Wednesday: The Covenant – Part 1
Now it is the moment when the promised covenant was to be fulfilled. “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark — you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you” (Genesis 6:18, NKJV). In contrast to the divine threat to destroy (Genesis 6:17), this covenant is the promise of life.
Read Genesis 8:20. What did Noah do first when he went out of the ark, and why?
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Like Adam and Eve, who surely worshiped God on Sabbath immediately after the six days of Creation, Noah worshiped God immediately after the Flood, another creation event in and of itself. There is a difference, however, between the two acts of worship. Unlike Adam and Eve, who worshiped the Lord directly, Noah had to resort to a sacrifice. This is the first mention in the Scriptures of an altar. The sacrifice is a “burnt offering” (‘olah), the oldest and most frequent sacrifice. For Noah, this sacrifice was a thanksgiving offering (compare with Numbers 15:1-11), given in order to express his gratefulness to the Creator, who had saved him.
Read Genesis 9:2-4. How did the Flood affect the human diet? What is the principle behind God’s restrictions?
Because of the effect of the Flood, plant food was no longer available as it used to be. Therefore, God allowed humans to eat animal flesh. This change of diet generated a change in the relationship between humans and animals, in contrast to what has been between them in the original Creation. In the Creation account, humans and animals, shared the same plant diet and did not threaten each other. In the post-Flood world, the killing of animals for food entailed a relationship of fear and dread (Genesis 9:2). Once they started eating each other, humans and animals had, no doubt, developed a relationship quite different from what they had enjoyed in Eden.
God’s tolerance, however, had two restrictions. First, not all the animals were proper for food. The first restriction was implicit in the distinction between “clean and unclean” animals, which was a part of the Creation order (see Genesis 8:19-20; compare with Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24). The second one, which was explicit and new, was to abstain from the consumption of blood, for life is in the blood (Genesis 9:4).
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Aroma - Noah's sacrifice of thanks had a pleasing aroma (Gen. 8:20-21). A sacrifice of love covers over the stench of self-serving and of putting self first, aka sin (Eph. 5:1-2; Phil 4:18). Another beautiful fragrance is the knowledge of God(2 Cor. 2:14-16). The more we spend time with God, the more His "scent" rubs off on us.
As I write this, I'm sitting on the bed in my late grandmother's room breathing in the faint whiff of old perfumes. I'm preparing to move in to help my 86-year-old mom and in so doing I'm cleaning out drawers in this bedroom, so many fancy old glass bottles of scented powders and perfumes - honeysuckle, carnation, gardenia, musk, even a box titled "Hakim's Perfumes of Ancient Egypt". I take the cover off "Nefertiti" and immediately picture Mimi's smiling face as she draws me in for a hug.
I want to spend so much time walking with God that others are easily lifted to His presence just from the lingering fragrance on me.
We have just had some serious floods in Australia. Some of the commentators are scratching a bit for comparisons. I can remember some floods that were about as bad, but they were a long time ago, before the current crop of news commentators. Some areas were flooded twice in the space of 6 weeks. Lismore, a town in Northern NSW saw water up to the ceilings in the CBD when the Richmond River and Wilson Creek broke their banks. People had to be rescued from the rooftops. Millions of dollars worth of stock was lost. They had just swept out the mud, dried out a bit and restocked their shelves when, 6 weeks later, the second flood hit, not quite as high as the first one, but a double whammy in terms of stock lost and cost. Business owners are devastated. Blame and aspersions were cast at governments, the weather bureau, the coal miners and gas crackers and anyone else. You can hardly blame them, they were hurting really badly. Then the government agencies stepped in to offer support. Many of the affected residents were quite cynical. It is a federal government election year and promises are being made thick and fast. The government's track record regarding election-year promises is not good.
God is not like the government. He does not have to make promises to get elected. But, his covenant/promises can be ignored, to our peril!
Genesis 6:18 Noah and his family went into the ark and God established his covenant with them. I feel like our only safety in the days ahead is to enter again into the ark of God's protection through the ark of the covenant. Following His commandments in His strength, He will see us through the raging and catastrophic storms ahead.
How do we respond to folks using Gen 9:3 "Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything" (NIV) to say all flesh --sans blood-- is allowed as food?
I understand Gen 8:20 says "clean animal .. clean bird", but Gen 9:3 clearly says "everything".
If Noah and his three sons & the wife's had based their understanding of God words on a few selected words(Genesis 9:3), it would have been an extinction meal for any unclean kind they ate(unclean by two, male & female), before reproduction occurred.
Good point! I will have to remember that when giving a Bible study on the topic.
Great point, Peter! I had the same general idea, but "extinction meal" is definitely your invention!
That a very good point... very illuminating.
Prior to the flood man was NOT permitted to eat animals - only seed bearing plants. However when the animals were going into the ark, the designation of clean/unclean was made. First time.
This suggests that the clean/unclean designation was original unrelated to human diet. I haven't been able to figure out what it meant in the antediluvian world from my bible.
Did fish and sea creatures count? I kind of get the feeling that Noah and family ate fish rather than the animals they were carrying? Perhaps eggs…lots of birds on board? Only God knows…
The author is implying that God, after the flood, restricted meat eating to “clean” meats only. But God had said, “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, its blood.”(Gen 9:3,4)
Christ’s sweeping commentary on the Word of God was: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”(Matt 4:4) Later He often emphasized that the words He spoke were never His own (Jn 7:16; 8:26; 14:10,24); and in Jn 12:48-50 this amazement: “… For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given me a commandment what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is Eternal Life; therefor the things I speak, I speak JUST AS the Father has told Me.” Christ declared that His food was doing the will of God and accomplishing His work (Jn 4:32,34; 6:38-40).
If only Adam, a type of Christ (Rom 5:14), had so regarded the Word of God! God, of His sovereign Will, placed a prohibition on one tree, forbidding eating of it although it was like all the other trees, good for food and pleasant to the eyes (Gen 2:9). They were FREE to eat from every other tree (Gen 2:16,17).
Even if Adam and Eve had resolved between themselves to not even touch the tree, God never prohibited touching the tree, contrary to Eve’s recall. In her statement “lest you die” she changes God’s emphatic “you shall surely die”. She has reasoned that the prohibition was because of some poisonous quality in the tree or fruit, that it was a “warning”, deceiving herself into the serpents ultimate deception, “you shall not surely die”. Satan knew that there was nothing wrong with the tree or fruit so he got her right there. Satan’s lie convinced her that the tree was good for food etc, and that God’s prohibition was therefor foolish. It is evil to change, despise, add to, or rebel against the word of God.
God told Moses to take the Rod and go speak to the Rock. It was the same rod used to strike another rock which brought forth water for the people. So although Moses was to have the rod in his hand he was commanded to speak to the rock, the word of God. He struck the rock in rebellion against God’s word. Water still flowed for the people, a manifestation of God’s infinite willingness to give the Holy Spirit to His people. But Moses must die in the wilderness like all the others of his generation, except Caleb and Joshua. Changing the word of God in any form can never produce truth.