Genesis 9:1-17, And God pronounced a blessing upon Noah and his sons and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread and terror of you shall be upon every beast of the land, every bird of the air, all that creeps upon the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are delivered into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green vegetables and plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with the life of it, which is its blood. And surely for your lifeblood I will require an accounting; from every beast I will require it; and from man, from every man [who spills another’s lifeblood] I will require a reckoning. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He made man. And you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply on it. Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, Behold, I establish My COVENANT or pledge with you and with your descendants after you. And with every living creature that is with you—whether the birds, the livestock, or the wild beasts of the earth along with you, as many as came out of the ark—every animal of the earth. I will establish My COVENANT or pledge with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth and make it corrupt. And God said, This is the token of the COVENANT (solemn pledge) which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set My BOW [RAINBOW] in the cloud, and it shall be a token or sign of a COVENANT or solemn pledge between Me and the earth. And it shall be that when I bring clouds over the earth and the BOW [RAINBOW] is seen in the clouds, I will [earnestly] remember My COVENANT or solemn pledge which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy and make all flesh corrupt. When the BOW [RAINBOW] is in the clouds and I look upon it, I will [earnestly] remember the everlasting COVENANT or pledge between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said to Noah, This [RAINBOW] is the token or sign of the COVENANT or solemn pledge which I have established between Me and all flesh upon the earth.” (AMPC)

The faint rainbow that appears after a summer thunderstorm symbolizes God’s mercy, His compassion on all. Moreover, it is a sign of God’s covenant, His binding agreement with all humanity to never destroy the earth with a flood.

God initiated this covenant under the worst circumstances: Genesis 6:11, 13, “The earth was depraved and putrid in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence (desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power)…God said to Noah, I intend to make an end of all flesh, for through men the land is filled with violence; and behold, I will destroy them and the land.” (AMPC). “…depraved and putrid…” is equal to the word “corrupt” which is a verb translated to mean “ruined, spoiled, or destroyed”. Sinful people were bringing ruin to the world that belonged to the living God (Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it.” AMPC). God’s message to Noah was graphic and severe, but the faithful reader of the Bible is also impressed with God’s grace. The Creator of the universe, who owes man NOTHING, took one man into His confidence! Even though humanity’s decline into evil greatly troubled God, He favored one man, Noah. He determined to save Noah and his family from His coming judgement and establish His covenant with them.

Although Noah was surrounded by violence and all kinds of evil, Noah walked with God by seeking to obey Him: Genesis 6:9, “This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his [evil] generation; NOAH WALKED [IN HABITUAL FELLOWSHIP] WITH GOD.” (AMPC). The phrase “…walked with God…” is also used of Enoch (Genesis 5:22, 24, “ENOCH WALKED [IN HABITUAL FELLOWSHIP] WITH GOD after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters…And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].” (AMPC). It indicates a continual pattern of life – a marked contrast with the pattern of the life of the rest of the peoples of the world at the time. Noah’s complete obedience is similar to Abram’s (Genesis 12:4, “So Abram departed, AS THE LORD HAD DIRECTED HIM; and Lot [his nephew] went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.” (AMPC); Genesis 22:3, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which GOD HAD TOLD HIM.” AMPC). Noah’s simple obedience is recorded five times in this story: Genesis 6:22, “Noah did this; HE DID ALL THAT GOD COMMANDED HIM.” (AMPC); Genesis 7:5, 9, 16 “AND NOAH DID ALL THAT THE LORD COMMANDED HIM…There went in two and two with Noah into the ark, the male and the female, AS GOD HAD COMMANDED NOAH…And they that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in AS GOD HAD COMMANDED [NOAH]; and the Lord shut him in and closed [the door] round about him.” (AMPC); Genesis 8:17-18, “Bring forth every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the ground—that they may breed abundantly on the land and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth. AND NOAH WENT FORTH, and his wife and his sons and their wives with him [after being in the ark one year and ten days].” (AMPC). God called this obedient man to build an ark. With this large boat, God saved Noah from the cleansing water of the Flood. With the past evils and sins washed away from the earth, Noah and his family could start anew (see 1 Peter 3:21, for Peter’s analogy comparing baptism with the Flood: “And baptism, which is a figure [of their deliverance], does now also save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer of a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before God [because you are demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (AMPC). God not only gave them a fresh start; He also gave them an unconditional promise or COVENANT. He promised not to destroy the earth with a flood no matter how evil Noah’s descendants got. Indeed, He promised that until the end of the earth, there would be the seasons of planting and harvest and day and night. God unilaterally promised to uphold the rhythms of the earth in order to sustain human life – even though humans had rebelled against Him, their Creator.

Genesis 6:18-19, “But I will establish My covenant (promise, pledge) with you, and you shall come into the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh [found on land], you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.” (AMPC) – In strongest contrast to God’s punishment in the preceding verse, God in His mercy established His covenant with Noah. This is the first time the word covenant is used in the Bible; although some believe the concept of covenant is found in (Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.” AMPC), but the word doesn’t occur until here. The details of this covenant were given after the Flood (Genesis 9:9, “Behold, I establish My covenant or pledge with you and with your descendants after you” AMPC) Here, in the midst of judgement, the Lord stooped down to meet the needs of His servant (Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” (AMPC); Psalm 113:6, “Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth!” AMPC), and to enter into a binding oath with him. In order to perpetuate the human family, God promised to preserve Noah’s family and two of every sort of animal.

Today all of us – Noah’s children – should remember God’s mercy to us when we see the beauty of the rainbow.

MAIN INGREDIENT: TODAY, THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE, MERCY AND HIS COVENANT WITH US THAT’S UNBREAKABLE!

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Bon Appétit (which means: ‘Good Appetite, Enjoy Your Meal’)!

Love, Chef Shermaine