After
the Flood, Noah and his family, and all the animals that were with them, came
out of the Ark.
As
soon as they came out of the Ark
(1)
THE BLESSING FOR NOAH AND HIS CHILDREN
There
are many similarities between the blessing God gave Adam after creating him and
Noah after saving him from the Flood. This confirms the idea that the Flood was
a new beginning, an opportunity for humanity to have a fresh start, on a clean
slate.
a. Just like God told Adam to be fruitful and fill the
earth and have dominion over it (Genesis 1:28), he also told Noah:
(Genesis
9:1-2) And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the
dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the
heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea.
Into your hand they are delivered.
(Genesis
9:7) And
you, be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it.
b. Just like God spoke to Adam about his diet
(what they could eat, Gen. 1:29), he also told Noah, adding a new kind of food
that could not be eaten before…
(Genesis
9:3-4) Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as
I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh
with its life, that is, its blood.
After
the flood, God authorized men to eat meat, besides eating plants. The world had
changed, and also the original diet changed. However, there was a restriction:
they were not to eat meat with its blood.
The
prohibition from eating blood is because life is in the blood. This is a subject
that is repeated throughout the Bible.
(Leviticus
17:10-14) If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who
sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who
eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the
flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make
atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Therefore I have said to the people of Israel Israel
For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its
life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel
(Leviticus
7:26-27) Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl
or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. Whoever eats any blood, that
person shall be cut off from his people.
(Deuteronomy
12:20-25) When the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has
promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you crave meat, you may
eat meat whenever you desire. If the place that the LORD your God will choose
to put his name there is too far from you, then you may kill any of your herd
or your flock, which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you, and you
may eat within your towns whenever you desire. Just as the gazelle or the deer
is eaten, so you may eat of it. The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it.
Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you
shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it; you shall pour it
out on the earth like water. You shall not eat it, that all may go well with
you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of
the LORD.
In
the old days people did not eat as much meat as we do today. It was generally
reserved for special occasions, no only for the expense but because of the lack
of refrigeration. Also, because in order to eat meat an animal must be
sacrificed, it was almost always linked to a ritual dedicated to idol worship.
That is why the Bible warns us not to eat foods that have been sacrificed to
idols.
When
gentiles began to convert to Jesus during the time of the first apostles, they
instructed them not to eat blood and to abstain from what had been sacrificed
to idols, among other things that were common in the heathen societies.
(Acts
15:28-29) For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay
on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what
has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,
and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do
well. Farewell.
The
apostles wanted to make sure they taught the new believers that which was basic
and foremost. Gentiles could later start learning and going deeper, little by
little, as they studied the Word of God.
(Acts
15:19-21) Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those
of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the
things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been
strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every
city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.
In
relation to the commandment not to eat blood is the commandment “not to spill
blood”, in other words, not to murder. It may seem obvious for us today, but it
wasn’t so then. His commandment was necessary after Abel’s murder by his
brother Cain (Genesis 4:8-12) and many others that followed. As societies
become corrupt, the respect for life is lost.
(Genesis
9:5-6) And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from
every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require
a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall
his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
(2)
THE COVENTANT WITH NOAH
After
giving them the blessing of fruitfulness and the basic commandments for life,
God made a covenant with Noah. Even though the covenant is named after the
patriarch, it is a covenant with all humanity, since all human beings are
descendants of one of Noah’s sons.
(Genesis
9:8-10) Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
"Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,
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.
What
was this covenant about?
(Genesis
9:11) 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.
The
Rainbow is the SIGN of this covenant. It is a physical sign that reminds us of
this divine promise.
(Genesis
9:12-17) 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: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of
the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and
the bow is seen in the clouds, 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. 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." 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."
The
rainbow is a divine sign for you too. The covenant God made with Noah contemplates
all humanity and all living creatures. This is also an everlasting covenant,
“for all future generations”. The Lord has not forgotten his covenant, and he
will remember it during the end times.
(Isaiah
54:7-10) For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great
compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face
from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the
LORD, your Redeemer. This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the
waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will
not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my
steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be
removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
During
our next lesson, we will see how things did not turn out so “perfect” after the
flood, in the new opportunity for humanity. We will also see some interesting
facts in the generations of the sons of Noah…
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