The Covenant: Part 2
Read Genesis 8:21–9:1. What is the significance of God’s commitment
to the preservation of life? How does God’s blessing fulfill that
commitment?
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God’s commitment to preserve life was an act of grace; it was not a
result of human merits. God decided to preserve life on earth in spite
of human evil (Gen. 8:21). Genesis 8:22 reads, literally, “all the days of
the earth” (DRA); that is, for as long as this present earth remains, the
seasons will come and go and life will be sustained. In short, God has
not given up on His creation.
In fact, the following text, which talks about God’s blessing, takes
us back to the original Creation, with its blessing (Gen. 1:22, 28; Gen.
2:3). The Lord, in a sense, was giving humanity a chance to start over,
to start fresh.
Read Genesis 9:8–17. What is the significance of the rainbow? How
does this “ ‘sign of the covenant’ ” (Gen. 9:13, NKJV) relate to the
other sign of the covenant, the Sabbath?
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The phrase “establish . . . covenant” is repeated three times (Gen.
9:9, 11, 17), marking the climax and fulfillment of God’s initial prom-
ise (Gen. 6:18). Following the preceding section, which parallels the
sixth day of the Creation account, this section parallels the section
covering the seventh day of the Creation account, the Sabbath. Inside
the text, the repetition, seven times, of the word “covenant” resonates
with the Sabbath. Like the Sabbath, the rainbow is the sign of the
covenant (Gen. 9:13, 14, 16; compare with Exod. 31:12–17). Also,
like the Sabbath, the rainbow has a universal scope; it applies to the
whole world. Just as the Sabbath, as a sign of Creation, is for everyone,
everywhere, the promise that no other worldwide flood will come is for
everyone, everywhere, as well.
Next time you see a rainbow, think about all of God’s promises to
us. Why can we trust those promises, and how does the rainbow
show us that we can trust them?