November
29, 2003
GOD'S
COVENANT WITH NOAH
"And
God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 'And as
for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with
your descendants after you' " (Genesis 9:8, NKJV).
"Then
the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made
man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart... But Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:6, 8).
Noah
was to preach to the people, and also to prepare an ark as
God directed him for the saving of himself and family from
a flood that was coming on the earth. The people of his day
did not accept the warning, however, Noah and his family were
saved. "Then the Lord said to Noah, 'Come into the ark,
you and all your household, because I have seen that you are
righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with
you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female;
two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;
also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep
the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after
seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty
days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of
the earth all living things that I have made.' And Noah did
according to all that the Lord commanded him" (Genesis
7:1-5).
Noah
did not forget God who had graciously preserved them from
the flood, and after leaving the Ark, Noah built an altar
to the Lord and offered burnt offerings on the altar. God
blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "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. 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. It shall be when I bring a cloud over the
earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud, and I
will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and
every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never
again become a flood to destroy all flesh... And God said
to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I have established
between Me and all flesh that is on the earth' " (Genesis
9:11-17).
"By
faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen,
moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his
household, by which he condemned the world and became heir
of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Hebrews
11:7).
Adapted
from "God's Amazing Grace" p. 132.
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