God’s Everlasting Covenant with the Earth

Genesis 9:8–17
Howard A. Snyder


Text: Gen. 9:16 – Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.


Introduction

I suppose almost every child knows the story of Noah, the Ark, the animals, and the rainbow. Even in the larger culture and the media we find references at times to Noah and the Ark, and “the biblical flood.”

Tonight let’s revisit this story—focusing not on the Ark and the flood, but on the rainbow—that is, on the COVENANT that God makes with Noah AFTER the flood. A fascinating passage when we dig into it.

[READ Genesis 9:8-17]

NOTE especially verse 16, which is my text:

Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

God is a COVENANT-MAKING GOD. He takes the initiative, first to create the world, then to RESTORE it after the Fall. God fulfills his PLAN OF SALVATION through a series of covenants he makes. So tonight let’s focus on the FIRST COVENANT we read about in the Bible – the covenant with NOAH after the flood.

Now, a COVENANT is a form of CONTRACT or AGREEMENT. (The word “covenant” literally means “a coming together.”) In the Bible it has a SPECIAL MEANING, because it has to do with GOD’S PLAN, God’s INITIATIVE and PURPOSE to bring salvation and restore his fallen creation.

I’ve become interested in this passage. How should we understand it?


THREE SIMPLE QUESTIONS:

1. What was the meaning of the Genesis 9 covenant in Noah’s day?
2. Is this covenant still in effect today?
3. If it is, what does this covenant have to teach us?



I. What was the meaning of the Genesis 9 Covenant in Noah’s day?

THREE THINGS stand out as we examine the covenant God makes here in Genesis 9:

1. THIS IS A THREE-WAY COVENANT

A covenant not only between God and Noah’s family, but with “every living creature on earth” (Gen. 9:10)

It is VERY INTERESTING to see WHO is included here in the covenant. Let us note what this passage says about all three – GOD, Noah, and the CREATURES.

● GOD – First of all, this is GOD’S COVENANT. God takes the initiative. God, the Creator, here is the one who ESTABLISHES and SUSTAINS the covenant with Noah and all earth’s creatures.

“I now establish my covenant” (9:9) – So it is first of all GOD’S covenant, not OURS. It is beyond our control or manipulation. Three times in this passage God refers to the covenant as “my covenant.”

● NOAH & HIS FAMILY – That is, HUMANKIND, all the human family that descends from Noah.

So this is a covenant between GOD and HUMANITY.

The BACKGROUND here, of course, is the CREATION ACCOUNT in Genesis 1–2. God created Adam and Eve in an implied covenant relationship with himself. He placed them in a GARDEN that they were to care of (Gen. 2:15).

Genesis 9 is now a NEW BEGINNING, following the judgment of the flood. In a sense, the PLAN OF SALVATION BEGINS HERE, not with the call of Abraham.

So the Genesis 9 covenant is a covenant between GOD and the HUMAN RACE. It is important in establishing the RELATIONSHIP between God and all human beings. God is the sovereign Creator and Sustainer; humans are his creation and his stewards on earth.

● ALL EARTH’S CREATURES. Note just humans . . .

One of the most surprising features of this passage is how COMPREHENSIVE it is – the EMPHASIS it puts on all the creatures.

NOTE:
“every living creature that was with you” (vs. 9)
“every living creature on earth” (vs. 9)
“every living creature with you” (vs. 12)
“all the living creatures of every kind” (vs. 15)
“all living creatures of every kind on the earth” (vs. 16)
“all life on the earth” (vs. 17)

This is INTERESTING, because it’s so EMPHATIC. Why this stress on “every living creature”? It reminds us of what God said to Noah when the Ark was built: Take “every living creature” with you into the Ark.

In fact it reminds us of the VARIETY OF CREATURES God made in the beginning, as recorded in Genesis 1.

WHY this emphasis on “every living creature”? Partly, of course, it is a matter of human sustenance. But it reminds us of GOD’S CARE and GOD’S CONCERN for all the creatures he has made. In fact, it teaches us something rather amazing: GOD HIMSELF HAS A COVENANT WITH EVERY CREATURE, with EVERY SPECIES he has made.

This is, in fact, a COVENANT WITH THE EARTH. Note Gen. 9:13 – “the covenant between me and the earth.”

So this is a THREE-WAY COVENANT, not a TWO-WAY covenant between God and humankind only. It is a covenant between GOD, HUMANITY, and THE EARTH.

2. A COVENANT OF PRESERVATION.

This covenant is GOD’S PROMISE “never again” to destroy the earth by flood.

As we read in Gen. 8:22, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

THREE TIMES here God says “NEVER AGAIN!” This is God’s promise to us, to himself, and to the earth. God promises to PRESERVE the earth, working out his plan of salvation through the SUBSEQUENT COVENANTS he will make, culminating in the NEW COVENANT in the blood of Jesus Christ.

In this sense, this is also a COVENANT OF PREPARATION. It PREPARES THE WAY for God’s plan of salvation and new creation through Jesus Christ.

3. AN EVERLASTING, ONGOING COVENANT.

HOW LONG does this covenant endure? The passage here is clear: “a covenant for all generations to come” (9:12).

“everlasting covenant” (9:16) – same phrase used of God’s later covenants. In other words, the Bible uses the same language in describing the Genesis 9 covenant as it does in referring to LATER covenants. This is an unending covenant.

“Never again!”

I confess that this was a SURPRISE to me in studying this text over the past few weeks. I always assumed this covenant with the earth was TEMPORARY, until the second coming of Jesus Christ. But Genesis 9:16 refers to God’s covenant with the earth as an “everlasting covenant.” In fact, in the Greek OT the word is “eternal” – the same word used in the NT for “eternal life.”

Does God have an ETERNAL covenant with the earth and all its creatures? Perhaps so—at least in the sense that the Gospel promises A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH.

JOHN WESLEY certainly thought the covenant was ETERNAL – See his sermon, “The General Deliverance.”

Wesley wrote, “. . . something better remains after death for these poor creatures [which] likewise, shall one day be delivered from this bondage of corruption, and shall then receive an ample amends for all their present sufferings.” In view of God’s care and ultimate intent for his creation, we ourselves should “imitate him whose mercy is over all his works.” Reflecting on God’s merciful intent of ultimate restoration should “soften our hearts towards the meaner creatures, knowing that the Lord careth for them.” Wesley argues, “It may enlarge our hearts towards those poor creatures, to reflect that, as vile as they appear in our eyes, not one of them is forgotten in the sight of our Father which is in heaven.” (Sermon 60, “The General Deliverance,” III.9, 10)

CONCLUSION: In the Genesis 9 Covenant God acts to preserve the earth (in contrast to his action in the flood) so that he can fulfill his larger purposes. This is consistent with what we see throughout the Bi