Genesis 9 - On Solid Ground and Looking to the Rainbow

Rainbow on the Camino de Santiago, October 24, 2022

LINK: Genesis 9

BACKGROUND

Reviewing Genesis 8, we see Noah, his family, and all the living creatures step out of the boat on to solid ground and into a whole new beginning. What is the first thing Noah did? He built an altar to the LORD (thus why he took clean animals by sevens and unclean by two). This is the first mention of the word altar in Genesis. The aroma was pleasing to the LORD. The first act of this man who walked with God was an act of worship and sacrifice.

God responds with a promise (not to curse the ground or destroy every living thing), a blessing, and a command ("Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth"). He also says that animals will be afraid of them. Before the flood, they came to him. Now, they were running away because God said they could be food. So, those animals had a reason for running! He gave them food to eat but with one prohibition: "you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it." Again, we see foreshadowing of the "life in the blood" that points to Jesus. Also, we have another test of obedience just as Adam and Eve had in the garden! "You are free to eat this, but this one thing you cannot do."

Then, he related this to a prohibition against murder. From now on, murder was punishable by death (interesting that Cain's was not) because man was made in the "image of God." This is the biblical basis for proponents of capital punishment.

The centerpiece of Genesis 9 is covenant. The first mention of the word covenant is in 6:18, and we will be seeing this word used over and over again in the Old Testament. I would even suggest marking it as you read through your Bible. This was a "royal grant" or "suzerainty" covenant made between a superior (like a king) and a loyal servant. Noah was God's loyal servant, and God promised never to flood the earth again by giving Noah the sign of a rainbow. We will talk about covenant many more times in the future, but this is a brief introduction to that concept.

This chapter ends with Ham's sin. There are so many interpretations of the nature of his crime: trespassing, castration, and "blackmailing" in order to become head of the family are some of them. I prefer to think of it as an act of disrespect because he spoke about his father's condition. We already learned of the shame of nakedness in the case of Adam and Eve. Ham brought more shame on his father by talking about it. Canaan, the son of Ham, will be cursed with slavery as a result of Ham's actions. In contrast, God blessed Shem and extended the territory of Japheth for covering their father's nakedness. Here we have those two lines again: Ham on one side and Shem and Japheth on the other. Shem's line eventually leads to Abraham and Abraham's line leads to Jesus!

REFLECTION

I know this is from Genesis 8, but I am still mulling over the fact that Noah's first act when out of the boat was a sacrifice on the altar to the LORD. Noah could have complained. He could have been pretty ticked at God for holding him in that boat for so long. That might be my response to such a difficult circumstance. Noah worshiped and sacrificed. I want to give a sacrifice and commitment of everything I have to the LORD even when I am inconvenienced by something He calls me to do. I want to be like Noah!

2023 Update Reflection: Above is a picture of our last day on the Camino de Santiago from October of 2022. I wanted to do this for 40 years. I lived in Santiago in 1982 and had always wanted to return. It was perfect, but after a summer and early fall of wonderful sunshine, it was projected to rain the whole trip! 

I am so glad it did! "It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow" is a quote I have repeated to myself more times than I can count, but this was literally true on this journey. Yes, it rained, but we had a rainbow almost every single day, and it was just a reminder of God's sovereignty in my life. It was a reminder that, like Noah, he has had promises of hope even though there has been "rain" in my life. It was a reminder of our covenantal relationship that I entered into in September of 1969 and continues to this day. It was beautiful. I cannot describe it. It was just the best. 

So here is one last thing. I was in a musical review, and we did selections from the musical Finian's Rainbow, and that song was swirling through my head as I read the part about the rainbow. Amazing it has stuck there for 45+ years!

So, if the "fellow" is God and he is our true love. Maybe this song will have some meaning for you. At the least, it helps you to enjoy God's beautiful creation of the rainbow or give you the freedom to dance with Fred Astaire!

On the day I was born, said me father, said he
I've an an elegant legacy, waitin' for ye
'Tis a rhyme for your lips and a song for your heart
To sing it whenever the world falls apart

Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow it over the hill and the stream
Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow the fellow who follows a dream

'Twas a sumptuous gift to bequeath to a child
For the lure of that song keeps me head runnin' wild
For you never grow old and you never stand still
With whippoorwills singin' beyond the next hill

Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow it over the hill and the stream
Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow the fellow who follows a dream

So I bundled me heart and I roamed the world free
To the east with the lark, to the west with the sea
And I've searched all the earth and I've scanned all the skies
But I found it at last in me own true love's eyes

Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow it over the hill and stream
Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow the fellow who follows a dream

Follow, the fellow, follow, the fellow
Follow, the fellow who follows a dream

Here is the song on YouTube and don't forget to enlarge it (if you get to the end, you can see Fred Astaire dancing. I just reserved it from the library. What fun. I just danced through my living room.): 

APPLICATIONS

2023 Update: January is a time of rainbows in my part of the world. It may not be for you, but I know that if the sun breaks through suddenly after a rain, there is a rainbow to be spotted.  Look for a rainbow this year and marvel at God and what that means for you. Talk to him about it.

Even if you don't see a rainbow, what are some promises that God has given you over the years? Review those and talk to God about them. Perhaps he has a promise for the current year. Write it on a card and make it prominent. We are so forgetful and making it prominent is a constant reminder of what God has given you.

From the original BBC post: I am borrowing these from the Holman Bible Commentary by Kenneth O. Gangel and Stephen J. Bramer because I thought they were good. It includes possible applications from both Genesis 8 and 9:

• Give sacrifices of praise (Heb. 13:15), good works (Heb. 13:16), financial giving (Phil. 4:18), and commitment of your body (Rom. 12:1).
• Smell like a "pleasing aroma" to your Lord.
• Live a life of love, "just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
• Don't gossip. If you see something you shouldn't have observed, respect the people involved enough not to say anything to anyone.
• Ask yourself this question, "Have I given or taken life today in the way I have treated my brother?" (Referring to Matthew 5:21-24 and anger being subject to judgment just as murder is subject.)

Ask God about how you might respond to this passage. These are just suggestions. So there is NO OBLIGATION to "do" them!

PRAYER

Lord God, we give You a sacrifice of praise today. You are the faithful God who keeps Your covenant to those who love You. Help us not to forget this. In Jesus' name, Amen.