Genesis 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. (KJV)
Like many posts in my Bible 911 series, I will have to expand my text to do this justice. Genesis 9:1-17 is what needs to be considered. I feel this is a transition section, with verse 11 as a promise from God. I am not going to make this into a “Common Creator vs common origin” or a “Creation versus Evolution” post. Since it is about the Flood, I will talk about one aspect of that.
Walking With God
- Genesis 3:8 God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve.
- Genesis 5:22-24 Enoch walked with God.
- Genesis 6:9 Noah walked with God.
- Genesis 17:1 God asked Abram to walk before or with Him.
Take a Muse Moment and think about how you are walking with God.
Brit or Covenant
Genesis 6:18 is the first time God offers a brit (Strong’s H 1285) to a man. My references are the Strong’s Concordance and Brit Chadashah – the New Covenant (hebrew4christians.com). Covenant is used many times in our Old Testament. The point was made that you need to pay attention to the verb if there is one, that goes with the making of the covenant. In 6:18 the verb is “establish” (H6965). Compare this to the covenants God made with Abram in Genesis 15:18 (H3772) which should be read as “cut”, and 17:2 – I will make (H5414).
A covenant or agreement was made between two parties and frequently required an act of “passing through” something. That may be a very simple explanation. Genesis 9:11 had Noah and his family passing through the water of the flood, a shadow of baptism. In Genesis 15 the smoking pot and flaming torch passed through a lot of blood and cut up animals. I do see the elements of a covenant in Genesis 3:21, an animal was killed and Adam and Eve were surrounded (passed through) by the skins.
This new covenant in Genesis 9 washes over the curse in 3:17-21. Yes, some elements may still be visible, but I think Satan has much to do with that. God is not finished with this yet, skip to the back and read it. This started a study on food from Genesis 2 to Noah. Cain, Abel, and Noah were the reason for this study.
No Flood, Just Fire
Genesis 9:11 is a promise that a Noah-like flood will not happen again. It should be noted that the tower builders in Chapter 11 did not believe God on that subject. A personal note here, even among Christians the topic of the Flood will manifest many reactions; some of them may surprise you. There is a movie, Is Genesis History?, that gives many good ideas on the topic. Do your homework here and listen to different viewpoints. Keep the big picture, the Flood occurred, but I was not there to give you the exact details. It has been interesting over the years to watch evolutions try and argue away the things they do not like.
The idea of things burning up, as taught by Jesus started in Matthew 3:12, 13:30, and 40; it is repeated in Luke 3:17. John 15:6 gives another look at the same topic. 2 Peter 3:12 tells us that the day of God will burn up the heavens and the elements. On a slightly smaller scale Revelations 8:7 talks about the earth, trees, and grass being burned when the first trumpet sounds. The one-third here makes me think of Revelations 12:4 where one-third of the stars were thrown down, this has been associated with the number of angels who followed Satan. You can have a good study looking at “third” in Bible Gateway, I used the NASB. (Isaiah 9:19 refers to the land being burned, and that people will be fuel for a fire (NIV). I just read it during my morning study.)
Signs
God gave the sign of the rainbow (Genesis 9:12).
In Creationist thought this is important because it marks a change in the earth’s atmosphere, remember the Flood was the first rain on earth. This ot or sign was given to reassure man and to remind God of His brit or covenant with Noah and his children. It is a shame that we have given it up to be a symbol of unrighteousness. It is a symbol that God washed the earth once and the next time He will use fire.
God gives signs to remind us of important things He does for us. Circumcision is a sign of the covenant with Abraham and his family (Genesis 17:11). The Ark is a sign of the Covenant Law given to Moses; yes, that is just one thing it is and represents. (See Saul and the Signs)
Romans 4 is Paul’s insight into the semeia or sign of circumcision and the seal of righteousness (Strong’s G4973). Sign – σημεῖον | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com
The path I am about to step on may be for only one person or as wide as a Roman road. In 1 Corinthians 1:22 Paul makes a valid observation of human nature: Jews ask for signs and Greeks want wisdom. The desire for “signs” has been around for a long time. Yes, he was talking about the cross, which still is a problem for people. Gideon had his fleeces, and the Philistines had their new cart and nursing cows. Christians, what do you look for? In Genesis 15 Abram was told to count stars for his sign. Jesus was asked many times to produce a sign so His countrymen would believe He was the Messiah. Jesus told them of the sign of Jonah, but they did not understand. On Tuesday of Holy Week, the leaders asked Jesus for a sign, He was on the Temple Mount (See The Sermons on Two Mounts-Sadducees and Pharisees). Before He left to go to the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave a sign/prophesy about the stones of the Temple. That came to pass about forty years later courtesy of the Roman army.
If you want a simple, all-encompassing answer about signs, I do not have one. We have “cast lots” or pulled slips of paper from a hat many times for a sign to settle problems in our house. See Acts 1:26.
Here is a path in the direction we are traveling, symbols of faith or good luck charms. “It is bad luck to be superstitious” has been a favorite response of mine for many years. I have known good people to do things or wear something believing that it will give them favor for the season. An answer from me would either pave a road or build a wall; take a Muse Moment and seek your Creator.
Signs; Godly signs can come after an event to help us remember, they can come before an event to reassure us, or they are ongoing symbols to remind us to not waiver. Miraculous or mundane signs are to bring us and glory to the Father.
Food
One aspect of Genesis 9 that surprised me as I worked on this post was a change in diet. Genesis 6:21 and 9:3 are about food. 9:3 gives man permission to eat plants and everything that “lives and moves”. This verse begins and ends with “everything” – H 3605. The post, Hevel or Abel goes into this thought more. I did find it interesting that in 9:20 – 24, we see a vineyard and Noah drunk.
The New Covenant
The idea is that a new covenant starts in the old, especially in Jeremiah 31:31, but read the entire chapter. This verse is quoted in Hebrews 8:8 and 10:16-17. Brit Chadashah – the New Covenant (hebrew4christians.com) I see some similar elements in the repopulation of the earth after the Flood and Jeremiah 31:27 with Judah being “repopulated” after Babylon.
The story of the Good News of this Covenant is populated with signs, symbols, people, and acts of faith. This grace that we get to walk in is from Jesus taking our sin and covering it with His blood. His cross/altar allowed Him to be put into the earth and then be born from on high. He took His blood and then sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat/Throne of God and now acts as our Paraclete with the Father (1 John 2:1, Hebrews 12:24). We get to be servants of this New Covenant because of the Spirit who gives life and we can remember Jesus’ sacrifice when we partake in Holy Communion. (2 Corinthians 3:6 and Luke 22:20)
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