Genesis 9:7 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Genesis 9:7

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The same words are repeated again, for Noah’s reassurance. Man must again bring forth abundantly in the earth, and this is exactly what has happened as travellers across the globe will testify. Adam had faced just as great a task, but he knew himself to be the first man. Noah had the great discouragement of knowing that vast numbers of people had been destroyed in a failed attempt to populate the earth. And it was God himself who had destroyed them, so that Noah might be tempted to conclude that if God could change his mind once about creating mankind, he could do so again. Therefore the Lord needed to give the strongest possible assurances that this would never again be the case. Then here is this wonderful covenant of providence. It seems curious that God should make a covenant with animals also. It is not a spiritual covenant but a covenant made with all mankind and with the beasts, until the end of history. It is a covenant linked to the words in Genesis 8:21, where God says he will not again curse the ground for man’s sake. Here now is God’s formal promise that he will not send a flood to destroy the earth again. He knows what man is; he knows man will never improve without grace, and he promises to be the God who will provide for his creatures until the end of time. Mankind must remember this promise. Every time he is inclined to think human wickedness has reached such a high level that God must surely act to end life on earth again, he is to remember this covenant promise. It is God’s promise to show amazing patience towards the provocations of sin. The covenant is given this wonderful sign, the rainbow. God is his own monitor, and his own faithfulness ensures that he will never break his own word. He remembers his covenant from generation to generation, long after those who originally received it are dead and gone, and unable to hold him to it. God holds himself to it, and he cannot break his word, though there is no one but himself who witnessed it. Revelation 4:3 picks up this image of the rainbow without explanation, and makes it a symbol of God’s faithfulness, surrounding his throne.He will never again smite the globe, the whole earth, with a universal flood. But there will be a coming destruction by fire. 2 Peter makes that abundantly plain to us, when he distinguishes between how God once destroyed the earth by flood, and how he will in the future destroy it by fire. So the promise is, neither will I again smite any more everything living as I have done. Never again with the flood. But the fire awaits the last day, and the Scripture is very careful to hedge the promise around by limiting it to water and the flood.

Application

How hard human beings find it to grasp the extent of God’s patience! How easy they find it to misinterpret this. It rises so much higher than human patience that their minds cannot take it in. God must have forgotten about his world, they conclude. Or he must be indifferent to what takes place here, or he lacks the ability to implement justice – the world has gone out of control and he cannot now stop it. Why else would he wait so long? Why else would he allow such atrocities to take place and not immediately intervene? But no, God has not forgotten project earth; he knows when he will judge; all things are written in his book and his book will be opened; Satan himself will be judged and sentenced, and no evil will be overlooked. But here God binds himself not to act precipitously. He has perfect control over his own feelings, and his wrath will not be released until the chosen hour. But then, it will be released with unstoppable force, and they will say, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?’ (Revelation 6:16-17).

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Genesis 9:7 Commentary and Bible Study