Can you recall the last time you were in great need of something and you cried out to God for help? What happened?
When God’s people follow His pattern seen in the Law of confession, sacrifice by way of genuine repentance, and worship, He always blesses us. It brings Him great joy because it reflects our love for Him and our humble submission to His authority over heaven and earth.
When Noah and the remnant of living creatures exited the ark, he built an altar to the Lord and worshipped Him by sacrificing “every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” (Genesis 8:20) This pleased the Lord greatly, so much so, that He made an oath to Himself that He would “never again curse the ground because of man, even though man’s inclination is evil from his youth. And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21)
Our act of worship moves the heart of God in profound and incomprehensible ways. He goes to the ends of the earth to express His love for us, and when we reciprocate our love to Him, even in the smallest measures, His grace and generosity pours forth! All Noah did was give thanks to God for saving the earth, his family, and the animals by way of a sacrificial ceremony to memorialize the Lord’s gracious deliverance. It was simple, yet God responded with a profound promise that would affect every generation for the rest of earth’s existence.
The first part of the promise started with the provision of life itself:
“God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority.” (Genesis 9:1-2)
This promise sounds quite familiar. That’s because it came from the first covenant God made with mankind when He created them in His image. Genesis 1:27-30 says:
“So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.”
“God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
After Noah exited the ark and God re-established the covenant with man, there was an alteration from the original. Did you notice in the first covenant that God said man would rule over the creatures and in the one to Noah that “the fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth…?” Why the change from respectful authority to fear-based? We find the difference in the next parts of the covenants.
To mankind in the beginning (Genesis 1:29-30):
“God also said, ‘Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”
To Noah after the flood (Genesis 9:3-7):
“Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.
Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans his blood will be shed,
for God made humans in his image.
But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
At the beginning, every creature including people only ate from seed-bearing plants and trees. After the flood, now man was allowed to partake of every creature except man himself and the blood of any animal/life. This became more refined for the Israelites as they became a nation under God. Though it doesn’t explain why God allowed this, what we can understand are two important cares of the Lord:
The Generosity of God: “Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.” (Genesis 9:3) God has given us everything. We get the privilege of living in this world to experience relationship with the Lord of heaven and earth, and to be in awe of His glory. Isaiah 6:3 testifies that “His glory fills the whole earth.” We get to taste and experience everything that is good about His creation and magnify Him for it all.
The blessed sanctity of life: “God made humans in His image.” (Genesis 9:6) Every life, whether inside or outside of the womb, is precious to the Lord. He carefully planned and made each and every one of us remarkably in His sight (See Psalms 139:13-18).
In regards to blood, this is where the power of life is found in every creature, and it is important to the Lord. It is to be taken care of with respect:
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement. Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.”
“Any Israelite or alien residing among them, who hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. Since the life of every creature is its blood, I have told the Israelites: You are not to eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.” Leviticus 17:11-14
The Lord needed Noah and his family to hear that all life is important to Him, and especially that of mankind. He did what was necessary with the flood, but by no means was that reflective of any evil or dismissive intent. It was purely righteous and just, and in love so that the ruin of the wicked over His creation would be curbed and He could reestablish His covenant with us, in order to bring about the Savior’s promise.
As we see His heart for people and blood, this gets interwoven throughout all of Scripture from the blood being poured out around the altar of burnt offerings and sprinkled in the tabernacle in front of the veil of the holy of holies, to Christ’s blood shed on the cross for us. The life of blood shed cried out to God for justice to be served (see Genesis 4:10). But God’s love and justice is never without His patience and grace, which brings in the second part of God’s gracious covenant to Noah and all of creation. This has flowed from Noah’s life and continues throughout every generation until eternity arrives in the life here after because God never breaks His promises!
Let me ask you this: Have you ever been terrified thinking that God might send a flood to destroy the earth again? Why or why not? Can you imagine the questions rolling around Noah and his family’s minds? “If we sin, will God send another flood?” “…Might we be the ones who die next?” “Maybe we should stay close to the ark in case we need it again?” The danger with these questions is that they shackle one to fear. This leads us to take our eyes off of the Lord and begin doubting His faithful character. Instead of abiding in peace, we fear. Instead of trusting, we doubt. Instead of courageously moving forward into the abundant life He has planned for us, we shrink back and stay close to what’s familiar. We negate God’s word for our own wandering thoughts. But what should be trusted more? Our imaginations which can distort reality or God’s word which has faithfully proven accurate and gives us assured hope for our future?
Because God knows we’re prone to fear, He assured Noah’s family, and therefore us today, that He will never again send a flood to destroy the earth:
“Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ‘Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.’
“And 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 future generations: I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.’ God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.’ (Genesis 9:8-17)
Isn’t this amazing? God put a rainbow in the sky to assure His promise is remembered – His faithful love and grace on display for every generation. Therefore, we do not need to fear or doubt God’s promises to us. 1 John 4:18 assures us that, “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love.” When we draw near to the Lord and saturate our daily lives with His truth, we are guaranteed that His love will drive away the fears that reside in our minds and hearts. By remaining in God’s word, we also get to know the promises of God and can see that He has never broken a promise; ever! And in case we still question, like Isaiah 6:3 said, we can see His glory fill the earth, like when we see the rainbow in the sky, and remember His faithful, everlasting truth.
“For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20) Amen, indeed!
