Read Genesis 9
God’s Covenant With Noah
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
6 “Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made mankind.
7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there 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 generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
The Sons of Noah
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth.(Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth’s territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
Go Deeper
The beginning words of Genesis 9 are very similar to an earlier part of the book of Genesis. God opens this chapter by telling Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” If you recall, that is basically word for word what he told Adam and Eve! Why would God give the same command a second time? The story of Noah is one of the earliest examples of God’s desire for redemption. He is willing to give His people a second chance, even when all has been lost. Even though the world had turned its back on God, He was still resolved to rebuild His covenant with Noah.
What a relief that no matter what sins lie in our past, we have a God of the restart. Genesis 9 echoes what David would write centuries later in Psalm 103: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”
A few centuries after that, the Apostle Paul would write in 2 Corinthians 5: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.”
There is a common thread across Scripture that God is not quick to write us off. He is the God of the second, third, fourth, fifth chance. Even if your yesterday didn’t go as planned, God still has new mercies for you today. Take Him up on the offer of a fresh start!
Questions
What strikes you most about God’s covenant with Noah
What does it say about humanity that the story immediately following this new covenant is one of people making mistakes?
How have you taken God’s forgiveness for granted in your life?
Keep Digging
Were you confused or taken aback by the end of this chapter? If so, check out this helpful article from GotQuestions.org!
7 thoughts on “Genesis 9”
13 “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
I have seen several hundred rainbows in my lifetime, but they never get old!
What a beautiful sign of God’s covenant to the earth!
Noah and his family have just witnessed the judgement of God displayed on the evil culture surrounding them and his protection over them in the midst of it. Surely it was no secret that because of Noah’s obedience to God this was made possible. God lovingly reassures them with a covenant that destruction by a flood will never destroy the whole earth, seasons will cycle through, and a rainbow will appear after rain as a sign of his promises. Yet humanity is hopelessly flawed and in need of a savior. Noah gets drunk and one of his sons has no respect for him. Proof that what we read in Genesis 4:7 is true, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
New chances.
God told Noah to multiply life, sustain life, protect life and enjoy life. To have children is a blessing. Life is God’s gift and children are a heritage to be protected and invested in for His glory. Food, sustaining of life. But life is in the blood. God gives detailed instructions on how to use the animals for sacrifice and food. Protect life, be respectful with love towards on another. Enjoy life, storms come but they also stop. We have a covenant sign that God does not want us to be afraid, a rainbow. God wants us to enjoy natural and spiritual life. Romans 6:23 ESV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Every day is new. Start fresh. Give God all your things, pray, pray and pray some more. Look at life with joy filled eyes even when…
God thank You for Your covenant sign, the rainbow. It is so extrodinarily awesome. God thank You for each day being new. Thank You for how grateful I am for Your Word, Your nature, Your grace and mercies. God thank You for today and the minutes of this day that I can give You honor and glory through out. I love You God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and help me to love my neighbors as myself. God show me them through Your love goggles. Give me words if You want me to speak. ears what You need me to hear and love to show them You, in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one of those chapters that offers much to unpack from all the main characters — God’s commands (verses 1-7), God’s promises (verses 8-17) and God’s people (verses 18-28).
What first struck me was the PROMISE. I love rainbows. I smile every time I see one. I marvel as I remember God’s covenant. However, verses 14-15 point out that rainbows are a reminder to GOD. Whenever GOD sees one, HE is reminded of his promises.
That just blows my mind … I will continue to reflect on this more deeply offline.
Moving on to Noah and Ham … what does this sad, ancient story mean for us today? The GotQuestions article theorizes why Noah got drunk. Was he celebrating? Sorrowing? I expect it was “C – all of the above.”
After all, consider the intensity of all Noah had been through. The aftermath of the storm must have delivered such a flood of feelings:
Joy and relief that the storm had passed, and he and his love ones had been saved. Deep sorrow over such catastrophic loss. And a fair amount of overwhelm from the challenges past and those still to come. (Verses 1-7 highlight Noah had a lot of work yet to do.)
Noah was coping with “so much muchness!”
So often, so do we. And it is precisely in those times we are all most vulnerable. When hearts are that tender and mind and body that exhausted, we need to lean into God – perhaps even more AFTER the storm than we did during. (Something to ponder as we all go forward in these “post-Covid” days ….)
Meanwhile, Ham features in a cautionary tale of the dangers of carelessness when we come across those exposed and vulnerable. We should never mock each other’s brokenness. Instead, we must care for, cover, and respect each other, offering the same compassion we would hope to receive in our own “so much muchness.”
By the way, if you are in a similar season and need others to care for and cover you, be sure to check out Regeneration:Recovery:
https://harriscreek.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/701031
As Amy says, “Woo hoo!”
So cool behind the reminders of rainbows with our Lord. It is a great reminder that he is looking over us. there are a lot of parallels with noah and with adam and eve.
Interesting lesson to be learned at the end of the chapter too. Ham walked in but didn’t do anything, he just shared the news so when Noah found out. He cursed Ham while praising the people who graciously helped him out. May we do the same. Do what is hard in a gracious and honoring matter.
I am behind, so I realize no one may see this…but I found this of interest too, in terms of why Canaan was cursed from Got Questions:https://www.gotquestions.org/curse-Ham-Canaan.html
I shared a little bit of this reading with a friend, and in connecting it to the gospel I was reminded that not only did God NOT give us the punishment we deserve (Psalm 103:10) but He TOOK the punishment we deserved through the blood of Jesus. Steadfast love right there.