COVENANTS AND CURSES
GENESIS 9:1-29
This
is a chapter of new beginnings. The
destruction of the flood is past. The
judgment of God has come and gone. Those
who were in the ark were spared; all else was destroyed. Now we come to a new beginning. That new beginning has echoes of the first
beginning.
|
Adam |
Noah |
|
Adam was the
father of the human race. |
Noah is the new
father of the human race. |
|
Adam was told
to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. |
Noah is told to
be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. |
|
Adam was to
rule over the animals and God brought them to him to be named. |
The fear of
Noah and his descendants will be on all the animals. They are given into his hand. |
|
God gave to
Adam the herbs and fruit of the ground as food. |
God adds to
Noah’s choice of food the flesh of animals. |
As
Noah and his family come out of the ark, it is possible that they were a bit
apprehensive. God had just destroyed the
world because of its wickedness in an awesome display of power. Perhaps they begin to wonder if God might not
send another flood if they step out of line.
I can imagine their fears escalating when the first thunderstorm
strikes. To alleviate their fears, God
established His covenant with Noah in which He will promise never again to
destroy the world with a flood.
COVENANT
STIPULATIONS
1 And God
blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on
every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that
creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are
given. 3 Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for
you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4 Only you
shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And
surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And
from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever
sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He
made man. 7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate
the earth abundantly and multiply in it." (Genesis 9:1-7).
Noah is to be the new Adam for the human race. Accordingly, to his is given the same mandate
that was first given to Adam. It is the
mandate to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. However now there is a difference.
1. Mankind to Rule by Fear:
And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of
the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the
ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given (9:2).
The relationship between mankind and the animal
kingdom was not previously described as involving fear or terror. Man exercised a rulership over the earth, but
it seems to have been a benign rulership.
This now changes in the new age.
This does not give us carte blanch to treat animals in a cruel
manner. The Proverbs remind us of this:
A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast,
But the compassion of the wicked is cruel. (Proverbs
12:10).
On the other hand, this is not a call for mankind to
become vegetarians or to disallow the possibility of taking the life of an
animal. Rather it is a call to refrain
from needless cruelty toward animals.
2. Mankind to Live by Eating Animals: Every moving thing that is alive shall be
food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant (9:3).
This also seems to reflect a change from the previous
age. In Genesis 1:29 God gave to man
plants and the fruit of trees for food.
This is expanded to include the flesh of animals as a part of the diet
of mankind.
3. A Prohibition against Blood:
Only you shall not eat flesh
with its life, that is, its blood (9:4).
The exception to man’s diet in the including of the
flesh of animals is that he was not to eat flesh with its life. On the one hand, this means that the eating
of an animal must necessarily cause the death of that animal prior to the
eating. But more specifically, it is a
prohibition against the drinking of blood.
Blood was to be special and sacred. Why?
Because blood represented life.
That is seen in both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. When we speak of the blood of Jesus being
shed, we are not speaking about some magic quality in His hemoglobin, but the
fact that He gave His life for us.
4. Capital Punishment: Whoever
sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He
made man (9:6).
Some
have seen the institution of capital punishment as the basis for human
government. The phrase by man his
blood shall be shed suggests, not the actions of a vigilant or seeker of
vengeance, but of an organized governing body.
Capital punishment has two results:
• It
eliminates the offender.
This is rather obvious. One way to stop murder is to get rid of the
murderer. Those who argue against the
effectiveness of capital punishment have to admit that, at the very least, it
stops repeat offenders.
• It
demonstrates the high value of human life.
That is the point being made in this passage. It is underscored by the explanation that
reminds us that in the image of God He made man. The point is that, when a man is murdered, a
being who is in the image of God is killed.
This is such a terrible crime that it calls for a terrible punishment --
the death of the murderer.
At the same time, we must remember that capital
punishment was not to be lightly or carelessly administered. The Mosaic Law recognized the difference
between premeditated murder versus accidental manslaughter and judged
accordingly.
ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE COVENANT
8 Then God
spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 "Now
behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants
after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the
birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out
of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 And I
establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by
the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the
earth." (Genesis 9:8-11).
God
establishes His covenant with Noah and with his descendants. This same covenant was promised prior to the
flood in Genesis 6:18, but it is here that the covenant is established.
1. The Covenant Concept.
The term “covenant” is translated from the Hebrew word
Beryth. Some have suggested that
this word comes from the terms for "eating" and
"binding." Noth suggests that
it derives from the Akkadian birit, which relates to the Hebrew term
meaning "between." A third
suggestion points to the Akkadian root baru, "to bind or
fetter." It is used in the Bible as
that which binds two people together. It
involves a verbalized commitment, but it is more than that. It is a relationship of life and of death. This is seen in the fact that you did not
write a covenant; you always CUT a covenant.
The making of a covenant was always sealed with the death of an
animal. This was so ingrained in the
ancient culture that, at a later date, the word “covenant” sometimes disappears
entirely as you read of two parties “cutting together.”
2. The Parties of the Covenant:
I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants
after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the
birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out
of the ark, even every beast of the earth (9:9-10).
A covenant is always between at least two
parties. One of these parties is the
Lord. He is making this covenant. God makes this covenant with Noah, his
descendants and with every living creature.
|
The Lord |
— |
Noah and his descendants and
every living creature |
This is generalized even further when we come to verse
13 where God establishes the covenant between Himself and the entire earth.
3. This is an Everlasting Covenant: All flesh shall never again be cut off by
the water of the flood (9:11).
God promises that there will never be another flood to
destroy all flesh from the earth. This
is a message of comfort to Noah and to his family who had been witnesses to the
terrible wrath of the judgment of God.
They can believe this promise and be at rest.
THE
SIGN OF THE COVENANT
12 And God
said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and
you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;
13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign
of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 And it shall come about,
when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, 15 and I
will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living
creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to
destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon
it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature
of all flesh that is on the earth." 17 And God said to Noah,
"This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and
all flesh that is on the earth." (Genesis 9:12-17).
God
gives a sign to remind man of His promise never to destroy the world again by a
flood. The rainbow will serve as His
divine signature to His everlasting covenant with man and the earth.
1. The Nature of the Sign:
I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant
between Me and the earth (9:13).
The bow was one of the modern weapons of war for that
day. It served to the armies of
antiquity what guided missles do for armaments of today. It allowed death to be delivered from a
distance. The bow of God represents His
weapon of warfare that had been utilized in bringing the destruction of the
flood.
That bow is to be set in the cloud in the way a man
might take his weapon of war and place it over the fireplace mantle. It is to be set on display for all to see
that it is no longer in use. It serves
now, not as a weapon of present warfare, but as a reminder of the conflict that
once took place.
2. The Uniqueness of the Sign.
Some have suggested this to be the first rainbow that
man had ever seen. Genesis 2:5-6 speaks
of how it had not previously rained upon the earth and that a mist would come
and water the earth. On the other hand,
we need not read into this sign the idea that a rainbow had never before been
seen. It is just as possible for the
Lord to take existing phenomenon and to invest it with new meaning and
significance.
3. The Sign as a Reminder:
I will remember My covenant
(9:15).
Just as rain upon the earth during this present age
reminds man of God’s former judgment in bringing the flood, so the rainbow is
to serve as a reminder of God’s promise never to flood the earth again. The sign is an assurance to us that God is
remembering His covenant.
The rainbow as the sign of the covenant is appropriate
when we contrast it to the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant.
|
Noahaic Covenant |
Abrahamic Covenant |
|
The sign is the rainbow. |
The sign is circumcision. |
|
The sign reaches out to all
creation because it is a covenant with all living things. |
The sign is private and
personal because it marks an individual as one of God’s covenant people. |
Circumcision is a sign in man’s body. This was appropriate because man alone is
involved in the covenant with God. It
marked that individual as being one of God’s covenant people.
By contrast, the Noahic Covenant involves all created
life. As a result, the sign is not given
in the body of Noah, but in the sky where it is identified, not just with Noah,
but with all of creation.
The
rainbow is mentioned only three more times in the Bible. It always indicates the presence of the Lord
in judgment over mankind.
• Ezekiel’s
vision of the glory of the Lord: As
the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the
appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness
of the glory of the LORD. (Ezekiel 1:28).
• The
Apostle John’s vision of the Lord: And
He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and
there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance
(Revelation 4:3).
• The
Great Messenger from Heaven: And I
saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and
the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like
pillars of fire (Revelation 10:1).
THE
SONS OF NOAH
18 Now the
sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham was
the father of
This
is the fourth time we have been given the names of all three of the sons of
Noah (Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 7:13). This
time there is a difference. This time we
are told that Ham was the father of
We
are inclined to read over this and barely take note of the reference to
NOAH’S
DRUNKENESS
20 Then
Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. 21 And he
drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.
(Genesis 9:20-21).
Noah
had stood steadfast against the attacks of those mighty men of old who set
themselves up against God. He had
demonstrated his faith during the flood while he was in the ark. Now that it was over, there comes a failure
on his part. This serves as a reminder
that it is possible for one who is strong in faith to be tempted and to fall
into reproach.
Noah
took up farming. In the course of his
labors, he planted a vineyard and, when harvest came, he produced wine. The sin of Noah was not that he drank the
wine, but that he kept on drinking in an immoderate manner until he became
drunk.
• Drunkenness is always condemned in
Scripture: And do not get drunk with
wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians
5:18; see also Isaiah 5:22; 28:7-8; Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 5:11).
• The
drinking of alcoholic beverage is permitted and even advised under certain
circumstances. Jesus demonstrated this
at a wedding when He changed water into wine (John 2:1-11). Paul told Timothy to utilize wine for
medicinal purposes. [1]
• Paul
instructed believers in the church not to associate with drunkards who were
claiming to believe in Christ (1 Corinthians 5:11). The point is that being drunk is inconsistent
with being a Christian.
HAM’S
INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
22 And
Ham, the father of
When
we read that Ham saw the nakedness of his father and then read of the
extreme curse that is placed upon
1. This could merely be the impious action of a son looking
disrespectfully upon the nakedness of his father. By contrast, his two brothers take care not
to allow they eyes to even see the nakedness of their father, holding a garment
and walking backward with gaze averted as they move to cover their father’s
nakedness.
2. This language could be a euphemistic reference to a
homosexual act. There are several places
in the Old Testament where we see examples of this. [2]
A further hint that this may have been the case is
seen in verse 24 where Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger
son HAD DONE unto him. This seems to
refer to more than Ham seeing his father’s nudity and then speaking about it in
an improper manner.
The magnitude of the curse would seem to suggest a
greater sin involved than the immodest look or the ill-advised communication of
what had been seen.
Whichever
interpretation is chose, Ham's actions are seen in contrast to his two brothers
who are careful not even to look upon their father's nakedness. He has looked and then he has spoken in what
apparently has been a dishonorable manner.
They resolve that they will do neither.
Instead they show their respect for their father’s privacy by taking
care not to see him in this condition.
NOAH’S
PROPHECY
24 When
Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he
said,
"Cursed be
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers."
26 He also
said,
"Blessed be the LORD,
The God of Shem;
And let
27
"May God enlarge Japheth,
And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
And let
Adam
sinned and became naked. Noah does the
same thing. He becomes drunk and he lies
naked within his tent. We are reminded
that the last Adam became naked as He hung upon the cross in our place.
|
Adam |
Noah |
|
Placed into a Garden |
Plants a garden |
|
Eats the fruit of the tree |
Drinks of the fruit of the
vine |
|
Results in recognizing his
nakedness |
Results in lying naked in
his tent |
|
Results
in a curse Results
in a lasting division of the seed Followed
by a genealogy to demonstrate the division |
|
|
His eyes were opened and he
knew he was naked. |
He awoke from his wine and
knew what his younger son had done. |
|
He was judged and cursed by
God. |
He placed a curse upon |
The
prophecy comes in three parts, dealing with each of the three sons of
Noah. On the one hand, there is a
cosmological significance to this prophecy, since all mankind is descended from
these three men.
On
the other hand, it should be remembered that this prophecy had a special
meaning to the original recipients of the book of Genesis. The Israelites in the wilderness will soon be
given the directive to enter the promised land and destroy all of the Canaanite
inhabitants who are there. This curse is
a part of the reason for that destruction.
1. The Curse against Canaan:
Cursed be
Just as Noah's youngest son (Ham) had committed the
sin, so now Ham's youngest son (
It should be noted that the Canaanite race was noted
for its moral decadence.
• Sex
worship.
• Bestiality.
• Child
sacrifice.
• Homosexuality.
Thus, the judgment would not be upon an “innocent”
people merely on the basis of the sin of a past ancestor. Instead, the words of Noah become a prophecy
that foretells what kind of people will come from the descendants of
2. The Blessing of Shem:
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let
By virtue of this phrase, it is indicated that the
spiritual leadership of the world is to come through the line of Shem. It is from Shem that the nation of
3. The Enlargement of Japheth:
"May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of
Shem; and let
There is a play on
words off the name "Japheth."
His name means “to enlarge” or “be wide” and this blessing calls for God
to enlarge Japheth.
May God YAPHETH
Japheth...
The other nations of the world are promised a blessing
which shall come through Shem. This
promise will be explained in more detail as the Lord reveals Himself to
Abraham.
|
Promise to Japheth: “God
will enlarge him.” |
↔ |
Promise to Abram: "In you all of the families of the
earth shall be blessed." |
Is there a particular way in which God has enlarged
Japheth? When we consider that the
descendants of Japheth are largely made up of the Indo-European peoples, we can
think of several ways in which this prophecy might have seen fulfillment.
• A
physical enlargement can be seen as the descendants of Japheth have been the
rulers of some of the greatest empires of the world.
• A
mental enlargement can be suggested as Japheth has produced great philosophers
and scientists.
• A
spiritual enlargement has been seen throughout most of church history as the
world of Japheth is largely the world of Christendom. The Orthodox Catholic and Protestant churches
have been the legacy of the descendants of Japheth.
However, there is some question as to who the pronoun
refers to in the middle of verse 27.
May God enlarge
Japheth,
And let HIM dwell in the
tents of Shem;
And let
Most people think that this is Japheth dwelling in the
tents of Shem. But there is another
possibility. It is GOD Himself who shall
dwell in the tents of Shem.
Think of it!
The God of the universe, Creator of heavens and earth, taking residence
in a tent! Preposterous! And yet, that is exactly what God did. As Moses was writing this book, he could look
to the center of the Israelite camp and see the tabernacle ‑ the tent of
meeting.
This is also a Messianic prophecy. God tabernacled with us, taking upon Himself
a Jewish “tent.” He who was from the
beginning and who was without beginning became flesh. Forever He shall dwell in the Tent of Shem.
NOAH’S
LATER LEGACY
28 And
Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 So all
the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died. (Genesis
9:28-29).
We
tend to think of Noah’s ministry as that which took place prior to the flood
and in the survival through the flood, but Noah continued to live another 350
years after the flood. Though we are not
told the details of his post-flood ministry, I have little doubt that a
ministry did continue to take place.
We
have already mentioned several points of comparison between Adam and Noah. This parallel suggests that Noah played the
part of a second Adam in guiding the human race.
• Both
were commended to fill the earth and to exercise control over it. In such a manner, Jesus sent His followers
into the world to make disciples of all the nations.
• Both
were blessed by God. By contrast, Jesus
took upon Himself the wrath of God that was our due.
• Both
sinned by the taking of a fruit; Adam by eating of the forbidden fruit and Noah
by drinking of the fruit of the vine until he became drunk. By contrast, Jesus was without sin, yet drank
the cup of God’s wrath for us.
• As
a result, each was naked and then covered by someone else; Adam was naked and
given coverings of skin by God while Noah was naked and covered by two of his
sons. By contrast, Jesus became naked
upon the cross in order to provide the covering for our sins.
• In
each case, their sin resulted in the giving of a curse; Adam’s sin brought a
curse upon all of his progeny while Noah’s sin brought a curse upon
• Both
had three sons mentioned in Scripture, one of whom headed the Messianic
line. Jesus is the Second Adam and the
One who gives eternal rest.
Both
of these men looked forward to the coming of the promised Seed of the woman who
would come to earth to destroy the works of Satan.
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[1] No
longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your
stomach and your frequent ailments (1 Timothy 5:23).
[2] To "look" on or
"uncover" a person's nakedness was sometimes used in the Old
Testament as a euphamism for various sorts of sexual interaction. None of you shall approach any blood relative
of his to uncover nakedness; I am the LORD (Leviticus 18:6). The context makes it very clear that this is
speaking of sexual intimacy. "Come
down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of