January 14, 2019

It Didn't End at the Rainbow.

Genesis 9

Stephanie Metzger
Monday's Devo

January 14, 2019

Monday's Devo

January 14, 2019

Central Truth

Genesis 9 showcases the grace God bestows and His immense desire to use creation for His glory. Even Noah's disobedience doesn't nullify God’s covenant.

Key Verse | Genesis 9:11-13

"I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you . . . for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

Genesis 9

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 dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

Whoever sheds the blood of man,
    by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.

And you, 1 9:7 In Hebrew you is plural be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Noah's Descendants

18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. 2 9:19 Or from these the whole earth was populated

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 3 9:20 Or Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

“Cursed be Canaan;
    a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

26 He also said,

“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem;
    and let Canaan be his servant.
27  May God enlarge Japheth, 4 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for enlarge
    and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
    and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Footnotes

[1] 9:7 In Hebrew you is plural
[2] 9:19 Or from these the whole earth was populated
[3] 9:20 Or Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard
[4] 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for enlarge

Dive Deeper | Genesis 9

In Genesis 9 God gives us the rainbow as a sign of His covenant to never flood the earth again. He gives instruction to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over all living things. Yet soon after, we see Noah sin by drinking too much in the vineyard. I told my roommate, "Ya know, I really wish this had ended at the rainbow. It would be a lot easier to write." But no! God put this in the Bible for a reason! And just like all Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), it applies to us! 

Genesis 9:3 states, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything." Yet by Genesis 9:20, Noah has overindulged so much in this gift, it is sinful. Despite his faithfulness and obedience to God in Genesis 6-8, Noah’s actions depict how we frequently interact with the world our Creator has fashioned for His glory—we overindulge. We yearn for fleeting joys found in "things" over satisfaction found in Him. As humans, we are often ruled by the created instead of the Creator

We often wish our own stories would’ve stopped at the rainbow and that we hadn’t stumbled that time or two . . . or two hundred. But Genesis 9 showcases the grace God bestows and His immense desire to use creation for His glory. This one event where Noah disobeyed didn't nullify God’s covenant. God doesn’t need our perfection to keep His promises. God is sovereign and perfect. 

Today, we can have confidence in an even greater 2,000-year-old covenant: Jesus. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)

No stumble prohibits us from being covered by the grace of Jesus Christ. Not one thing. Praise God for that!

Discussion Questions

1. From 1 John 5:11-13, do you have confidence in the new covenant God has made available to us through Jesus' death on the cross? Do you trust that Jesus' death on the cross was the payment for ALL sins, and because of His death, we can have eternal life? Do you believe that nothing disqualifies you from the opportunity to receive this grace?

If your answer is "no" to any of these questions, please be sure to check out 1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, John 1:12, John 5:24, or simply click on this link. You can also  comment down below, and I would love to respond to you! 

2. In what areas of life are you craving the created over your Creator? How is this affecting how you steward your time? What about your treasure? 

3. In light of question #2, how can your daily actions change to reflect worshipping your Creator instead of the created? 

4. What are the rainbows in your life? What things or people in your life serve as reminders of God's goodness and promises?