God’s love and mercy for us, like with Noah, God provides an Ark for everyone. Remember, the Ark was more than just a boat. It was a literal boat that was also a type of savior, Jesus Christ. It is a gift that is not deserved, but just there, free for the taking, by faith, for all who desire it.

(4) True faith leads to obedience. If we truly have taken a step of faith, and put our trust in God’s gift, our faith leads to obedience. Noah built the Ark and got on board. Repeatedly we read of know that Noah obeyed God in all that God had commanded of him.

(5) True faith demands SEPARATION FROM SIN. Noah and his family kept themselves unspotted from the world. In those areas of life that God said were out of bounds, they chose to obey God, regardless of what everybody else was doing. Obedience and separation from sin is not legalism, it is a mark of faith.

(6) True faith is observed when worship becomes a priority of one’s life. We observed from the last part of chapter 8, that Noah’s first act when he disembarked from the Ark was to build an altar and worship God.

This morning, what we are going to read in Genesis 9:1-17 is God’s response to Noah’s heartfelt, “thank you”. Noah’s thank you was made in worshipful sacrifice at the end of Genesis 8. Further, these verses contain God’s literal words written in response to Noah’s act of worship. In these verses, there is one overriding message. That message is: God places the highest value on human life. This is spelled out in two parts of this passage. First, the renewal of His original blessing to Adam and Eve is given to Noah and his family, in verses 1-7; and then in verses 8-17, God’s begins an unconditional unilateral covenant with Noah and all who follow after.

Verses 1-7, “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. As for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.’”

The repetition of God’s command to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” given to Noah here in verse 1 and again, in verse 7, demonstrates that with Noah, this is a new beginning. Some people think that we are all relatives of Adam. That’s true. But it is even more specifically true that we are all relatives of Noah.

It should be obvious from this directive that it was God’s desire for the human race to RAPIDLY fill the earth, so as to take dominion over it. In verse 7, the word “Abundantly” literally means to “bring forth in swarms.” In a little over 4,000 years, man’s population has increased from 8 people to more than four billion. This amounts to an average of 2.5 children per family, or an annual increase of ½% over that period of time. Even now, as after the Fall, God, the great provider, was not and is not worried about over population of the planet. Should we be?

Notice that the original command in 1:28 to “have dominion over and subdue the earth” is not repeated here. The reason being, that as a result of the Fall, Satan has now taken over the rule of the earth. We have forfeited our right to have dominion over the earth to Satan. Now, God instructs humankind to manage animal and plant life.

In addition, we notice in verses 2-4, that our relationship to the animals has changed. We no longer have direct authority over the animals as we did once. Before, we could command and they would understand and obey. Now, except for the domesticated animals, the animals fear us and live in terror of us. This is clear evidence that post Fall and flood, due to our sin, even the animals know that we humans are not what we once were. Our image before the animals has changed. We are no longer the loving care givers we once were and hence, we are not to be trusted by the animals. Our sin is so recognizable that it has even affected the lives of animals. However, we are still responsible to manage the animals, but the relationship has changed since the Fall.

According to this passage, for the first time, animals have been given to us for food. Why? Because from now on, every time we eat meat, we are reminded that in order for us to live, something or someone has to die. We are only alive today because some other creature of God had to die to give us life. There is an obvious spiritual lesson here for us. Spiritually, if we are ever to live again with God, someone has to die for our sin, someone who himself had no sin. That’s why Jesus could be the only savior. All other humans, post Fall, have sin. That’s why Jesus said, in fulfillment of this truth, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” (John 6:53-54). Jesus obviously did not mean that his disciples were to become cannibals. This was a figurative statement. We are to feed on Jesus. We are to draw our strength and all we need from Him. He is not just our savior, but our very life. As we, by faith, submit to Him in obedience, He will live in and through us.

At this point, there were no restrictions as to which animals could be eaten. The explanation of the uses of the clean and unclean animals was not given to us until Moses’ day, several hundred years later.

But why are we forbidden to eat or drink the blood of animals? What’s the big deal about blood? Blood carries the necessary chemicals to sustain and renew the physical flesh. Hence, it becomes the symbolic representation of life itself. The “life” of an animal, in other words its blood, was spilt on an altar and later accepted by God as a substitution for our own spiritual deaths that should come as a result of our sin. Spiritual death is the expression that describes a sinner’s separation from God. This blood would cover a person’s sin. Obviously, the animals’ blood could only figuratively cover sins. But even then, its symbolic use was to be saved for that symbolic purpose and for that purpose only. It would eventually point to Jesus’ blood as the only sacrifice possible to cover our sins. It is the reason why Jesus can be the only way back to God. When Jesus died, he was the final sacrifice, once and for all, for all people’s sin. No other sacrifices are needed or acceptable to God.

When we come to verses 5-6, we see that God has given us some prohibitions against the wrongful taking of human life. It should be obvious to all that to God, animals and humans, although both are created by God, do not hold the same value to Him. God values human life above animal life. Neither beast nor another person was permitted to kill a human without that animal or guilty person being put to death.

Hence, from these verses, we can see that one of the reasons for instituting human government is to protect human life. Did you notice the term “require” in verses 5 and 6? That term is a judicial term referring to a judge who exacts a strict and severe penalty for this infraction. There was to be no exception to this rule. This term presumes that there is a governmental judicial system in place. Exactly how it worked or got started, we are not told. Only that it did exist.

Bottom line: God holds life to be sacred. Hence, if anyone takes that which is sacred, he in turn is to be put to death.

Remember, before the flood, there was anarchy. There was no formal government to enact discipline. There was no punishment being dealt out for evil or wickedness. But now wickedness, in particular murder, would no longer be permitted. Governments would be established to deal out capital punishment.

The modern “liberal” objections to capital punishment are insufficient to warrant setting aside this decree of God. “Thou shalt not kill” in the 10 Commandments plainly applies to human premeditated murder, but not the governmental executions. There are completely different Hebrew terms used elsewhere in scripture that refer to God’s giving to governments the rightful and sole responsibility to fulfill capital punishment.

However, don’t allow others to entrap you into to stating that this passage supports the idea that capital punishment is a deterrent to crime. Even though I believe that it is, this passage is silent on that issue. If this passage’s purpose was to teach that capital punishment is a deterrent to crime, then why would God require the death of an animal that kills a man? Surely, killing the murderous animal does not send a message to the rest of the animal kingdom that murdering a human is wrong, does it?

The purpose of capital punishment is to teach that the taking of a human life is off limits. Only God and governments have been given the right to execute pre-meditative murderers.

Further, God’s requirement for capital punishment was not given just to Noah, but to Noah’s “seed” or the entire human race to follow. Moses made clear to the nation of Israel that when that nation was birthed by God, God expected them to continue to fulfill His command for capital punishment in the case of premeditated murder and for any animal, accidental or not, that kills a human.

Another interesting word is this word “shed”. This is the first time it is used in scripture. It is the same word translated elsewhere for “pouring out”. It is the word used in Psalm 22:14, in which Christ prophetically speaks of “I am poured out like water.” Thus, this word not only helps to explain the sacredness of human life, but it also points forward to the One, Jesus Christ, who was most perfectly and eternally created as the Son of Man, as well as the Son of God, created in the image of God, and whose perfect blood would be shed or “poured out” on our behalf.

Hence, God’s blessing to Noah is a statement of His trustworthiness. This blessing contained three elements: first, the command to multiply; second the command to manage the earth; and third, to measure out capital punishment appropriately.

In verses 8-17, we see God’s second argument that He places the highest value on Human life and that He is trustworthy. We read about God’s Covenant which, although spoken to Noah, was also promised to all who would follow after him. In these 10 verses, the word “covenant” is mentioned 7 times, which tells us that this covenant which is a contractual agreement between 2 parties, is important. Mark them as I read these verses.

“Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

The first thing you need to note is that three times God makes it perfectly clear that this is God’s covenant. He is the One Who established it. It’s something He thought up and designed Himself. This is not something that Noah or anyone else negotiated between God and Noah. This covenant is a unilateral agreement, meaning that it didn’t require two people to agree for this covenant to be valid. It only required that the one making up the covenant had to fulfill all of its requirements. In that case, the responsibility for the fulfillment of this covenant rests solely upon God. To put it another way, this covenant was and is unconditional. No matter what we do, God promises to fulfill the conditions of this covenant. There is no obligation placed on us in order for this covenant to remain in effect.

Also take note that God did not just speak these words to Noah off on the side. God directed these words to Noah and his sons, and this covenant was to go beyond them to all of their descendants. Who do their descendants include? You and me!

If we were to summarize what God has promised so far in His covenant, it would be this: God promises to preserve human life. He promises that never again will there be such a world wide catastrophic flood upon the earth, killing all human life. As long as this planet exists, human life will be preserved.

In verses 12-17, we see God’s second promise. “God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’ And God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.’”

Basically, God promises to use a sign as a reminder of His pledge. He chooses to use the rainbow as a constant reminder to us and to Himself that He will never cause a catastrophic flood to cover all the earth and to kill the human race.

The word for “bow” is the same Hebrew word for battle bow, which makes the rainbow a vivid reminder of what has taken place. By placing a bow in the sky, not a bow and arrows, emphasizes that God’s battle against wickedness, His universal judgment has stopped for the time being. So for the rest of the history of this earth, He will never use a flood to bring judgment on the earth as a whole. He will bring periodic judgments to individuals and groups from time to time throughout history, but not as He did universally with the Flood. By putting His bow up in the sky, we have a sign of peace, until the final judgment day.

In addition, there had never been a rainbow before. This was a unique phenomenon to Noah and His family. Because there was no visible water vapor in the sky before the Flood, there was no possibility for a rainbow. Hence this rainbow, this sign, appeared for the first time after the Flood, when God began to water the earth with rains, ensuing four annual seasons on the earth.

God made this unique sign to remind us that this covenant stands unilaterally upon God’s unchangeable or immutable character and His ability to keep His promise no matter what we do. Every time we look upon a rainbow, we are reminded of God’s trustworthiness and declared love for us.

In addition, the rainbow’s colors remind us of what the Apostle Peter writes about, in 1 Peter 4:10, “manifold (many-colored) grace of God.” God’s promises of ongoing blessing today, to those who walk with and serve Him faithfully, are as multifaceted and multicolored as the full spectrum of the rainbow.

There is something else that needs to be noted. The rainbow appears to be a bridge between heaven and earth, reminding us that in Christ, God bridged the chasm that separated man from God. That Christ is the only way, the truth and the life, and no one can get to the Father but through Him.

In Ezekiel 1:28, we are told that in his vision, Ezekiel saw the Lord come down to earth in the appearance of the “rainbow.” We read this: “As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord....” In Ezekiel, the rainbow is on the earth. Then, in Revelations 4:3, the Apostle John, in another vision, describes a rainbow around the heavenly throne of God. There he writes, “And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.”

So, in one passage we have one end of the rainbow in heaven and in the other, the other end of the rainbow on the earth. What a beautiful picture this is of the truth that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes unto the Father but through this rainbow, Jesus. If you know Jesus as your own personal savior and Lord, then every time you see a rainbow, you can look up into the sky and worshipfully say, “Thank you God for sending Jesus my way. Thank you Jesus, for coming to this earth and dying in my place for my sin so I might get to know you and live with you forever.” God declares, reminds and proves to us that He alone is trustworthy. Just check out His rainbow.

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