Rev.
Stephen E. Stults
St.
Paul's Anglican Church
June
17. 2018
Genesis 9:14-15 “And it
shall come to pass, 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 the waters shall no more
become a flood to destroy all flesh.”
Today’s Old Testament reading deals with the
aftermath of the Great Flood. We hear
God telling Noah and his family to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth.” It is time to re-populate the Earth. Additionally, we see the first instance of
man’s mastery over the animal kingdom.
Man shall rule the animals, and they shall provide food for him, as well
as the plants God has made. It was an unfortunate result of the Fall that we must
kill to eat, but so it is. Sin always has consequences.
An interesting point about this passage is that we
begin to see the Mosaic Law start to take shape, in rudimentary form. Man is
told to refrain from eating meat with the animal’s blood in it, which is the
beginning of the Kosher food laws. Also, we hear the first of behavioral law
for man, as God tells Noah that he who kills man will also be killed of
man. It is a sin to kill another man,
because he is made in the image of God. Surely we hear echoes of “an eye for
eye, and tooth for tooth” here, as the Law would be later given to the Jewish
people.
The main point of this passage comes in the giving
of the covenantal sign to Noah. The sign of the covenant between God and man is
the rainbow, the sign of which indicates that God promised never to bring water
upon the earth again, to the extent of the Great Flood.
God deals with us in terms of covenant, which is a
solemn agreement between two parties.
Even modern contracts often use the word “covenant” to express such an
agreement or understanding.
We know God is the Great Ruler over all things.
Another word for absolute ruler is “suzerain”, or King of Kings. In such
manner, God’s covenants reflect the great Suzerainty Treaties of the ancient
Near East. Once a suzerain had
established his power over a region, either by conquest, or by offering a
treaty, several common features appeared.
Using the acrostic THEOS:
Transcendance: This was the statement(s) stating the
power, majesty and glory of the suzerain.
Hierarchy: The
authority and makeup of dealing with the suzerain
Ethics: The
stipulations of the covenant or law (or code) was laid out. This was the body of the law.
Oath: A
statement of blessings and cursings that would follow from
keeping the
covenant or breaking it.
Succession: The
succession section indicated how the covenant was to be kept for ensuing generations and by
whom.
The first covenant was the Adamic.
This was the first covenant made between God and His Adam. God gave Adam dominion over the earth, to
subdue it and use it. Also, God provided a garden for Adam and Eve for a
dwelling. He had one commandment, that
he not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This first covenant was based on obedience to
this commandment. In return, Adam and
Eve would enjoy life in the Garden forever.
The sign of the covenant was the
Sabbath, because the Lord God rested on the seventh day from his labors.
Noahic This was the second covenant made between God
and man. God found a righteous man,
Noah, and made a covenant with him. God commanded that Noah build an ark and
gather into it all species of life, thus to be saved from the ensuing
flood. The basis of this covenant was
grace. God would preserve Noah, his
family, as in Genesis 9:1:
“And God blessed Noah and his sons,
and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.“
The principle sign of this covenant
was the rainbow, a sign that God would never again destroy the earth by water.
Abrahamic.
The third covenant with man was with Abraham, whom God accounted
faithful and righteous. The basis of the
covenant was promissory, that, in return for Abraham’s faithfulness, God would
bless Abraham, as in Genesis 22:17:
“That in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as
the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of
his enemies; “
The sign of the covenant was male
circumcision.
Synatic or Mosaic. The fourth covenant God made
with man was Synatic or Mosaic. The basis of this covenant between God
and the Jewish nation was obligatory.
The people were to keep the Law because they were a holy, blessed and saved
nation unto God. The covenant was primarily expressed in the Ten Commandments
and extrapolated throughout the book of Deuteronomy.
The principle sign of this covenant
was the Passover.
Davidic. The next covenant God made with His
People was the Davidic. This was expressed in the kingship of David. The
basis of the covenant was promissory; the promised blessing being a
continuation of David’s line on the throne for succeeding generations.
The principle sign of the covenant was
the throne.
Universal or New. The last
covenant made with God and His People is universal, extending from the Jews to
all mankind through Jesus Christ. This
is the Renewed (or New Covenant), in the Greek called Kainos. The basis for this covenant is both
obligatory and promissory, for through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ
and keeping of His Commandments, we are promised eternal life.
The
principle signs of the New Covenant are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Covenants
are God’s way of dealing with mankind. We in Christ’s Church are blessed to be
covered by the final, complete, and covenant of Jesus Christ.
To
Him be honor, glory, power, and dominion, world without end.
Amen.
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