Genesis 9: God's Covenant with Noah/ Noah's Sons
In Genesis 9 it talks about God's covenant with Noah and Noah's three sons: Japheth, Shem, and Ham. If anyone who doesn't know what covenant means is it is a promise between God and Noah.
God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth. All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But you must never eat animals that still have their lifeblood in them. And murder is forbidden. Animals that kill people must die, and any person, for to kill a person is to kill a living being made in God's image. Now you must have many children and repopulate the earth. Yes, multiply and fill the earth!"
Here God explains why murder is so wrong: To kill a person is to kill one made in God's image. Because all human beings are made in God's image, all people possess the qualities that distinguish them from animals: morality, reason, creativity, and self-worth. When we interact with others, we are interacting with beings made by God, beings to whom God offers eternal life. God wants us to recognize his image in all people.
Let's continue.
Then God told Noah and his sons, "I am making a covenant with you and your descendants. (You see that word, covenant again) and with the animals you brought with you all these birds and livestock and wild animals. I solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creatures and destroy the earth. I am giving you a sign as evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth." (So thats where rainbows come from, cool!!!) "This is the sign of my covenant with all the creatures of the earth."
Ok so, Noah stepped out of the ark onto an earth devoid of human life. But God gave him a reassuring promise. This covenant had three parts: (1) Never again will a flood do such destruction. (2) as long as the earth remains, the seasons will always come as expected; and (3) a rainbow will be visible when it rains as a sign to all that God will keep his promises.
God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth. All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But you must never eat animals that still have their lifeblood in them. And murder is forbidden. Animals that kill people must die, and any person, for to kill a person is to kill a living being made in God's image. Now you must have many children and repopulate the earth. Yes, multiply and fill the earth!"
Here God explains why murder is so wrong: To kill a person is to kill one made in God's image. Because all human beings are made in God's image, all people possess the qualities that distinguish them from animals: morality, reason, creativity, and self-worth. When we interact with others, we are interacting with beings made by God, beings to whom God offers eternal life. God wants us to recognize his image in all people.
Let's continue.
Then God told Noah and his sons, "I am making a covenant with you and your descendants. (You see that word, covenant again) and with the animals you brought with you all these birds and livestock and wild animals. I solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creatures and destroy the earth. I am giving you a sign as evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth." (So thats where rainbows come from, cool!!!) "This is the sign of my covenant with all the creatures of the earth."
Ok so, Noah stepped out of the ark onto an earth devoid of human life. But God gave him a reassuring promise. This covenant had three parts: (1) Never again will a flood do such destruction. (2) as long as the earth remains, the seasons will always come as expected; and (3) a rainbow will be visible when it rains as a sign to all that God will keep his promises.
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