Genesis 9: God makes a covenant with Noah

Genesis 9

¹Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

²The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.

³Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

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⁴“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. ⁵And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

⁶“Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made mankind.

⁷As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

⁸Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹“I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

¹⁷So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

The Sons of Noah

¹⁸The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) ¹⁹These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

²⁰Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. ²¹When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. ²²Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. ²³But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

²⁴When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵he said,

“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.”

²⁶He also said,

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!
    May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
²⁷May God extend Japheth’s territory;
    may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
    and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

²⁸After the flood Noah lived 350 years. ²⁹Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

Genesis 9 (NIV)

After the flood was over and everyone got out of the ark, Noah offered a sacrifice to God, and God was so pleased that He made a covenant with Noah and the whole world.

Lessons from Genesis 9

God’s will for us is that we be fruitful (successful, productive, prosperous) and increase in number.
We are not supposed to be afraid of animals, bugs, birds, fish, etc., quite the contrary, they have a fear and dread of us.
A time will come when we will all have to give an account of our lives: what we did/did not do, why/why not etc. Not only that but we will also be required to give accounts of others because we are indeed one another’s keepers. What are you doing with the gifts and blessings God has bestowed on you? How are you showing up for others? Are you telling your entourage about God?
God honors covenants even across multiple generations. The covenants He made with your ancestors and their offspring, he will uphold with you and your offspring. Find out about them and by faith, claim what is yours, lest the devil will steal them from you.
God promised Noah (and all who came out of the ark) that He will never again destroy the earth by waters of a flood. In case you are wondering why then places still experience floods (some of which result in loss of lives and damage to property) here’s an answer for you:
- First of all, none of the floods we’ve experienced or heard news of were anywhere close to what happened in Noah’s time.
- Secondly, the devil is a copycat. What knockoff artists do is they find something that has already been made and try to create replicas in hopes that people will mistake those knockoffs for the originals. The devil does the same, he finds something that God has done/made and tries to copy in hopes that people will think it came from God, like creating floods, plagues, etc. that cause loss of life and destruction so that people will blame God. I have seen some people even stay with afflictions because they believe “it is God’s way of teaching them”, this is simply not true, God will not afflict you to teach you a lesson.
God set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of His covenant with the world. Next time you see a rainbow, I hope it makes you smile and remember that God has good plans for you.
There’s blessing in honoring one’s parents. Don’t be like Ham who mocked his father when he found him drunk and nude. If you see your parents (or anyone else) in a compromising position, offer a helping hand, don’t mock or gossip. In doing so, you will be blessed.

Reflection

When the time comes for you to give an account of your life, will you have a good report?
Do you remember/know about promises from God to you and your ancestors?

Prayer

God thank you for being a promise-keeper. I pray today that you remind me of all your promises and prophecies upon my life, that I might hold on to them in faith and watch them come to pass. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.