The Noahic Covenant, Part Six
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
7/13 Reading Portions: Joshua 18-19; Psalms 149-150; Jeremiah 9; Matthew 23
Genesis 9:8-11
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish My covenant with you and your offspring after you, 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. 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.”
REVELATION
While many of the commentaries and theologies will give you a definition for what God’s covenant is, yet what is most important about God’s covenants to man are the details He reveals concerning Christ and His gospel. At their core and in their essence, each covenant God establishes is about Jesus (Psa 40:7-8; John 5:39). More gospel details will be revealed in the Abrahamic Covenant; and later through the Mosaic Covenant; and beyond that in the David Covenant.
Although we have considered God’s covenant to Noah as he left the ark and offered sacrifices, it is good to consider all of them briefly. And the sacrifices were the foundation for God to establish His covenant (Gen 8:20). They were a pleasing aroma to God (Gen 8:21) because every animal sacrifice foreshadowed the once-and-for-all Sacrifice of Jesus Messiah (Heb 10:4, 10).
This covenant reveals to us that blood is precious (Gen 9:4) because it speaks of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This covenant also reveals to us that life is valuable (Gen 9:5-6) because it is for lost souls that the Lord Jesus laid down His life (Luke 19:10; John 10:11). This covenant reveals to us that God shall “never again” cut off all flesh or destroy the earth by floodwaters because Christ Jesus is the true Sacrifice of the most pleasing aroma; and the only reason anyone will be cut off eternally, the only reason anyone will ever spend eternity in hellish torment, is because they have rejected the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.