Genesis 9:9-17
Categories: Bible Study LessonsIn recent weeks we have been reminded of what nature can do as we have been reading and watching news of the tragedy on the Gulf Coast. New Orleans is almost totally wrecked and sitting in a liquid so foul it seems a crime to call it water. Bodies are still being found and the stranded are still being rescued. In surrounding areas (some a state away) entire neighborhoods are now gone, blown away by Hurricane Katrina. As horrible as it is, though, it is nothing compared to the utter devastation brought on by the flood in Noah’s time. Every land feature that Noah knew was gone. There were no signs of civilization, no edifice, no farm, no fence, not so much as one rock piled upon another by the hand of man. God had proved His sovereignty over the elements, that was no longer a question. The question was, would God punish man in this way again. As those on the Gulf Coast this very hour have a very real dread of new storms that are, right now, threatening, Noah may have had a very real concern about the future of his family.
God steps in graciously and quells the fears of mankind with a covenant. This was not a conditional covenant. This was unconditional. There is no requirement of man in the covenant. This makes the promise unbreakable because it depends solely on God. God will never destroy the world by a flood again. He proclaims the covenant and produces a reminder for Himself every time the sun goes through the water vapor in the atmosphere at the right angle. It is a sight causing wonder in young and old.
God shows His faithfulness each passing year as the earth remains without the total destruction of flood waters. He promised. His promises are good. I’m counting on other promises to be true, too. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). John said that we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Jesus says there will be no more tears, death, mourning or pain (Rev. 21:4). Peter called them “precious and very great promises” (2 Pet. 1:4) and “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4).
These promises, however are not unconditional. Their fulfillment counts on man’s response to the Gospel (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47).
I have reason to believe the promises of God. He is on record as having kept them.