E. Genesis 9:5 – 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.
1. God demands an account to be given for a human’s life being lost:
· Caused by a beast
· Caused by another human
· Caused by a relative
2. No indication here as to how the account is to be given.
3. According to Luther, the phrase “at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man” is the institution of government and is a divine institution
F. Genesis 9:6 – Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
1. No man has the right to take the life of another man by his own devices. It is only when a man is acting under the ordination of God’s commandments does he have the power to inflict death upon another man.
2. God here is comparing the act of unauthorized destruction of a human life to the destruction of the image of God since man is made in the image of God.
3. Capital punishment is hereby ordained as God is authorizing the execution of murderers, man is authorized to exact this punishment
4. Arguments against capital punishment are arguments against the divine judgment of God and undermines the structure which He established for the government of mankind
5. Details of how this is accomplished are left to mankind
G. Genesis 9:7 – And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
1. Counterpoint to verse 6 in that not only are you to not kill another human you are to multiply and bring forth more humans.
2. A continuous commandment throughout the ages
H. Genesis 9:8 – And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
1. God - אלהים 'elohiym, since God is about to make this overarching covenant with all His living creatures this is ascribed to God in His capacity as the Universal Creator rather than the specific covenant God - יהוה Yĕhovah, whose name appears to be evoked with respect to the seed line of the Messiah.
2. Here again God speaking to Noah and his sons
I. Genesis 9:9 – And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
1. Whose covenant is it? God’s
2. Established with Noah and all descendents or all human beings present (from this point in time) and future
J. Genesis 9:10 – 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.
1. All creatures share in the benefit of this covenant
2. This is the implementation of the covenant spoken in -20
3. No negotiations, God dictates the covenant and that’s it effectively limiting His divine freedom to operate within the confines of this covenant. Why would He do that? What does He gain from doing this?
4. Another issue for those supporters of a local or regional flood as opposed to a universal…why would God only make a covenant with these humans and animals that have come forth from the ark while ignoring others who were of other “non-flooded” regions.
K. Genesis – 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.
1. Again, if the flood was a regional flood then God did not keep this covenant because there have been a multitude regional floods down through history resulting in much loss of life.
L. Genesis – 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:
1. Unconditional promise, God expects us to believe His promises
M. Genesis – I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
1. Is this the first visible rainbow? If so there had to have been some significant structural changes post flood
2. If rainbows have been visible prior to this then it would have been nothing special , effectively weakening the meaning of the sign.
3. When do rainbows appear today? After the rain…Its like God speaks “Don’t worry, I remember what I said.”
N. Genesis – And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
1. Is this seen by God or the inhabitants of the earth, there have been many rainstorms where a bow is not visible from the ground, but what about from above?
2. Obviously there have been bows present, I’ve never met someone who ignored a rainbow, it has a way of getting your attention
O. Genesis – And 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.
1. If the purpose of this bow is to be a “reminder” to God then He is the intended audience.
P. Genesis 9:16 – And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that [is] upon the earth.
1. Here is the answer, God will look upon the bow, which symbolizes the terms of the covenant that He made with the inhabitants of the earth.
2. Notice here this is an “everlasting covenant”, how is this so?
· Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
· This covenant will outlast the very subject matter within the covenant
Q. Genesis – 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.
1. Token - אות 'owth (feminine noun) sign, signal, token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof (set a sign or gave him a pledge) this sounds remarkably like the word “oath” in today’s English… The word is used 79 times in the KJV as follows: sign(s) 60, token(s) 14, ensign(s) 2, miracles 2, mark 1
2. The same word is also used to describe the “mark” placed upon Cain, making it less likely that there was a physical mark upon Cain.
3. Ezekiel – Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.
· Sign – אות 'owth
· Notice that God says that the Sabbaths are MY Sabbaths, not the Jew’s Sabbath’s or the Israelites, but they belong to God. He is referencing here the High Sabbath’s or feast days.
II. Ham’s Transgression Against Noah (Genesis -29)
A. Genesis – And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham [is] the father of Canaan .
1. Ham is the father of Canaan – why is this mentioned here? Ham had other children, why is Canaan singled out?
2. Still a future event, Canaan was not present on the ark
B. Genesis – These [are] the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
1. Indicates that the descendents of these three overspread the entire earth.
2. Doesn’t necessarily say that everyone is a descendent of one of these three. Example three brothers are born today their descendents could eventually overspread the whole earth, does that mean everyone on earth then would be exclusive to these three brothers? No, there are 7 billion other people on the planet today.
3. This leaves the door open for those who support a regional flood
4. By omission this indicates that Noah did not have any more sons
C. Genesis – And Noah began [to be] an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
1. Husbandman - איש 'iysh denotes a man of more noble quality (Gesenius’s Lexicon)
D. Genesis – And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
1. Here is where things get a little tricky
2. Was it Noah alone who was drunk
3. Was Noah alone uncovered?
E. Genesis – And Ham, the father of Canaan , saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
1. Here again is special mention of Ham being the father of Canaan , why?
2. What is “the nakedness of his father” mean? See below…
F. Genesis – 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.
1. The temptation of sin is removed
G. Genesis – And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
1. How would he know if it was merely gazing upon his naked body? Indicates some sort of physical action was taken, something that would have left evidence behind
2. When did he know? No specification of time could have been immediately or months later
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