A GRAVE NEW WORLD

Genesis 9

When I was a kid parts of my home town flooded, not once but twice. There were places where the water was 3 or 4 ft. deep…and the damage was estimated to be in the millions.

  • Water was actually going through the windows of some people’s homes…furniture in houses and carpet, clothing in dressers, TVs’, cars…it was a terrible thing…and it would take some people years to recover.
  • Some of you have experienced the same thing or at least seen what a flood can do.

Now, I tell you that to tell you that when Noah and his family finally left the ark they did not step into Paradise regained.

  • They stepped into what you might call “a grave new world.”
  • Just think about it for a minute.

When Noah and his family stepped out of the ark they did not have the same feelings that Eve did when Adam gave her her first tour of the garden.

  • When they stepped out of the ark there is no life anywhere other than for eight people and a relatively small zoo.
  • The house the used to live in is gone…the trees they rested under have been wiped away.
  • The villages where people once lived have been washed away.
  • And I suspect that as they looked around they may have found some carcasses and perhaps even some human remains.

They are not back in Eden. They are entering a much different and much harsher creation than they have ever known. It is a “grave new world.”

  • And that is perhaps one reason why the first thing Noah did was call on God. In chapter 8:20 Noah builds an altar and worships God.

And notice in vs. 21. Man didn’t learn anything from the flood because the verse tells us that the “intent of man's heart is evil from his youth;

  • That can only mean trouble. Things will not be like they once were.

So what God does here in chapter 9 is issue some new rules for this “grave new world.” Several things are going to be different. So look at vs. 2.

  • Now, keep in mind that Noah has just spent a year in very close quarters with these animals…and probably they have gotten fairly comfortable with each other.
  • But look at what God says in vs. 2:

And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth…

Since that is the way it has always been we forget that may not be the way it was.

  • If you remember back when we started looking at Genesis 1 we said that apparently God created the animals for man’s enjoyment.
  • It is possible that there may have been some level of communication with the animals back then because Eve wasn’t surprised when the serpent spoke to her.
  • The animals weren’t for covering because man was naked and had no shame.
  • And they weren’t for food because man apparently was a vegetarian back then.
  • Apparently in the beginning there was a wonderful relationship, a communion of sorts between man and the animals that God created for man’s good pleasure.

But now God says, “It is not going to be that way anymore.”

  • The animals will have a natural dread of man and will do what they can to avoid the approach of man.

Disney Movies: Snow White/Bambi (Even though humans never appear it is obvious that they are the enemy).

  • It may be that those two movies may be Biblically correct when it comes to the way the animals were and how they are today.

And one of the reasons why the animals may have such a “dread” for human beings is now they are going to be food for man.

  • Back in chapter 1 it appears that man was a vegetarian…but now the animals will be part of man’s diet.

And I want you to notice in vs. 3 that God “gives us our food.”

  • Our food is a continuing gift from God and it should be received with “thanksgiving.”
  • Remember the Lord’s prayer: “give us this day our daily bread.”
  • And in 1 Timthy 4:3 the apostle Paul tells us that we should be “grateful” for our food.
  • So our food is a continuing gift from God that should be received with thanksgiving.

Now, look at vs. 4. In vs. 4 God gave Noah meat to eat but now God seems to put some limitations on it. He says: Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

  • Scholars have all kinds of different things to say about this verse. To me, a lot of them add meaning to this verse.
  • I think it says just what it says.
  • God has just said that “He gave every moving thing that is alive for food.” Whatever it is you can eat it.
  • But if the flesh contains blood…don’t eat it…in other words, don’t eat it raw.

I can think of a couple of reasons for God giving this restriction: Health.

  • And God has just said that :”the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth” and I think what God says here is to keep man from being inhuman about the eating of flesh. (Don’t be barbaric. Cannibalistic. Pagan).

Now look at vs. 5: And surely I will require your lifeblood(notice, God requires this); from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man.

6 "Whoever sheds man's blood,

By man his blood shall be shed,

For in the image of God He made man.

Keep in mind the very first death on this planet was a murder. And God knew there would be more in this “grave new world.”.

  • Prior to this God had cursed Cain when he committed murder…but that apparently didn’t and will not deter man’s propensity for violence.
  • But now it will be different. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed.”
  • Why? For in the image of God He made man.
  • The reason God is so harsh when it comes to murder is because murder displays a contempt for God.

And look at vs. 7: "And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."

  • Instead of being a life taker, be a life producer.

Now, look again at vs. 5-6. I think it is quite clear that God is authorizing capital punishment.

  • However, God is not endorsing family revenge here (taking matters into your own hands).
  • When He says, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed” He is saying that all men are responsible to see that life is protected and that justice is executed.

In our culture and society punishment for murder is the responsibility of the government.

  • Many states do not practice capital punishment which seems to me is a practice that goes against what God says here.
  • I think capital punishment is bad…but I believe Genesis 6, life where there is chaos, life where there is total wickedness, life where there is anarchy, life where human life is cheapened and devalued is worse.

It is significant by the way, both Jesus and the apostle Paul, when they were on trial they acknowledged the right of the government to execute criminals, but they challenged the legitimacy of the particular charges made against them.

Now, one of the arguments against capital punishment is that it is not a deterrent.

  • I personally believe that, in part, that is what God has in mind here. I believe that He is saying, “If you want to practice the evil that is in your heart you need to realize that I will hold you accountable for doing that.”
  • And notice that God will work through man to hold man accountable for “shedding blood.”

For those who say that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime I believe they are right when it comes to the way that capital punishment is practiced today in our society. (Relatively few executions are carried out each year. Many who have committed horrific crimes sit on death row for years and years. Some states have abolished capital punishment and in some instances eventually release those who have committed murder. So, the way capital punishment is practiced today it is not much of a deterrent.)

  • But if we as a culture and society did what God says here…and taught what God says here, “You murder someone your life will be taken”…then I believe it would be a deterrent.
  • But even if our society does not enforce capital punishment, God will still hold man accountable for maliciously taking the life of another.

Now, look at vs. 8-17:

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 "Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 And I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17 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."

7 times in this passage God speaks of the covenant that He is making with Noah and 3 times He tells Noah, “Never again will the earth be destroyed by a flood.”

  • Now, God doesn’t repeat himself here for His own benefit. He is repeating Himself here for Noah’s benefit.
  • Some times when we read this…when the flood starts to subside…we think that Noah has just finished a peaceful…quiet period of time just floating around with all these cute cuddly animals.
  • I want you to know that Noah has just finished the worst year of his life…this is a “grave new world”…and what do you think Noah would do the next time he heard thunder if he didn’t have this promise?

Even though God knows the world is going to get wicked again, God says, “Noah, I am never again going to put anybody through what you just went through.”

And I want you to notice that God didn’t demand any kind of pledge of obedience in response to this covenant. The entire initiative is taken by God.

  • And there is only one word to adequately describe a covenant like this: grace.
  • Man has not changed. Man deserves a flood every year. But God says, “No” and binds Himself to the promise.

And then God puts a sign for all to see to remember His promise. Notice in this version of the Bible it reads, “I set my bow; that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; when the bow is in the cloud.”

  • The NIV has the word “rainbow.”
  • The word here for “rainbow” and for “bow” is the same and it has reference to the “bow” that a hunter uses…or that a warrior uses.
  • And what God is saying is, “As a sign of my covenant of grace and peace to you I am going to hang my bow up. I am going to hang by bow as a visible sign that I don’t want judgment. I want relationship.”
  • When we see that bow after the storm it is basically God saying, “I desire that none should perish, but that everyone should come to repentance.”

And we need to hear that same sermon every time we see a cross.

  • You see, like the bow the cross is a symbol of judgment. But it is also an offer of peace.
  • The cross is God’s offer of peace when judgment is deserved and all men need to seek it while they still can because this story also teaches us….

That the flood is a foreshadowing of another judgment to come.

  • God said in a very subtle way, “Never again will I destroy the earth with water.”
  • But that does not mean that another judgment on sin will not come.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

God has hung up His bow and erected a cross as a sign that says He wants peace with you instead of judgment.

  • The choice is yours to make.
  • He is patient…but someday His patience will come to an end and when it does where will you be? Will you at peace with God…or standing opposed to Him.
  • There is still time to make peace with God.

How do you obtain that peace? Rom 5:7-11

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

  • Where is peace with God found? It is found in Christ and through Christ.
  • And how do we get into Christ? Galatians 3:26: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.