2024年7月7日 / グレース・トロント日本語教会
創世記 9章
11 わたしは、わたしの契約をあなたがたとの間に立てる。すべての肉なるものが、再び、大洪水の大水によって断ち切られることはない。大洪水が再び起こって地を滅ぼすようなことはない。」
12 さらに神は仰せられた。「わたしとあなたがたとの間に、また、あなたがたとともにいるすべての生き物との間に、代々にわたり永遠にわたしが与えるその契約のしるしは、これである。
13 わたしは雲の中に、わたしの虹を立てる。それが、わたしと地との間の契約のしるしである。
14 わたしが地の上に雲を起こすとき、虹が雲の中に現れる。
15 そのとき、わたしは、わたしとあなたがたとの間、すべての肉なる生き物との間の、わたしの契約を思い起こす。大水は、再び、すべての肉なるものを滅ぼす大洪水となることはない。
16 虹が雲の中にあるとき、わたしはそれを見て、神と、すべての生き物、地上のすべての肉なるものとの間の永遠の契約を思い起こそう。」
17 神はノアに仰せられた。「これが、わたしと、地上のすべての肉なるものとの間に、わたしが立てた契約のしるしである。」
Jul 7, 2024 / Grace Toronto Japanese Church
Genesis 7 (ESV)
11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
INTRODUCTION
When you have a scary experience, you can be traumatized. So, later, when something triggers that scary experience, you are terrified and paralyzed. For example, when my plane went through severe turbulence in the summer of 2000, I developed a fear of flying (aerophobia). So, I really suffered whenever I had to fly in the following several years. Just thinking about flying, airplanes, or even airports gave me much fear. If you’ve had a bad car accident while you were driving, you wouldn’t want to drive for some time because when you sit in your car, it brings back those traumatic memories. You feel afraid, right?
Let’s go to Noah. Even though he and his own family were saved from the flood, I think he must have been terrified by the waters. The flood is now over. Noah, his family, and all those animals came out of the ark. Noah built an altar to the LORD and gave burnt offerings (8:20), which pleased the LORD (8:21). He was now standing on the dry ground. But sometime later, it would rain again, right? Rainy days and sunny days will come. But the rain could trigger Noah’s memory of the flood, and he would be paralyzed with fear.
So, in today’s text, the merciful God made a covenant with Noah and gave him a sign of that covenant.
THE CONTENT OF THE COVENANT
The content of the covenant was this: Never again—shall there be a flood—to destroy the earth (v. 11). God really meant it because he emphasized it by saying it twice (v. 11).
God promised that never again would there be a global flood that kills everything. And remember that God made this covenant with Noah, one of the eight people who were saved from the worldwide flood but who was still afraid of the waters of the flood. God gave this comforting promise to the scared Noah.
Do you think Noah was just happy and excited when he was allowed to get out of the ark finally? I doubt that. I think Noah and his family members walked out of the ark, scared and puzzled. The world they used to know was destroyed by the waters. They were the only people alive in the whole world. They didn’t know what to do. They didn’t know where to start. To this sacred and depressed Noah, God gave his covenant, his promise: Never again—shall there be a flood—to destroy the earth (v. 11). And Noah was comforted.
THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT
God also gave a sign of the covenant (“This is the sign of the covenant,” v. 12). And the sign was the rainbow (“I have set my bow in the cloud,” v. 13).
Of course, it doesn’t mean that there was no rainbow before Noah’s time; a rainbow is a natural phenomenon that takes place by the sunlight reflecting on water droplets in the air. That’s why we see a rainbow when there is rain and the sun at the same time. That’s why a rainbow normally appears in the section of sky opposite the sun. What vv. 12–13 means is that, although the rainbow had existed before this time, what’s happening in vv. 12–13 is that God is giving the rainbow a special mark.
e.g. Imagine that a young man (Tom) and a young girl (Jane) are dating. Tom loves Jane so much. They are walking together. There was the moon in the sky: a full moon. Tom says, “Jane, look up. Do you see the full moon up there? That’s the sign of my love for you. Whenever you see a full moon, please remember my love for you.” In this very moment, Tom is marking a special meaning upon the moon. So, Jane will think of Tom’s love whenever she sees a full moon.
This is exactly what’s happening in today’s passage. God chose the rainbow and gave it a special meaning. And the rainbow became the “sign of the covenant” (v. 12).
There is one more thing to think about the bow. When God said, “I have set my bow in the cloud” (v. 13), the Hebrew word (qesheth) really means “an archer’s bow,” not a rainbow. But because of the context (i.e., he said he would put it “in the cloud”), we believe that it referred to the rainbow. But at the same time, we can imagine: (1) since God’s justice has been satisfied by the punishment of the flood; (2) God has now hung up his war bow up in the sky—meaning: he will never again use this punishment to destroy the world.
THE FUNCTION OF THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT
And this is how the sign (the rainbow) works: (1) God brings clouds and then a rainbow (v. 14); (2) and then God remembers his everlasting covenant (“never again”) (v. 15). He repeats it again in vv. 16–17.
Caution: It doesn’t mean that God can’t remember his covenant until he sees a rainbow. God set up the rainbow as the sign of the covenant for Noah and his descendants (including us). Because Noah was still afraid of the flood and waters, God showed his grace to him by giving him the rainbow as a visible sign (or guarantee, mark) that God would keep his promise faithfully and perfectly: Do not let your heart be troubled, Noah. Never again shall there be a global flood to destroy the earth. I promise. I give you the rainbow as the sign of my everlasting covenant with you. Whenever I bring a rainbow, I will remember my covenant—At the same time, Noah, whenever you see a rainbow, remember my covenant. I will keep it. So, don’t be afraid.
Isn’t God wonderful? Think about Noah’s situation. He and his family members witnessed the terrifying global flood that destroyed everything on the earth. It all began with rain. So, whenever it would rain, Noah would be so afraid. But when the rain stopped and there was a rainbow in the clouds, Noah would be comforted by the sign of the covenant.
APPLICATION
#1. The Rainbow
This is a huge double rainbow I saw from the balcony of my apartment in Hamilton. I took this photo on June 26th. We sometimes see a rainbow. What do you think when you see a rainbow? Or what should we remember when we see a rainbow in the sky?
Having read Genesis 9 today, whenever we see a rainbow, we should remember God’s promise to Noah: Never again—shall there be a flood—to destroy the earth (v. 11). This is God’s merciful promise that never again will he destroy the earth by means of a flood. Let’s read Gen 8:21–22 together: “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
What God promised to Noah was that he would keep nature stable. And in 9:1, God commanded to Noah: in this stable earth, “God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”
So, what we can know from today’s text is: (1) Such stability is necessary if he is going to enter history to save His people; (2) this gives us a hint that one day all things will be renewed.
#2. Our God is a God who gives us signs (reminders).
God was wonderfully gracious toward Noah and his family members: (1) God saved them; (2) God comforted them by giving them (1) a covenant and (2) its sign.
But again, think about Noah after the flood was over. It was good that the waters were gone now, and he was standing on the dry ground—but no doubt he was in fear. So, God comforted and strengthened his heart and spirit by giving him a visible and tangible sign: the rainbow in the clouds. What an amazing and beautiful sign!
What’s even more amazing is that our God is a God who comforts us by giving us signs. It means that God cares for and about us. He knows our faith struggles. He knows our daily challenges. And the most wonderful covenant sign that God gave us is the written Word of God. The Bible is the clearest sign that God is with you and cares for you.
#3. Our God is a God who keeps his promises.
Lastly, God is a promise-keeper. He’s been faithfully keeping his covenant with Noah: Never again—shall there be a flood—to destroy the earth (v. 11). There was no other global flood after Noah. Non-believers laugh at this and say this doesn’t make any sense because, to them, a global flood itself is an impossible thing. So, for example, if I say, ‘I will never walk on the water,’ and I don’t walk on the water. Can I say I am keeping my promise? No, because I am not able to walk on the water, to begin with. So, non-Christians think God’s promise in Gen 9 is non-sense because a global flood never existed.
Two weeks ago, I preached about the flood, and I made it clear to you that I believe that there was a worldwide flood as written in the book of Genesis. We take what is written in the Bible to be inerrant and true. Jesus himself mentioned of Noah’s flood. So, I have no doubt that there was a global flood that killed everything on the earth. Therefore, we praise God for his covenant-faithfulness. He’s been keeping his promise. There has been no other global flood after Noah.
CLOSING
Last month was June. It was the so-called Pride Month. We all know what symbol they use: they use the rainbow flag. However, biblically speaking, using the rainbow flag for the cause of LGBTQ+ rights doesn’t seem to be right—because God gave Noah the rainbow as the sign of his everlasting covenant. So, when we see a rainbow, we should think about God’s mercy and faithfulness, not something else.