The Noahic Covenant, Part Two
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
7/8 Reading Portions: Joshua 10; Psalms 142-143; Jeremiah 4; Matthew 18
Genesis 9:2
“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.”
PREMISE
Again, as we had read in the devotional thought from Genesis 8:20-22, the premise for the Noahic Covenant (as it is for all the covenants) was to reveal more prophetic truth concerning the Messiah and His gospel. What is embedded beneath the surface of Christ’s gospel is the depravity of fallen mankind. God not merely revealed this before the flood (Gen 6:5), but He repeated it following the sacrifices Noah offered when he came forth from the ark:
And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” Genesis 8:21
The intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth, which leads us to the truth of our verse. Why are the animals now afraid of man? Many commentators state that it is because man will now be allowed to eat animals (Gen 9:3-4). I don’t believe this is the reason; which I will address in tomorrow’s devotional thought. No, I believe that today’s verse alerts us to three truths.
First, YHVH God provides for us a distinction between the relationship of man with the animals before the flood, which is distinguished from that relationship man has with the animals after the flood. Before, there was harmony between man and the animals. This is an interesting thought when we consider the sacrifices of animals in the nine generations before Noah, such as Abel’s sacrifice from the flocks, would seem to mean that the animals, not being afraid of men, went willingly to those men making sacrificial offerings to God Almighty. This foreshadows the Sacrifice of Christ, who laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11).
Second, sin and judgment sever good, loving, and harmonious relationships, whether with animals, with one another, and especially with God. By this, fallen man must live daily with the reality of that fear and its disharmony.
Third, the fear of mankind upon animals, and with the flesh being allowed as food, not merely for man, but also for the animals among the more ferocious and flesh-eating species, animals will appear in dreams and visions, their characteristics used as illustrative depictions in those dreams and visions. Daniel’s vision of world empires is one such example (Dan 7:1-8).