O. Genesis – And God spake unto Noah, saying,
1. God - אלהים 'elohiym
P. Genesis – Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
1. אלהים elohiym says “Go forth” , yet is was יהוה Yĕhovah in 7:1 that said “Come thou”
· In 7:1 the covenant God says “Come thou” entering into the ark, know that God will make provision, be their protector and He is interacting much more personal knowing that Noah and his family would be inclined to fear what is about to happen to them.
· Here after a year inside the ark under God’s personal protective provision, God now speaks as the all encompassing creator God with instructions to “Go forth”. Much less delicate and sensitive as spending a year under God’s personal provision would have a significantly increased their faith. God is now commanding His creation to accomplish the purpose for which they were initially created.
2. Hear we see that the only people to come off of the ark were Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives, 8 souls.
3. Were there children? Perhaps, but they were not mentioned here as being born yet.
Q. Genesis 8:17 – Bring forth with thee every living thing that [is] with thee, of all flesh, [both] of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
R. Genesis – And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
1. Noah obeys and leads
2. Noah’s sons are no spring chicks they are around 100 years old each, yet they are still led by their father Noah.
S. Genesis – Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, [and] whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
II. Noah’s Family Replenishes the Earth 8:20-22
A. Genesis – And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
1. Here we have the first mention of an altar being built
2. Think about the enormity of this sacrifice, there are only 7 (or 14) of each of these “clean” animals yet Noah is sacrificing each of them. This is yet another example of Noah’s faith in God to replenish that which Noah freely gives. In human eyes it would seem foolish if there were only 7 cows on the planet to sacrifice one.
B. Genesis 8:21 – 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.
1. The LORD - יהוה Yĕhovah
2. What is the sweet savor that the Lord smells? Is it the burning meat or the faith of Noah?
· Since God is a spirit and the aroma of cooking meat would seem to have no influence on Him it seems that God “smelled” something else that was pleasing
· Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
3. Does our faith have a sweet smelling savour?
4. God here enters into an unconditional covenant, a promise. Why is it unconditional? Because Noah has already met the condition, he had enough faith to sacrifice of his limited resources God saw this and rewarded all of Noah progeny on his behalf.
· God was not disillusioned about the nature of mankind, He is still aware that “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” yet in spite of this He still blesses us.
· He knows that even with this fresh start man will eventually get to their pre-flood state once again.
5. The Lord will not again curse the ground. Meaning He will not add to the curse that was already upon the ground as a result of the fall
6. Neither will I again smite every living thing. He will not again destroy the earth as He has done, which leaves the door open for destroying the earth in another way.
C. Genesis – While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
1. 8 Things God promises will not cease “while the earth remaineth”:
· Seedtime & Harvest - Agricultural
· Cold & Heat - Physical
· Summer & Winter - Seasonal
· Day & Night - Time
2. These 8 items are paired with their opposite to form a poetic essence to this promise, this unconditional covenant of God
3. These promises provide stability and peace of mind for those who trust in the Lord
4. Implication here is that the earth or at least the current state of the earth is not eternal
Chapter 9
I. The Earth Replenished (Genesis 9:1-17)
A. Genesis 9:1 – And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
1. God addresses Noah and his sons yet Noah only had these three sons that were already born. As far as we know Noah was not fruitful after the flood only his 3 sons.
B. Genesis 9:2 – And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
1. Is this blessing for Noah and his sons only? Does it include all mankind?
2. Genesis – And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
· Sounds as if God has restored mankind’s authority to take dominion as He is re-iterating the first commandment that He gave to mankind
· Here we see that the earth is essentially washed clean and has become new, this seems to be a foreshadowing of all things becoming new for those in Christ
· II Corinthians -18 – Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
· Revelation 21:5 – And He That sat upon the throne said “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said unto me, “Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
3. Ephesians 1:19-23 – And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to Us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fullness of Him filleth all in all.
4. Hebrews 2:8 – Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under Him.
C. Genesis 9:3 – Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
1. First mention of God permitting animal meat to be consumed for food.
2. “As the green herb” seems to indicate that up to this point that was the only thing permissible.
3. Indicates that if meat was eaten prior to this declaration it was done so without the permission of God.
4. No indication as to why the permission is given here
5. No distinguishing between clean and unclean, but merely states “every moving thing that liveth” however, we already know from the number of animals taken aboard the ark that there was a discrimination between clean and unclean. There is no limit on what is permissible here, specific rules are given in Leviticus
6. We know that health wise there are some animals that are unhealthy to eat, most of the animals defined as unclean in Leviticus are not healthy to consume for food.
D. Genesis 9:4 – But flesh with the life thereof, [which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
1. No eating of living animals or blood, animal must be killed and drained of blood
2. Are animals today properly prepared in this manner? Most grocery store meat has blood in the meat.
3. Leviticus - For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul.
· The life (נפש nephesh) or the soul is in the blood, thus the blood requires a rendering of dignity.
· Provides some insight into atonement, in the blood resides the life and that life going out on the alter atoned for the loss of life brought about by sin.
· If the blood of the sacrificial animal was deserving of this special treatment, how much more should we honor the very blood of God. Do we really understand the magnitude or the importance of Christ’s shed blood? In this blood was the very life of God, poured out on the alter for us. Its like all of mankind was in need of a blood transfusion and Christ had enough for all of us. All we have to do is sign the consent form.
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