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Genesis 8:20–9:17
“When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (9:16).
Adam broke the covenant of works by eating the forbidden fruit, plunging the human race into sin and condemnation (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12–21). God would have been just to leave all people under His eternal wrath. Happily, however, the Lord entered into a covenant of grace with those whom He has chosen to save, promising to crush the devil and give His people victory over sin and death through the woman’s seed—the Lord Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15).
In the days ahead, we will see that the covenant of grace is gracious not because the covenant of works ended—God still demands perfect obedience of every person. Instead, the covenant of grace is gracious because it provides a way for sinners to be saved through Jesus’ keeping of the covenant of works for all who believe in Him (Rom. 5:12–21). It is gracious for us because we are forgiven and declared righteous based on what Jesus has done, not on our own works.
Importantly, God did not give all the parameters of the covenant of grace at once. Beginning with His covenant with Noah, God expanded on the original promise about the seed of the woman in a series of other covenants that are part of the one covenant of grace.
We remember that God chose to save Noah and his family alone out of all the families of the earth during the great flood. He chose Noah purely out of grace, out of unmerited favor toward him. We see this in Genesis 6:8–10. Note that Noah’s favor in the eyes of the Lord precedes the evaluation that Noah was righteous and blameless (vv. 8–9). God did not choose Noah based on his works; any righteous deeds he had followed and were a consequence of God’s gracious choice.
After the great flood, God covenanted with Noah and his descendants, promising never to destroy all life again by water. The Lord also pledged that the rhythms of nature would continue as long as the earth remains. Thus, the Noahic covenant is often referred to as a covenant of preservation. It is God’s solemn oath to preserve the created order, providing a stable environment in which to work out the salvation of His people.
God frequently attaches a sign to His covenants to remind us of His promises and to encourage us to trust Him. The sign of the Noahic covenant is the rainbow. John Calvin comments that this sign “is added to the promise, in which is exhibited the wonderful kindness of God; who, for the purpose of confirming our faith in his word, does not disdain to use such helps.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
A rainbow is not merely the refraction of white light through water droplets in the atmosphere. It is the gift of God to the human race to remind us that He will never again destroy all the earth by a flood. When we see a rainbow, let us remember God’s promise, and let us use it to tell others of His promises as well.
For further study
- Isaiah 54:9–10
- Jeremiah 33:19–22
- Hebrews 11:7
- Revelation 4:1–3
The bible in a year
- Proverbs 5–6
- 1 Corinthians 14:20–40