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God's Covenant with Noah
Genesis 9:8-17
Good News Translation (GNT)
8 God said to Noah and his sons,
9 "I am now making my covenant with you and
with your descendants,
10 and with all living beings - all birds and all
animals - everything that came out of the boat
with you.
11 With these words I make my covenant with
you:
I promise that never again will all living beings
be destroyed by a flood; never again will a
flood destroy the earth.
12 As a sign of this everlasting covenant which
I am making with you and with all living beings,
13 I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be
the sign of my covenant with the world.
14 Whenever I cover the sky with clouds and the
rainbow appears,
15 I will remember my promise to you and to all
the animals that a flood will never again
destroy all living beings.
16 When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will
see it and remember the everlasting covenant
between me and all living beings on earth.
17 That is the sign of the promise which I am
making to all living beings."
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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
Scripture Union
God's Covenant with Noah
Genesis 9:8-17
The story of Noah is a very
familiar one, which I remember
hearing many times during
my childhood.
The problem with the Noah story
is that because we think we know
the story, we often don't read
the whole story.
We read about the ark
and the flood,
the dove and the rainbow
but for most of us
the story stops there.
But there's more,
This passage describes God
making a covenant with
'every living creature' and,
as was common in the
ancient world, views this
as including creatures
inhabiting the skies (birds)
and land (domesticated
and wild animals).
The word translated 'covenant'
here is used to describe a
contract regulating the
relationship between two parties.
Throughout the Bible are
records of various covenants
between God and human beings,
alone or as families or nations.
As Christians, we are drawn
into the new covenant,
sealed by Jesus' life,
death and resurrection.
The covenant in Genesis 9
is unusual because God here
promises something to
'all flesh', that is,
including animals and
not just humans.
Why does God not just make
a covenant with Noah
and his descendants -
or perhaps with the humans
and their domesticated
animals that provide them
with items necessary for
daily life?
The more biologists uncover
of the natural world,
the more they become aware of the
interdependency within and
among all living things.
There are highly intricate
and dynamic relationships
within each living cell,
between cells,
between organs in bodies
and between animals and plants,
both as individuals and
as whole populations.
We are part of a web of life.
God did not create us in isolation
but as creatures embedded within
a wider created order.
Moreover, here and elsewhere
in the scriptures we find
evidence of the Lord's ongoing
faithfulness towards all that
lives, not just humankind.
If we think about the worst recent
floods there have been,
for me Bangladesh springs to mind,
although this was a huge disaster,
people lost their lives,
their families and their homes,
it was only one country.
It is almost impossible to imagine
that kind of flooding in every
country at the same time,
but that is what Noah and his
family actually experienced.
When we think about Noah's experience,
we realise how important
God's promise would have
been to Noah,
how important are God's
promises to us?
Thank you, Lord God, that you
care for and continue to support
all that you have made.
Help us, Lord, to consider how
we should live in relationship
with your wider world in a way
that respects you
and all your creation.
Other versions are available here
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