Thursday, October 17, 2019

Genesis 9 - Covenant of the Rainbow

For this Chapter I want to share this beautiful photo of God's rainbow captured in my friend's bicycle journey...🚲🌈 http://markridesthedivide.blogspot.com/2016/12/hilly-ride-by-swan-lake.html

Also this cute photo I found in https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/730286895803408456/?lp=true

"God once again places all the creatures of the earth under man's authority. God has given these creatures to man as food and resources. God has also given man every kind of fruit and vegetable on the land as food. Man is not to kill another human being.  If he does, his life will be taken as judgment for that sin. God reaffirms his covenant with Noah. God will never kill mankind and all the animals of the world by a flood. God creates a rainbow as a sign of his covenant with Noah and all living things of the earth. The rainbow is a remembrance of the covenant.  

The whole earth becomes populated by Noah's three sons:  Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  Ham was the father of Canaan which is in the location of the land later to be known as Israel.  Noah plants a vineyard, makes wine, and one day he gets drunk.  During his drunkenness he gets naked, Ham sees his father naked, and Shem and Japheth cover up their father.  Noah curses Ham and Canaan because Ham saw him naked.  The descendants of Ham, Canaanites, will be the slaves of the descendants of Shem and Japheth.  Noah lives to be 950 years old, and he dies."

Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..

  • "And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear and the terror of you shall be [instinctive] in every animal of the land and in every bird of the air; and together with everything that moves on the ground, and with all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; I give you everything, as I gave you the green plants and vegetables." v.1-3
  • “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” v.9-11
  • “Whoever sheds man’s blood [unlawfully], By man (judicial government) shall his blood be shed, For in the image of God He made man." v.6
  • "And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth." v.12-13
  • "He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay exposed inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw [by accident] the nakedness of his father, and [to his father’s shame] told his two brothers outside. So Shem and Japheth took a robe and put it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness." v.21-23 

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My personal observations and reflections...

  • BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY. A (somehow) new beginning, through a man named Noah chosen by God. God repeated His words that were first spoken to Adam, confirming that He has given us the authority to use, and make good use of His creations. 
Reading the words "I give you everything" assures me that God knows all I need and He is going to provide for it. Again, what I "NEED" (to honor and glorify God), and not what I "WANT". So many things that I WANT will only take me further away from cherishing and enjoying God (worldly treasures, love of money, lust of the flesh, quick solutions, fleeting satisfaction, cheap thrills, etc.) I TRUST GOD for everything I need.. He knows what's best for you and me.
  • SIGN, RAINBOW. As if to further seal and assure us of His covenant, God even gave us a sign, the awesome and beautiful rainbow in the clouds, skies.. God is always TRUE to His promises, He did not have to do that but He is just so faithful and loving that He made sure we will never forget.
"God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (NIV, Numbers 23:19)

Sadly, the rainbow had been a symbol for other things here on earth, but I know that it does not move God. God is an everlasting ROCK of ages, His word stand true forever!
  • GOD SPOKE. I notice that so far in the scriptures, Noah has no dialogue or response back to God. It seems that He is just listening, attentively, and he is just taking it all in. I feel like I should be more like that in my prayer time with God--- I should be more still, quiet, to be able to hear from Him. Less talking, more listening.
  • CURSING, AND BLESSING. Some unfortunate incident happened wherein Noah got drunk from wine.. It may be intentional or unintentional in his part, however his son Ham failed to respond with honor.. I (somehow) put it this way: Our parents are never perfect human beings and sometimes they will also do something that is not pleasing or honoring (because of sin), nonetheless God told us to “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12 / Ephesians 6:1-3
The act of honoring our parents is an act of honoring God.
"So he said,
“Cursed be Canaan [the son of Ham];
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”

He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.

“May God enlarge [the land of] Japheth,
And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.” (v.25-27)

According to the Bible's footnotes:
Genesis 9:25 The words of Noah are prophetic. God later found the disobedience of the Canaanites to be repulsive and replaced them with the descendants of Shem.
Genesis 9:26 The Jewish people are the descendants of Shem. Through Shem’s lineage came the Messiah and salvation.


Read the Bible here:


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