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Genesis Chapter 9
As we ended last week's lesson
Noah and his family and all the animals that had been with them in
the ark, stepped into a new and very different world. And so began God's covenant with creation that has lasted down to this present time. Chapter
9
V1 "And God blessed Noah and
his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth. --"into your hand are they delivered."
Here again God gives man dominion over the animals, but this time it was on an entirely different basis. God had first given this dominion to Adam, as we see in Genesis
Originally, man in his innocence ruled over the animals by love. They were tame and came to him without fear to be named. But this time man's dominion over the animals would be difference, they
would be ruled by fear.
Yes, the fear of man was now lodged in the heart of every creature and their service to man would be on the basis of subjection. The domestic animals would serve him in life and in death to provide his clothing and food. The horse and the ox would patiently submit to the bridal and the yoke, and the sheep would be dumb before the sheer, and before the butcher, for man was no longer to be a vegetarian. And it was a good thing for man that God had lodged the fear of man into the hearts of the animals. For by fear, the wild animals that could be harmful to man are restrained. It is the fear of man that keeps wolves out of our towns and lions out of our streets and confines them, for the most part, to the wilderness. And by the restraining hand of God we can tame and rule over animals that are much larger and stronger than ourselves, like the horse and the ox and the domestic elephant. Yes, our dominion over the animals is a gift from God, and we should not abuse it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V3 " Every moving thing that
liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have
I given you all things."
Here man receives another grant from God to supply himself in this new world. Up until this time, God had maintained man on a vegetarian diet. Gen.1:29 says " And God said,
Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is
upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of
a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."(Or for
food)
Now, God adds meat to his diet as a further provision for His sustenance. We might well ask why it was now necessary to include animals in man's diet. We don't know for sure, but it seems reasonable to assume that in this new world, without a universally temperate climate, fruits and vegetables would not be as abundant as before, so meat would be a necessary addition. However, with this addition, God enforced a new dietary law to govern the eating of meat. V4 "But flesh with the life thereof,
which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Scripture teaches that blood is synonymous with life. For instance, Lev. 17:11
says " And
whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers
that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even
set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him
off from among his people. So blood is not really intended to be food but rather is a symbol of life, and in that capacity it is "an atonement for" the soul. Because "the wages of sin is
death", then atonement must involve the shedding
of blood which is the same as the shedding of life.
This of course points to the fact that, when Christ shed His blood upon the cross, He poured out His very life for our sakes. So because of the special place that blood holds in the economy of God, the blood of animal was not to be consumed as food. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ And because blood and life are inseparably connected, God has emphatically set down another rule concerning blood that has nothing to do with diet. V5-6 "And surely your blood of
your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will
I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every
man's brother will I require the life of man. Now, some people might point to God's judgment upon the Antediluvian world as a proof that He has very little regard for human life, but that is not true. We can see from these verses that God puts the highest value upon human life and invokes the ultimate judgment upon those who would destroy the life of any man. And this prohibition was put upon both man and beast,
V5 " And surely your blood of your lives will
I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and
at the hand of man"
No, God's actions, in destroying man by the flood, was not a disregard for human life, but rather the rightful prerogative of the Creator to cleanse the earth of sin. Gen.6:12 "And God looked upon
the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth."
So, because of His righteous nature, and the exceeding sinfulness of the Antediluvian race, "the Judge of all the earth" needed to take action. And those whom God sets up as His representatives also bear the responsibility of carry out His laws. V6 "Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by
man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made
he man."
By God's law every man's life is protected, because every man is created in the image of God. Yes, God commands capital punishment for wilful murderers of mankind, and the authorities of our land, set up under God, bare the responsibility to carry out His commands. Romans 13:4 says, concerning those in authority, "-- for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." In the immediate context, this verse refers to the godless Roman government, but it still maintains that those in authority are-- "the minister of God" Tragically today, God's Law has been legislated out of the courts of our land, so that our magistrates actually do bear the--"sword in vain", and as a result the innocent suffer. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V6-7 " Whoso sheddeth man's
blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made
he man. God's purpose was to replenish the earth that had been destroyed by the flood. Unlimited tracts of land, indeed the whole earth were before man and beast. While on the one hand man had been commissioned to travel across the earth and to "multiply therein", on the other hand, man had been given God's divine protection against those who would violently take away his life. And no doubt God's prohibition against the taking of human life was to guard against a reoccurrence of the evil practices of the Antediluvian age. Gen. 6:11 "The earth also was
corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V8-11 " And God spake unto
Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, We often think of God's promise as a covenant made exclusively for mankind. And indeed it was made
with man, "with you, and with your seed after you;"
However we need only look at V10 to see that this covenant was with all
of God's creation, "And
with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of
the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that
go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth."
Indeed creation had once suffered because of Adam's sin, and had again suffered greatly because of the sins of the Antediluvian race. So this covenant was an assurance to them that man's sin would never again destroy the animals while the earth remained. V11 "And I will establish my
covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any
more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a
flood to destroy the earth."
We need only revisit chapter 8 to be reminded of the occasion of this covenant. V21 " And the LORD smelled
a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not
again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination
of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite
any more every thing living, as I have done."
The "sweet savour" of Noah's sacrifice spoke elegantly of the Lord Jesus Christ and the coming of His supreme sacrifice for sin. Because of this, God could deal with man in grace rather than judgment. As the old world's ruination was a monument to God's justice, so this covenant with the new world was a monument to God's grace. We should always remember that the waters that were once above the firmament are still with us upon the earth, with the potential to once again cover the entire globe. However, by God's mercy, this tremendous quantity of water is now locked into icecaps at our poles and is contained in mammoth seas and oceans that cover much of the earth's surface. Their proud waves still rise, but only so far, and will never again threaten the life of all mankind. Job recognized God's grace in these limitations, and spoke about them in -- Job. 38:8-11 "Or who shut up
the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out
of the womb? And so man, even though he continues to mock God, is kept safely under
the terms of God's covenant with Noah and creation.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V12-17 " And
God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and
you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual
generations: We notice again that God's covenant is not with man alone, but it "is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh". And V16 tells us the bowl was a reminder of that covenant. V16 -- "and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature" We humans sometimes need a bow or a string on our finger to remind us of something. But God never forgets, so I wonder why He says He will place a bow in the cloud "and I will look upon it, that I may remember" I think the bowl is actually there, not as an aid to God's memory, but it is a visible assurance to man that God has not forgotten His covenant. V17 "And God said unto Noah,
This is the token of the covenant, which I have established
between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I remember years ago when Eleanor and I bought our first house. When the real estate man gave us the papers to sign he put a little red sticker next to the line we were to sign on. These stickers were circular and the edges were serrated, and out of curiosity I asked him what they meant. He said it was reminiscent of the days when people would sign with their blood. Their finger would be picked and a drop of blood put in front of their signature. So in effect that drop of blood was a token, or a symbol of the sincerity of the person signing. So the bow in the cloud was a token to establish in man's mind the sincerity of God's promise. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ And spiritually, the bowl in the cloud speaks to us of God's mercy upon each one of us. Through His grace, the dark clouds of judgment that had hung over our heads, when we were without God and without hope, were suddenly changed to a thing of beauty when the Son of Righteousness shone into our lives. And the bow in the cloud also speaks to us of
In that darkest of all clouds that hung over the cross and discharged God's judgment upon the Lamb of God, the eye of faith can see the most brilliant and beautiful bowl appear as the words of Christ ring out "It is finished", and light triumphs over darkness. And God also looks upon
He sees His glorious victory shining on the dark cloud of judgment,
and remembers His covenant with the tribes of
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Have you ever gazed upon a beautiful rainbow and suddenly realised, at that precise moment God was looking at the very same thing as you were? And as we gaze upon the bow it is wonderful to contemplate what God will and will not remember. He will remember the new covenant, but He will not remember His people's sin. The cross which ratifies the first puts away the second. We often say, you just can't have it both ways. But, in Christ Jesus we do have it both ways. God remembers His covenant, but forgets our sin. And it is also encouraging
to remember that when God brings " -- a cloud over the earth, that the bow
shall be seen in the cloud:"
Yes, when God allows the storm clouds to gather in our lives He will also bring the beautiful bow of hope. And, if we will trust Him completely, we will find that the darker the cloud the brighter will be the bow. 2 Cor.1:5 " For as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by
Christ."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ So when dark clouds would roll in over Noah's head, and his old
fears would make him a little nervous; then he would see God's sign
and be assured once again, -- "I
will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every
living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become
a flood to destroy all flesh."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V18-19 " And
the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham,
and Japheth: and Ham is the father of
There is no indication that Noah had any more than these three sons. Not a large family in
that day, and yet from these three men "was
the whole earth overspread."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V20-23 "And Noah began to be
an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: Before the flood, Noah had spent a great deal of his time in carpentry, but perhaps now he had gone back to his normal occupation of farming. We know that "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.", so there is no reason to think that wine was a problem in his life. However, perhaps he had initiated a feast with his family to celebrate the ingathering of his crops, and he drank too much for his head at his age and became drunk. After his complete resistance to the influences of the ungodly, now it seems that more relaxing times were a snare to him. Yes, we must guard against the more subtle temptations. As the Scripture says
-- "let
him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V22 " And Ham, the father of
The fact that Ham had seen his father's nakedness accidentally was not a sin in itself, but the little word "saw" in this context implies the thought "to gaze at", and evidently with some satisfaction. So Ham's actions seemed to bring to light a long hidden resentment of his father's godly authority. It is the character of evil people to rejoice in evil. So, perhaps he had been reproved by his father for this very sin of drunkenness and was now pleased to see Noah overcome by the same fault. So Ham seeks out his brothers to relay this juicy piece of information, but found that their reactions were quite different from his own. V23 "And
Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders,
and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and
their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness."
Notice the difference in the sons' reactions to their father's fall into sin. Ham rejoiced, and exhibited his inner rebellion against his father's authority, and God's authority also. Shem and Japheth's reaction showed Godly grace. They covered his sin just as God, by His grace, had covered theirs. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V24 "And
Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done
unto him."
The event was a great tragedy but it did have this one advantage. The true motives of his son's hearts were laid bare before him. And although Noah's words would be a reaction to his sons' actions, they definitely went far beyond his own human capacity. So it is evident that God was using this terrible event as an occasion for a Divine prophecy. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ As scholars have looked down through history and tried to relate this prophecy to the historical record, there has been differences of opinion as to its fulfillment. One problem is the fact that, although the sin was clearly Ham's, Noah addresses the curse not to Ham himself, but to one of his sons. Gen.9: 24-25 "And Noah awoke
from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. So the question comes, was this curse to affect all of Ham's sons, for he had four in total, or was it only to be visited upon the descendents of Canaan? If the curse was to be upon the entire family, for after all, the
offence was Ham's not
For instance some of Ham's descendents included the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and other nations of the past. All of these were great nations represented many peoples of different colours and languages but there is no indication that any of these were subservient to other peoples. Unfortunately, in spite of the wide variety of nations that stemmed from Ham, there are those who would single out the African American and erroneously apply this prophecy to him, in order to justify their own evil deeds perpetrated against that nation. In so doing they added insult to injury, both to God and man. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ However, it seems to me that verse 25 clearly indicates that Noah's curse
was to specifically fall upon the descendents of Ham's youngest
son
V25 " And
he said, Cursed
be
Perhaps, of all of Ham's sons,
And scripture does indicate that some of the descendents of
Yes, scripture confirms the fact that, 800 years after Noah's prophecy,
And interestingly enough, the reason that these nations were subdued and
destroyed, was to exercise God's judgment upon them for the
very same rebellious and godless ways that had brought
down Noah's curse upon Ham and
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V26-27 "And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and
There are many nations represented in the lineage of the other two sons of Noah. In the line of Shem we have such nations as
In the line of Japheth we have the Indo- European nations. V26 says "Blessed
be the LORD God of Shem"
Actually Noah blesses God here, not Shem directly, for through the line of Shem God has brought blessing to the whole world. Yes, it was through
But the question comes, how did the descendents of Japheth "dwell in the tents of Shem"? Well, for a period of time some of the seed of Japheth, that is
the Greeks and Romans, did rule over
But spiritually speaking, to a large degree the descendents of Japheth actually have benefited from the God of Israel. The Jewish Messiah, Who was rejected by
So in that very real sense, Japheth does "dwell in the tents of Shem" ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V28-29 "And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. God gave Noah a long life; he lived 20 years longer than Adam, and only 19 years less than Methuselah, the longest living man on earth. Noah lived to see two worlds, both of which were quite different from each other, but in the end, both tainted by sin. However, because he was an heir of righteousness that is by faith, he left both of these worlds behind, and once again stepped into a new world, a new eternal world that defies description. |
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