A Fresh Start

A FRESH START

An Exposition of Genesis 9:1-17

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date:              June 19, 2022

Series:           The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. ² The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. ³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. ⁵ And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

⁶ “Whoever sheds the blood of man,
    by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.

⁷ And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹ “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 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.” (Genesis 9:1-17)

CREATION 2.0

The description of the floodwaters and their gradual decrease, and the eventual re-entry of Noah and Noah’s family and the animals onto dry land, and the subsequent act of blessing from God, echoes the creation narrative. In other words, Genesis 8:1–9:17 echoes the original creation account in Genesis 1. Thus Genesis 8:1–9:17 is a fresh start – we might even call it Creation 2.0.

Genesis 1

In Genesis 1, it is evident that the waters initially covered the earth, and the world was enveloped in darkness (Genesis 1:2). But something was happening: “And the Spirit [Hebrew word: ruach] of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) Next: “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) Then the dry land emerges out of the waters. God deliberately separates the waters: first He stretches out a sky and thus separates the waters above from the waters below (Genesis 1:6-8), and then He puts the waters below into one place and this allows the dry land to appear (Genesis 1:9-10). After causing the dry land to appear, God makes vegetation upon the earth (Genesis 1:11-13). In due course God makes the birds (Genesis 1:20-23) and the land animals (Genesis 1:24-25). Finally, God creates and gives special attention to mankind (Genesis 1:26-30). In Genesis 8, the birds and land animals exit the ark and reemerge onto dry land (Genesis 8:17, 19), “that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 8:17)

Genesis 8

Now consider how Genesis 1 is echoed in Genesis 8. As we leave Genesis 7 and enter Genesis 8, the waters once again cover the earth (Genesis 7:17-20, 8:1-3a). After the forty days and forty nights of rain, “God made a wind [Hebrew word: ruach] blow over the earth” (Genesis 8:1). Now I assume that there was a relative darkness that prevailed on the earth during the previous forty days and forty nights of rain, which reminds me of the darkness that is mentioned in Genesis 1:2. But when “the rain from the heavens was restrained” (Genesis 8:2), I assume that with the cessation of the 40-day storm came a resurgence of daylight. After the darkness, light – the same pattern that was introduced in Genesis 1:2-3. Then, like we saw in Genesis 1, we see the emergence of dry land out of the waters. In Genesis 8, after a many-month process of abatement and evaporation and drainage, the waters are collected into distinct places and this allows the dry land to appear (Genesis 8:1-9). Next, it is obvious that vegetation has returned upon the earth when the freshly plucked olive leaf returns in the mouth of the dove (Genesis 8:10-11). A while later, the birds and land animals exit the ark and reemerge onto dry land (Genesis 8:17, 19). Finally, God gives special attention to mankind – specifically to Noah – all throughout Chapter 8 (v. 1, 15, 20-22), and this special attention continues in Chapter 9.

Now, as we walk through Genesis 9:1-17, we will continue to see echoes of Genesis 1.

GOD BLESSED NOAH AND HIS SONS (Genesis 9:1-7)

Be Fruitful and Multiply (v. 1)

After God had created Adam and Eve, Scripture tells us: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”” (Genesis 1:28). That initial blessing upon mankind from Genesis 1 is now freshly conferred on Noah and his sons at the beginning of Chapter 9:

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”” (v. 1)

This is a restatement of God’s original plan to “fill the earth” with human beings who bear the image of God. God’s original plan has not changed, but is still in effect in the post-flood world.

Further, whereas God spoke the original command to the first man and his wife, here in Genesis 9 God speaks the command to “Noah and his sons”. So there is a particular emphasis placed upon men: men, get about the business of fathering children. The proper context for having children remains what it was back in Genesis 1-2, which of course is the union of one man and one woman in the covenant of marriage.

Dominion (v. 2)

After God blessed Adam and Eve and charged them to be fruitful and multiply, He told them to “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) Similarly, after charging Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply, God makes it clear that they have dominion over land creatures, sky creatures, and sea creatures:

“The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.” (v. 2)

In this post-flood world, mankind still has dominion over the other creatures that God made. Sons and daughters of Adam, remember that you are not animals, nor did you descend from animals. Instead, you are human beings whose very design is to exercise authority over the animals.

In Genesis 2, it was Adam’s privilege to name the animals. In Genesis 4, that faithful man Abel was “a keeper of sheep” (Genesis 4:2). In Genesis 6-8, it was Noah’s privilege to save the various kinds of animals and bring them from the pre-flood world into the post-flood world.

Genesis 9:2 adds a new detail that was not present in Genesis 1: the beasts and birds and reptiles and fish will fear mankind and be in dread of mankind. This fear and dread were not part of the original creation, but are a consequence of man’s sinfulness and the corresponding brokenness that now affects the world. The wholeness of the first creation was corrupted, the pristine peace was forfeited, and mankind’s original goodness was lost. Even so, mankind has rightful dominion over the animal world. And in their own instinctual way, the animals are afraid of us.

God, who is sovereign over all, has delivered the animals into our hand. Andrew Steinmann offers this helpful comment: “The phrase into your hand not only signifies authority (see CSB, NET) and control (see GW), but also the power of life and death (14:20; Deut. 19:12).”[1] And this brings us to verses 3-4.

The Gift of Meat (v. 3-4)

After God told Adam and Eve to have dominion over the other creatures, He told them that “every plant yielding seed” and “every tree with seed in its fruit” was given to mankind as food (Genesis 1:29). From the moment that mankind was created until this moment 1,657 years later in Genesis 9, it was required that human beings be vegetarians. Whether all human beings lived in accordance with God’s instructions about food in Genesis 1, we do not know. But what we do know is that God adjusted man’s diet after the flood, as we see here in Genesis 9:

“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” (v. 3)

There is a principle here that is really important to understand, namely, that God is the only One who has the authority to adjust His instruction. When God gives us instruction, our responsibility is to obey it. We are not authorized to add to God’s instruction, or to subtract from God’s instruction, or in any other way to modify God’s instruction. Only God has the authority to modify His instruction, which is what He does here. In the pre-flood world, mankind’s menu was fruits and vegetables. Meat, however, was not permitted until Genesis 9:3. But now in the post-flood world, meat is permitted – and it is nothing less than a gift from God: “And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” “I give you [chicken and cow, turkey and deer, lamb and duck, pheasant and quail, salmon and trout].” Such living creatures as these – indeed, “[every] moving thing that lives shall be food for you.”

Even so, there is a qualification. Animal flesh is given as food, but animal blood is not included within the scope of permitted food.

“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (v. 4)

The life of a living creature is bound up with that creature’s blood. The creature’s life is its blood. The life is in the blood. The blood constitutes the creature’s life. And that, God says, is a reality that we must respect. We are not to violate the sanctity of the lifeblood by eating it; we are not to dishonor a creature’s life by consuming its blood.

Subsequent Scripture reveals that the lifeblood has a special purpose – and this special purpose is so holy that the blood must not be used for the common purpose of eating. Leviticus 17 says,

“I will set my face against [anyone of or among the house of Israel] who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood” (Leviticus 17:10-12).

The blood belongs on the altar to make atonement, not on your dinner table. God has never authorized human beings to consume blood as food, so if I were you I would think long and hard before consuming blood sausage or blood pudding or other items that are made with animal blood – and then, after thinking long and hard and biblically about it, I wouldn’t do it. Why? Because God’s instruction to Noah in Genesis 9:1-17 is still in effect. When Jesus “declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19), He was speaking within a Jewish context in which some legitimate foods of Genesis 9:3 had been declared unclean under the Mosaic Law. In light of Jesus’ instruction and the efficacy of His sacrifice, the distinction between clean versus unclean foods is now obsolete. But God has never authorized animal blood as food. So after you kill the animal, drain the blood (which is standard practice), cook the meat, give thanks to God, and eat to the glory of God.

The Death Penalty (v. 5-6)

The theme of lifeblood that was introduced in verse 4 carries over into verses 5-6.  These verses emphasize the special dignity of mankind by making it clear that if any animal kills a human being or if any man murders a human being, then that animal or that man must pay the price of its/his own life. Verse 5 says:

“And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.” (v. 5)

A Reckoning from an Animal

As we enter into verse 5, it is helpful to remember the unequal relationship between mankind and animals. Mankind has dominion over animals (v. 2). Mankind may enjoy animal flesh as food (v. 3). And we have already learned that it was right for mankind to sacrifice animals as an act of worship to God during the time period before Christ’s final sacrifice (Genesis 4:4, 8:20).

Animals, although they are not moral creatures, must respect the God-given dominion and rights of mankind. When an animal violates the dominion of man by killing a man, God requires a reckoning from the animal. The special dignity of mankind requires that an animal that kills a man should be put to death. As it says in Exodus 21, “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten” (Exodus 21:28).

A Reckoning from a Man

As important as it is to put to death an animal that has killed a human being, it is even more important for human beings to enact justice against a man who murders another man. God’s Law says, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) That is the prohibition. God’s Law also says, “… you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). That is the positive requirement. And as the apostle Paul reflects on the command to love your neighbor: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor” (Romans 13:10).

Human beings are duty-bound to honor one another as image-bearers of God. The foundational principle of respecting other human beings has nothing to do with a person’s social standing or economic status or education level or likability. Every human being bears the image of God. Every human being you have ever met or will meet – and every human being who has ever lived or who now lives – represents the fact that God exists and that God is the Creator and that God has put His own image and likeness upon mankind. Therefore, to assault a fellow man is, in fact, to assault the living God.

What we have here in Genesis 9 is another echo of Genesis 1. Genesis 1 taught us, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Genesis 1:27). Now this truth is applied to the arena of justice in Genesis 9:6, which says,

“Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed,

for God made man in his own image.” (v. 6)

In Genesis 9:6, God is setting forth the necessity and the rationale for imposing the death penalty upon murderers. The rest of society is not to be passive when someone else is guilty of murder. Instead, it is the responsibility of the larger society to bring an alleged murderer to trial and to a just verdict. Once a man is convicted of murder, then it is the responsibility of the larger society to execute him.

To effectively carry out this instruction, vigilante justice and mob rule won’t cut it. A society must be sufficiently ordered to allow for charges to be filed, and for the accused to be tried in accordance with the principles of impartial justice.

Now be careful not to make a mistake in your reasoning process on this point. I myself made this mistake almost 30 years ago when I was in high school. The mistake is to use the Bible’s prohibition against murder as an argument against the death penalty. The pseudo-logic of this mistake is to say that since God has said unto men, ‘Thou shalt not kill’, and since the death penalty involves men killing a man, then the death penalty is forbidden. That is the sort of mistake that people make when they engage with Scripture superficially, which is exactly what I was doing when I made this mistake – I was engaging with Scripture superficially.

The truth of the matter is that it is right and necessary for human beings to kill a man when God authorizes it. That is the key. God is the sovereign Creator and righteous Judge over all the earth. Sometimes God carries out the death penalty on sinful human beings directly, without human involvement, as indeed He just did when He brought the floodwaters upon the earth in Genesis 7. There are other times, though, when God’s will is to carry out the death penalty on sinful human beings indirectly through human agency. God authorized Joshua and his fellow Israelites to slay the Canaanites. The Israelites were not guilty of murder, precisely because God authorized their actions, and thereby the Canaanites received the just penalty that their sins deserved. Here in Genesis 9 God is authorizing mankind to uphold the dignity of mankind by putting to death any human being who assaults that dignity through a murderous act.

And let’s be clear: what is actually at stake in terms of capital punishment is not the dignity of man per se; what is actually at stake is the dignity of God. That is the issue. Man’s dignity is real, but it is secondary. Man’s dignity derives from God. But God’s dignity and majesty and worth are infinite in scope. And God has invested His dignity in man. Therefore, when a man lifts his hand against a fellow man, that man is lifting his hand against God’s representative. It would be bad enough to deface God’s property (the earth). But to snuff out God’s living and breathing representative is an act of incomparable defiance. To murder a man is definitive proof that you have not come to terms with the rule of God. As it says in Romans 3:

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

in their paths are ruin and misery,

and the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:15-18)

Genesis 9:5-6 teaches us that if you take the life of one of God’s image-bearers, then you have assaulted God and therefore you forfeit your life.

Our Society is Upside-Down

In light of the Genesis 9:1 instruction to be fruitful and multiply, and in light of the Genesis 9:5-6 instruction to enact capital punishment against murderers, just consider how upside-down our society is. On the one hand, we have state-sanctioned abortion on a massive scale, which constitutes murder and is the polar opposite of fruitfulness. On the other hand, significant parts of our society do not want to practice the death penalty. And even when we do practice the death penalty, we leave convicts on death row for an average of over 18 years. What you need to understand is that the willingness to practice abortion, and the unwillingness to practice capital punishment, are owing to the same underlying problem: our society doesn’t have regard for the image of God in man. Therefore we act in ways that are directly opposite of how God has commanded His image-bearers to act.

Increase Greatly on the Earth (v. 7)

After telling Noah and his sons that they must uphold the dignity of God’s image in man by putting murderers to death, God again tells them to be fruitful:

“And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” (v. 7)

One necessary way to honor the image of God in man is to hold accountable anyone who assaults that image (v. 5-6). But another necessary way to honor the image of God in man is to multiply that image throughout the world (v. 7). In other words, father children and fill the earth with images of God!

Do not be afraid that human beings will overpopulate the earth; do not be afraid that children will overburden earth’s resources; do not be afraid that children will undermine your prospects for prosperity. Instead, be afraid of living contrary to God’s design; and be afraid of looking into the future with a selfish or pessimistic outlook. Children, after all, are always a link to the future. Remember that your children are included within the scope of God’s covenant with Noah: “I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you” (v. 9), which now includes us and our offspring and our children’s children as well. What kind of world are your children and grandchildren born into? They are born into a world that God treats far better than it deserves – which brings us to the Noahic Covenant, which is a way of referring to God’s covenant with Noah in verses 8-17.

GOD’S COVENANT WITH NOAH (v. 8-17)

The Covenant (v. 8-11)

After the blessing of verses 1-7, God establishes His covenant with Noah. Before the flood, God had told Noah back in Genesis 6, “I will establish my covenant with you” (Genesis 6:18). Now, in Genesis 9, God keeps His promise and establishes His covenant with Noah – and not only with Noah, but with Noah’s sons (v. 9); and with their offspring, thereby including all human beings everywhere (v. 9), and with the animals (v. 10), and with the earth (v. 13). As Noah’s wife is one flesh with her husband, and as each wife of Noah’s sons is one flesh with her husband, and as their offspring includes both sons and daughters, both men and women are included within the scope of this covenant.

Although we as human beings occupy a special place in the world because we are God’s image-bearers, we ought to take to heart that God has entered into covenant with the entirety of creation – with the earth and all its creatures. This won’t turn us into unhinged and idolatrous environmentalists, but it will lead us to be humble and judicious stewards of the good world that God made and upholds. We must also take to heart that God’s covenant with Noah is “for all future generations”, thus nudging us to leave a legacy of faithfulness to our children and our children’s children and beyond.

God specifies the nature of the covenant in verse 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.”

This particular covenant is God’s public disclosure to Noah of the deliberations of His heart back in Genesis 8. There it says: “… the LORD said in his heart, “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.” (Genesis 8:21) That was God’s internal deliberation. Now He publicly discloses His intentions by making a promise to Noah and to Noah’s sons and to all of Noah’s descendants, which includes you and me. God’s promise is that He will never again bring a flood upon the whole earth that destroys the whole earth and that blots out all living creatures. There will be thunderstorms and downpours of rain. There will be hurricanes and tsunamis. There will be localized flooding from heavy rain and from rivers that swell their banks. But these storms will only go so far. There will never again be a global flood that devastates the whole world.

The Sign of the Covenant (v. 12-17)

After God reveals His covenant in verse 11, then He reveals “the sign of the covenant” (v. 12). When God makes covenants with human beings, He typically gives some physical sign to represent the covenant. The sign embodies and expresses the covenant. The sign is a signpost that brings the covenant to remembrance. Therefore, in God’s covenant with Abraham, circumcision was the sign of the covenant. In God’s covenant with Israel, the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant. In the New Covenant, baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of the covenant.

Here in Genesis 9, God’s covenant with Noah is accompanied by a sign:

“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: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 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. 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.” 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.” (v. 12-17)

The sign of God’s covenant with Noah is the rainbow – although it isn’t merely the rainbow but God’s rainbow. As God says at the beginning of verse 13, “I have sent my bow in the clouds” (italics added). This “bow in the clouds” is God’s doing. The rainbow belongs to God. It is His. He made it. And since God made it, He gets to tell us what it means. He gets to tell us what the sign signifies.

All this is another echo of Genesis 1. In Genesis 1, on the fourth day, God puts lights in the heavens above – the sun, the moon, and the stars. And God said, “… let them be for signs” (Genesis 1:14). In the beginning, God puts signs in the sky. Now in the renewed world after the flood, God put a sign in the sky – not a light source but a light spectrum that stems from the light of the sun. What is the rainbow? It is sunlight shining through water droplets, and those water droplets refract light into a beautiful array of colors in an arc from one end of the sky to the other. After the storm, peace. After darkness, light.

Think about the pattern. In Genesis 1:1-3, while the dark world was covered in water, the Lord created light. In Genesis 8:1-2, while the world had just endured 40 dark days and nights of rain and the world was again covered in water, the rain ceased and precious daylight reemerged. Now, in the case of localized storms that will happen at various times all over the world, a rainstorm will be interrupted by sunlight shining through the potentially destructive waters and painting a bow in the clouds that declares the mercy of God to a world that doesn’t deserve it. The light shines in the darkness! The revelation of God’s goodness and mercy shines forth out of the storm! And that is what the rainbow declares: the mercy of God to a sinful world, the patience of God to a wicked world, the providential kindness of God to an idolatrous world. The rainbow signifies God’s promise to preserve physical human life and physical animal life upon a physically habitable earth. When God sees the rainbow, He “[remembers] the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” – and to say that God remembers means that God will not forget His promise, but will act in accordance with it. And ten thousand times ten thousand rainbows since Genesis 9 declares the faithfulness of God to an unfaithful world. The faithfulness of God is a beautiful thing.

Look up, brothers and sisters, because “[the] heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). “Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness [extends] to the clouds.” (Psalm 36:5)

It is a great tragedy, of course, that people have hijacked the beauty of the rainbow and turned it into a celebration of sexual perversion. And yet, one way or another this is what sinners do: we take something good from God’s hand, and hijack it for our own wicked purposes. As it happens, our president has proclaimed June 2022 as LGBTQI Pride Month, and he has called upon us “to recognize the achievements of the LGBTQI+ community, to celebrate the great diversity of the American people, and to wave their flags of pride high.” Although we must treat individual people with decency and respect, we cannot affirm or celebrate anything that violates God’s standards. Therefore, we cannot do what the president has called upon us to do. We cannot participate in a lie. We cannot go along with turning the symbol of God’s mercy to a wicked world into a symbol that celebrates a spectrum of sexual expressions that are contrary to God’s will.

Let’s not presume on the kindness of God, but instead do our very best to be grateful recipients of all that pertains to life and human flourishing, and to be faithful stewards of the life that God gives and upholds.

FROM THE BOW IN THE SKY TO THE MERCY AT THE CROSS

One more thing – and a very important thing. The Noahic Covenant is a life-affirming covenant that is still in effect, but it is not a covenant that brings salvation. God’s covenant with Noah preserves life upon the earth, but it does not bring sinners into eternal salvation. If you have children (v. 1), exercise wise dominion over the animals (v. 2), enjoy animal meat (v. 3), honor God’s image in man and do your part to support the death penalty (v. 5-6), and remember that the rainbow is God’s rainbow given to us as a sign of His patience (v. 12-17) – if you do all that, and no more, you will end up in hell. Remember, “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21), but there is no provision in the Noahic Covenant for the forgiveness of sins. So I leave you with this:

It is good to behold the sign of God’s mercy in the clouds, but it is better to behold the sign of God’s mercy at the cross. God’s mercy in the clouds only promises the preservation of mankind as a whole until the end. God’s mercy at the cross brings forgiveness and eternal salvation to everyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus.

It is good to receive plants and animals as food for physical nourishment, but it is better to receive that which has been given for spiritual nourishment. Jesus said to people who were preoccupied with filling their stomachs with bread, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:27) And what Jesus, the Son of Man gives us, is Himself: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35).

It is good to remember that those who shed the blood of one of God’s image-bearers should themselves be put to death, but it is better to remember that Jesus, the perfect image of the invisible God, shed His own blood for rebellious sinners like you and me so that we could be rescued out of the realm of sin and death.

It is good to remember the light shining through water droplets and hanging a message of forbearance in the clouds, but it is better to remember the Light of the world: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) 

It is good to remember that there is a pattern of physical light following physical darkness in Genesis 1 and Genesis 8-9, but it is better to remember – and not just to remember but to experience – the reality of spiritual light breaking into the darkness of your own heart. The darkened soul prays, “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!” (Psalm 43:3) And more wonderful than the rainbow is that moment when God causes His glorious light to shine in a sinner’s heart: “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

ENDNOTES

[1] Andrew E. Steinmann, Genesis (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Volume I). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019: p. 105.