Monday: Covenant With Noah
“But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee” (Gen: 6:18).
In the above verse the word covenant appears for the first time in the Bible, and, in this context, God has just told Noah about His decision to destroy the earth because of the massive and continuing spread of sin.
Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Though this destruction will come in a worldwide Flood, God is not forsaking the world He created. He continues to offer the covenant relationship first set in operation after the Fall. The divine “I” who offers the covenant is Himself the ground of Noah’s security. As the covenant-keeping God, the Lord promised to protect the family members who were willing to live in a committed relationship with Him, one that resulted in obedience.
Was the covenant with Noah just one-sided? Remember that the idea of a covenant implies more than one party. Did Noah have his end of the deal to uphold? What lesson is there for us in the answer to these questions?
God tells Noah that there is going to be a flood and the world will be destroyed. But God makes a deal with him, in which He promises to save Noah and his family. Thus, the stakes were quite high, because if God did not uphold His end of the promise, then no matter what Noah did, he would have been wiped out with the rest of the world.
God said He would make a “covenant” with Noah. The word itself implies an intention to honor what you say you will do. It is not just some whimsical statement. The word itself comes loaded with commitment. Suppose the Lord had said to Noah, “Look, the world is going to end in a terrible deluge, and I might save you, or I might not. In the meanwhile, do this and this and this, and then we’ll see what happens, but I’m not making any guarantees.” Such statements hardly come with the kind of assurance and promise found in the word covenant itself.
| Some people have argued that Noah’s flood was not worldwide but merely a local deluge. If so, then in the context of what God promises in Genesis 9:15 (see also Isa: 54:9), every time another local flood happens (and they seem to happen all the time), God’s covenant promise is broken. In contrast, the fact that there has not been another worldwide flood proves the validity of God’s covenant promise. In short, what does this tell us about how we can trust His promises? |
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Some people have argued that Noah’s flood was not worldwide but merely a local deluge. If so, then in the context of what God promises in, every time another local flood happens (and they seem to happen all the time) is God’s covenant promise is broken? Help me out here!
The LORD saved Noah and family from the worlwide flood and promised to never again destroy the earth with a worldwide flood.
If the flood of Genesis was not worldwide then every time there has been local floods we could accuse God of not keeping His promise.
Ronald, to address your question, J. Johnson wrote about this subject (which you can find on the internet) to clarify:
"Since Chinese civilization began soon after the Tower of Babel, the first Chinese settlers still had a fresh memory of mankind's origins. All events were observed in Chinese pictographs including the theme involving universal flood or water. Universal is conveyed by the number eight, boat is illustrated as a vessel or container and eight people."
Check the website "Genesis in Chinese pictographs". There's plenty of evidence, that the flood was not local. Also, you may discover other evidences of creation etc..
God bless.
The evidence of a worldwide flood can be seen in Gen 16:17. We see the evidence of a worldwide flood in continents and islands masses of land cut and separated by water. The Lord in creation first separated dry land from the water, which implies that the land mass was first whole. We see evidence of a worldwide flood when fossils of aquatic life are found in places that show no evidence of water having been present.
There are innumerable physical examples but God's words remain true Gen9:13, Gen9:16 God mentions "all flesh, the earth, all creatures" therefore the covenant includes the entire world because the entire world was affected.
Thou wilt keep his in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusted in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
Isa 26:3-4.
Covenant With Noah
Song came to my mind is- sweet promise is given to all who believe, behold I came quickly my own to receive. What a promise to those who believe!!!
A covenant is an agreement someone makes before and not after the event/plan/situation. The two or more have to agree or else it is not a covenant, or it is one sided. Some covenants have a time line(7days, 7mths, 50yrs etc) or some is for ever (perpetual). eg marriage.
When the Lord made the covenant with Noah in Gen: 6:18. The bible says the Lord already saw the wickedness of men. Then he approached Noah with his plans, told Noah his plans because he did not want the righteous to suffer with the wicked. Asked Noah to make an ark of gopher wood and all the plans for the boat to bring it to completion. In the meanwhile, Noah was to warn the people of the coming destruction which Noah as a friend of the Lord did. In many covenants in the bible, we saw the Lord and people (single or many) were friends. When we have a friend and trust that friend, we do anything for that friend. Eventually covenants become easy to keep with a friend. Those people did not see the Lord as a hard task master but as a friend. A guide and provider, a keeper and a sustainer, a creator and a recreator.
"Some people have argued that Noah’s flood was not worldwide but merely a local deluge. If so, then in the context of what God promises in Genesis 9:15 (et al), every time another local flood happens (and they seem to happen all the time), God’s covenant promise is broken."
This is what Genesis 9:15 says: and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.(NKJV)
What I understand the lesson author to be saying is that in the time since Noah's flood, the earth has experienced only localized floods in different areas but no global or universal flood so God has been faithful to His covenant.
God always means what He says and says precisely what He means! And we can "take it to the bank", as they say. Though we humans always breach our end of the contract, God is faithful; so every time since the time of Noah, that it sets up to rain, or even though the weather forecasts a hurricane or storm, we know, we believe that it will pass and we will survive as we look at the beautiful rainbow in the sky signifying God's promise. God's love grace and mercy are written all over His creation, even though marred by sin.
As I am taking a fresh look into the familiar Scripture accounts of Noah and his family, I am becoming more and more convinced that our heavenly Father has always had a life-sustaining Covenant relationship with His children. We are part of His Creation; His desire to keep His creation ‘alive’ implies that He guards it and maintains it; I see our Creator as engaging in this standing Covenant with His Creation indefinitely. The fact that everything continues to exist implies an unspecified, yet governing influence-relationship with that which He created.
The Creator is perfect, therefore that which He created to have spirit/life within itself perfectly expresses the Creator Father’s nature; that which has life in it 'ought to' live according to His established Laws and Will.
Humans have the freedom to choose, and I therefore believe that the Creator’s Covenants are essential in order to maintain the relationship with us; His is a nurturing relationship with everything created.
I identify Him as the original/first Father communicating His special guidance to His children to foster and protect their mutually beneficial relationship. It is He who created all things and designed us for Him to have fellowship with us – Rev.4:11KJV. Even in our first parent’s home, God saw it needful to establish parameters. To benefit humanity, each new environment requires a specifically designed Covenant to govern, protect and maintain the life in it.
The ability of the living soul to exercise its free will makes it essential to establish Covenant parameters to so protect the relationship between Creator and its creature.
The Creator’s Covenants with His children are never unbalanced, never favoring one side over the other; they are solely designed to communicate who the Creator is, who we are, and that He loves and cares for His creation.
The Creator introduced Himself first as our Almighty God – the I AM, then as our LORD and Master, then as our Father. His Covenants are solely designed to protect His creation and his creature and express His Hope and desire for man to execute his agreed to commitment faithfully.
Covenant rules are always established by the Creator, but the Father executes and administers them by His Spirit of Love and Compassion for man, always hoping for his children to continue to love Him, live up to their promises and faithfully do right by Him.
Below all our scriptural studies focusing on theological truths and scriptural accuracy lays, as its solid foundation, the loving Heart of our heavenly Father, longing to be recognized by His children for the Love He has for them and His creation, longing to enjoy fellowship with His created living souls – His children.
The LORD created everything in the earth and The LORD destroyed all of Creation, except for a Remnant. History will repeat itself. How are you part of the Remnant? Some would say by acts of obedience and Faith. I think The Scriptures say we are members of The Remnant because of The LOVE of The LORD and The Mercy of The LORD. The Remnant are those human beings who Believe in The LORD, Believe in The Death of Jesus Christ, the son and Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and who tell the world and reveal the character of The LORD.