Paradise Remade . . . Sort of: Genesis 6:9-9:29
The significance of Noah and his descendents in the thought and lives of Christians during the Middle Ages receives less attention today than it did 1500 years ago. There are still some 600 maps of the earth that exist from the Middle Ages, so we can learn how they literally viewed the world. If you were to notice these maps today you’d be surprised that Jerusalem (referred to as the “naval of the world” in the Latin Bible) marked the center of the earth. To the east, south, and west, that is, Asia, Africa, and Europe, were lands divided among Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These European Christians considered their religion, and indeed their own culture, as the center of the world, and peripheral to their existence and importance were all other people.[1]
We often still consider our lives as the center of the universe today, don’t we? We might not mark that down permanently on a map, but we think it to be true during our most sinful moments. The story of Noah and his sons has great significance for how we look at arrangement of the world, but it should ultimately remind us, if not teach us anew, that the earth has significant Christian implications, but even more it is about God’s glory.
Last week we learned lessons on how the descendents of Satan and of Eve differed. Our emphasis was almost solely on human attitudes and actions. This evening we’ll see how the storyline in Genesis, as it did in Genesis 1, focuses on God’s involvement and interaction with humanity. But instead of creating, God will un-create the world through the flood. A pre-existing covenant will be established, and in it we’ll find out how as he requires us to live. So those will be our three points: God’s judgment, God’s covenant, and God’s new world.
The Paradise Lost of Milton with illustrations. Designed and engraved by John Martin, 2 vols, 1827. 643, m.19
God’s Judgment
Verse 9 begins a new section in the Genesis narrative as the records of the generation of Noah are recorded. From here until 10:1 the story focuses on one man’s interaction with God and its implications for all of humanity. Noah, in contrast to the world around him, was a righteous man, that is, he was blameless compared to the wicked people around him. This doesn’t mean he was sinless, but he, like Adam and Enoch, walked with God. Righteousness in Scripture never refers to one’s inherit goodness, but their standing before God based on obedience to God’s commands.
The world, however, was corrupted. Notice the emphasis on its corruption in verses 11-12. The phrase “all flesh” probably includes the depravity of the animal kingdom, where with “tooth and claw,” God’s creatures wantonly destroy each other for sport. Then God assesses the world in verse 13 by stating that he will destroy the wicked which have destroyed the world with their violence. The sons of Satan continually destroy civilization with their violence, murder, sexual immorality, their self-centeredness. What was left from Adam and Seth’s godly line was one righteous man and his family.
As a result of humanity’s wickedness, God tells Noah to build a great boat to house his wife, his three sons, their wives, and every pair of animal and bird on the earth. This ark will be a safe haven for Noah because God is bringing a flood upon the earth to undo creation, to destroy the world which is destroying itself. As God once brought life to all creatures, now he will take it from them and they will perish.
In 7:4 we see that seven days after the ark was built the unearthing process begins as the rain begins to fall. Verse 10 tells us that seven days later the flood waters rose, carrying the ark over the covered earth for 40 days. Verse 17 states that the flood lasted 150 days, and in 8:3 took 150 days to wane. Then, in verse 6, began another 40 days of waiting for Noah to see if the world would be inhabitable once again. He sent out a raven to find land and seven days later he sent out a dove. Seven more days after the dove’s return in verse 12, he sent out the dove again and this time it didn’t return. It found land; the waters had receded. The judgment of the flood was over.
The flood story teaches us that at the center of his act of judgment is his indignation against human sin. Many people today are concerned about the end of the world and will even pinpoint causes for its destruction by humanity’s sins. But these sins are related to how little we care for the environment, its creatures, its resources, but never that these sins are against God who created the world, its creatures, and its resources. I recently saw a movie trailer for an upcoming film called “2012.” It’s about how the world will be destroyed by natural causes 4 years from now and how world governments are unable or unwilling to stop impending disaster. The imagery is intense as you watch a Mongolian monk run top the peak of a mountain to hammer on a bell which warns the towns below of coming doom. Then you see the Pacific Ocean cascade over the Himalayan Mountains destroying Asia. Images as these strike fear in our hearts, but how sad is it that we fail to fear the God once brought that great flood to judge the wicked world.
The story of the flood should remind Christians of a coming judgment at the end of all things. After Noah’s sacrifice in 8:20, the Lord tells Noah that he will sustain the cycles of the earth again. Never again will he flood the earth to destroy its inhabitants. Yet a different day of judgment waits. For this reason, the apostle Peter told Christians in 2 Peter 3:11 that since the judgment day is coming to destroy the wicked, you should be holy and godly in your conduct. You see, God’s grace is never an excuse to think that we won’t face his judgment. We’ve been promised escape from God’s judgment on the final day and so we are to live holy and godly in our world today, as Noah was in his.
The flood story also stands as a warning to non-Christians that God will bring judgment upon you for your sin. Whether you realize it or not and whether you like it or not, God made you to live in his good world to display his glory. Certain judgment awaits you if you don’t. You need to ask yourself, what will be your ark, your way of escape, on that judgment day?
God’s Covenant
I’ve already stated that Noah’s righteousness was contrasted to the wicked societies around him but was based on a relationship he already had with the Lord. In 6:18 God tells Noah that he will establish his covenant with him and save him from the judgment. This word “establish” in relation to the word covenant means to recall a preexisting relationship.[2] Most frequently when covenants are mentioned in Scripture they are recorded as being “made” or “cut” between God and an individual. What other covenant was mentioned before the one in 6:18? Anyway, what is a covenant?
A helpful way to look at a covenant that God makes is to understand it to be like a great king making an agreement with a lesser king. The greater king sets down the rules and conditions for the lesser king to obey. In turn, the lesser king agrees to obey them and vows to follow the greater king. A covenant, then, brings together two parties and solidifies a relationship.
God calls this covenant “my” covenant. It is God’s original covenant with Adam from Genesis 1:26-28. Notice with me again that passage. Now look with me at Genesis 9:1-7. Did you notice the similarities? God is saying that his plan for his image bearers to rule his earth will continue. He will guarantee that they will “be fruitful and multiply” to fill the earth with Eve’s children.
What this covenant – the covenant of creation – is doing is bringing into existence once again God’s plan for humanity, but this time in a fallen world. That’s why there is a prohibition against shedding human life in verses 5-6. Verse six is a poem that recollects the poem of Genesis 1:27. Corporal punishment is now put into place to protect humanity against itself. The uncontrollable violence we read about in Genesis 6, Cain’s murder and Lamach’s revenge in Genesis 4 will no longer go without punishment by the peoples of the earth. All human life is valuable because all humans reflect God’s image. Those who abdicate their privilege as an image bearer by killing another forfeit their own life so that society may maintain peace and reign in the anarchists. Also notice that the covenant is made with creation in verses 9-10. God gives himself to Noah and the entire world by promising to maintain its existence. In effect, God’s covenant is universal, encompassing all created beings.
God finalizes his covenant by ascribing a sign to it. He takes the rainbow, which can be seen after rain showers, and places his covenant promise on it never to destroy the earth again through a flood. So now, every time a rainbow is seen, God’s promise can be recalled and we can take solace knowing that he continually sustains and preserves the created world.
So what does the covenant of creation mean for us today? The command to fill the earth with God’s image bearers is still in effect for the Christian church. This covenant has many implications that we have already discussed and some we haven’t. It has implications for environmentalism, being good stewards of God’s creation, upholding marriage between a man and a woman, protecting the dignity of human life (which means it’s against God’s will to support abortion and euthanasia). But these issues aren’t what I want for us to primarily understand this evening. What we do need to realize is that implicit in this covenant is the understanding that this is a fallen world, especially in relation to human violence, murder, and hatred. People hate each other. People recklessly and rapaciously take human life. In Mark 7 Jesus said that our actions are merely reflective of our attitudes, what’s really in our heart. The apostle John states it this way, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murdered; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). From Abel’s day to ours the entire earth has been crying out from the ground for recompense. We might not pollute the ground with blood through murder, but are our hearts soiled with the same violence and hatred that filled Cain?
I have to admit, dealing with anger is a problem I have and I ask that you’d pray for me. Inability to deal with anger leads to dire consequences, where soon, we’re just like Cain wondering what to do with the anger that is at our doorstep ready to overtake us. In James 3 the apostle reminds us about the connection between our words, our violent heart, and our spiritual state when he said that we inconsistently bless God and curse men who are made in his image. How is it that blessings and cursings can come out of the same mouth? This should not be. Let the doctrine from this covenant impact the way you look at the fallen world, from political issues, to environmental issues, and so-on. But most importantly, don’t underestimate the gravity of human depravity that led to the re-establishment of this covenant in a fallen world. The attitudes of our heart will either embrace this covenant or turn the way of Satan, Cain, Lamach, and every violent individual who opposes the rule of God on earth.
God’s New World
The end of chapter 9 records the beginning of God’s new world after the flood. Noah, similarly to Adam, is a gardener. He cultivates a vineyard, but in time is inebriated. I remember having a conversation with Shane Walker, one of our former pastors here, about how the Bible doesn’t forbid drinking alcohol. It is commonly known that wine was a common beverage in the Middle East during Old and New Testament times and was often used for medicinal purposes. Yet Shane pointed out that nothing really good comes from having too much of it. And so it is with the case of Noah. As Adam fell by eating of the fruit, Noah falls by drinking irresponsibly from its vine. The line of Satan can’t be drowned. As we’ll see, the sinfulness of its life-blood is hereditary and will be passed on by one of Noah’s sons.
Noah’s son, Ham, finds his father naked in a drunken state then reports the news to his other brothers, Shem and Japeth. There is a question as to whether or not Ham’s viewing of his naked father was sexual in nature. The other brothers walk backward into the tent and cover Noah. When he awakes and finds out what Ham did, Noah curses Ham’s son, Canaan. Canaan will now be a servant to Shem and Japeth, and Shem will rule over them all. But why did Noah curse Ham’s son and not Ham himself? The only recorded words of Noah in Scripture should be interpreted as an invocation to God to divide future generations by their infectious wicked actions.
If you’re a fan of science fiction movies, you understand how common infections are in stories. (You’ll have to bear with me, I like space movies.) For instance, a space team lands on an unknown planet and mysteriously one in the group disappear then reappears later looking really sick. Once back in the ship it’s revealed that this individual is infected with an alien life form or organism. Now the fight for survival is on. As in the case of the story of Noah and his sons, the line of Satan’s seed continues even after the fall. Sin still infects the human race. The curse Noah pronounces stands in contrast to the blessings that the covenant of creation would bring. After the entire event of the flood, Noah, his sons, and us today, know that problem of sin still continues in God’s world. Noah’s progeny is infected by sin. It will be through the line of Shem that God’s people must now make a name for God throughout the earth.
God’s new world doesn’t sound like the paradise described in Genesis 2, does it? We can look around the earth and see the effects of sin everywhere. Yet we have hope that one day paradise will completely be restored. We have hope that there will be an image bearer who is able to atone with his own blood the bloodshed that fills the earth. We live for the hope that one day the world will be remade and brought to submit to the Lordship of Christ. But for now, it’s in these early stories of the Bible that we must learn about the end of the world given in the beginning.
[1] Daniel Boorstin, The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know His World and Himself (New York: Vintage Books, 1985), 101.
[2] See W. J. Dumbrell, Covenant and Creation: A Theology of the Old Testament Covenants (UK: Paternoster, 1984) or his The Faith of Israel: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).
Great sermon! A couple of months ago, I read through Genesis, and I noticed something new (to me) about the drunken, naked Noah narrative. One of Noah’s curses to Ham is that Canaan, his son, would serve Shem. Later in Genesis, we find that Abraham is from the line of Shem.
It seems that much of the rest of the OT focuses on the conflict between Shem’s line and Canaan. When God’s people cross into the land of promise and begin to subdue the Canaanites, we see a literal fulfillment of Noah’s curse: Canaan is becoming the servant of Shem.
Did you read anything about this part of the curse in your sermon prep?
Yes. Shem means ‘name.’ Those at Babel wanted to make a ‘name’ for themselves, but God makes a ‘name’ for Abraham in 12:1-3. Thanks for serving us last night by leading and playing. Glad you and Lacy are with us!