Genesis 9:8-17 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
(9) "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,
(10) and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock,
and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for
every beast of the earth. (11) I establish my covenant with you, that never
again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again
shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." (12) And God said, "This is the
sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature
that is with you, for all future generations: (13) I have set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (14)
When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, (15) I
will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature
of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all
flesh. (16) 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." (17) God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I
have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."
This passage is closely linked to what we spoke of on Monday, the fact that
God is a promise keeping God. Here we are further reminded of this as God
establishes a covenant with Noah, His sons and even with us, as we are Noah’s
offspring. God establishes His covenant with Noah that He will never again flood
the entire earth, furthermore God institutes a sign, something which reminds us
of the covenant, shows that we are under this covenant, that God’s favour is
upon us and points us to God. Every covenant is accompanied by a sign, the
covenant with Abraham was accompanied by the sign of circumcision, and the new
covenant is accompanied by the sign of the Holy Spirit. All these serve to show
us that God is a covenant keeping, faithful and merciful God. Each and every day
the entire world is reminded of this fact as countless rainbows appear in the
sky, pointing over and over again to God, reminding them that God is patiently
and graciously restraining His hand of judgement, and has worked through Christ
so as to save them from that judgement. As Christians we have cause to be filled
with thanks on a daily basis, for we do not need an outward sign to remind us of
God’s favour, grace and salvation, as we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, the
sign that shows we truly belong to God. We have further cause to rejoice because
just as the rainbow still appears in the sky thousands of years later reminding
us that God still keeps His promises, so we too have the assurance that God’s
salvation of us will remain, for He will not remove His Spirit from within us
until we see Him face to face in heaven.
Heavenly Father, we give thanks to You today for giving to us Your Holy
Spirit, the deposit guaranteeing our salvation. Thank You that we are filled
with Your Spirit all day, every day and shall remain filled with Your Spirit
until You draw us home. Thank You that You have set Your love, grace and mercy
upon us in this unique manner. Our hearts are filled with gratitude when we also
think of the fact that Your Holy Spirit is more than just a sign, but is also
our Comforter, Guide, Teacher and Interceder, may You enable us to listen to the
voice of Your Spirit and follow it faithfully. Amen.
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