| THE NOAHIC COVENANT: The Covenant of Preservation HIS GLORY REIGNS B. Childress Apr 4, 2008 Under the Adamic Covenant man was put on probation to test his faith and obedience to the covenant. The importance of man's obedience to God, the necessity of conquering Satan, the place of diligence in work, and the trust in the substitutionary death of an animal for their faith-covering were emphasized in the Adamic Covenant. This put a requirement on man to live up to these realities. It was, once again, a period of probation extending from Adam to Noah. During this time, the human race became divided into two groups, those who believed and obeyed God and those who refused. Beginning with Cain and Abel two seed lines developed until the days of Noah; the ungodly (Genesis 4) and the godly (Genesis 5). Though man was under the law of conscience, the law of sin continued to drive him away from covenantal relationship with God. Cain's rejection of the covenant sacrifice and murder of his covenant brother, Abel, led eventually to the corruption of the entire human race with one exception; "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 4:1-24; 6:1-13). The days of Noah were characterized by intermarriage, great wickedness, evil imaginations and desires, corruption and violence. This total failure to keep the covenant demanded God's judgment (Genesis 6:1-13; Matthew 24:37-39). The judgment from breaking the Edenic Covenant was death and expulsion from Eden while the judgment for breaking the Adamic Covenant was death by a universal flood. Even before the judgment was executed, God began to move in covenant grace to preserve His next covenant man. Out of the godly line, God chose Noah - a man who was keeping the Adamic Covenant (Genesis 6:8,9; 7:1). He was told to build an ark of safety to preserve his household and certain of the animal kingdom. This he did in obedience to God's commandment (Genesis 6,-8; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:30; 11 Peter 2:5). When Noah departed from the ark after the Flood, God made a covenant with him, his family and all creatures. This constituted a new beginning for man upon an earth cleansed from sinful flesh. I. The WORDS of the Covenant
certain restrictions and responsibilities.
9,10; Hebrews 11:7).
with people that would be in covenantal relationship with God (Genesis 1:18; John 15:16; Acts 9:31).
(Genesis 2:19,20; Romans 8:20-22).
animals were distinguished going into the ark none were forbidden to Noah to be eaten (Genesis 1: 29,20; 2:9,16; 6:18-22; 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 13:9; Romans 14:1-6,14,15). Prohibition of unclean meats was not given until the Mosaic Covenant which was given to the nation of Israel (Leviticus 11).
sake restrain any further curse (Genesis 3:17-19; Revelation 22:3).
animal creation would not be totally destroyed by God (Jonah 4:11; Psalm 104:9-29; Romans 8:19- 23).
years (Genesis 1:14-19). However, from Adam to Noah the earth had a constant climate and was watered by a mist rather than rain (Genesis 2:5-6; 7:4). Though the earth was cursed before the flood the seasons were established after the flood to further affect man's toil with the cursed earth. These seasons were to be a blessing to man upon his obedience to the covenant but could be turned into judgment upon his disobedience (Deuteronomy 11:10-17; Psalm 1:3; Acts 3:19-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:1,2; Ecclesiastes 3:1; Song of Solomon 2:11-13).
again with a flood. Though there have been many local floods the earth is never again to be destroyed by water (Isaiah 54:9,10; II Peter 3:5-7).
Scripture. Under the Adamic Covenant the curse was placed upon the serpent and the earth (Genesis 3: 14-17; 8:21). The first man to be cursed was Cain who was a liar, murderer, and blood-of-the lamb rejector (Genesis 4:1-16). As the son of Adam came under a curse, so Ham, a son of Noah, brought his son under a curse. When Ham dishonored his father in relation to his nakedness he brought a curse upon Canaan his son (Genesis 9:20-27; Leviticus 18:6,7).
nations (Genesis 9:18,19; 10:5,20,31,32).
The Biblical history of the nation of Israel illustrates this.
Canaan. Canaan was cursed and was to be a servant of servants to both Shem and Japheth. The Biblical history of the Canaanite nations illustrates this.
was also to be his servant. Subsequent history illustrates that the Japhetic races were given large parts of the earth to dwell in and were blessed therein.
line. From him came Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Israel, David, and the Messiah who were all given covenants of redemption (Romans 9:4-6; Luke 3:23-38). It was to be through the seed of Shem that the Messianic blessing would come on all families of the earth.
11:7; 1 Peter 3:20; II Peter 2:5)
the blood represents life and the shedding of blood represents death. Because God established the shedding of animal blood as the substitutionary sacrifice for man's sin, He has reserved the blood unto Himself and thus forbade man to partake of it. The Mosaic Covenant later confirmed this restriction, which was to ensure that man would neither believe that the sacrifice of the animal could cleanse him from sin, nor that he could receive the life of the animal (Leviticus 3:17); 17:10-16; Deuteronomy 12:16). Life and cleansing would in due time come through the incorruptible blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:55-63).
forbade murder. This was to remind man of how valuable the life of man made in the image of God was. This protection of human life was confirmed and amplified under the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 10:13; Numbers 35).
judged by God Himself, as with Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). With the Noahic Covenant, God delegated the authority to man to deal with murderers. The death penalty as the highest act of governmental authority implies all lesser levels of human government. The Mosaic Covenant confirmed the principles of a "life for a life" whether by man or beast (Exodus 21:23-25; Leviticus 24:17-22; Deuteronomy 19:21; Numbers 35). Under the New Covenant, the institution of human government is fully endorsed even to the extent of capital punishment (Matthew 22:17-21; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; 1 Peter 2:17). Paul's reference to the sword of the state would have clearly indicated to the Church at Rome the right of execution (Romans 13:1-7). Though murderers may escape capital punishment in this life there is eternal punishment for unrepentant murderers (Revelation 21:8; 22:15).
oath to the Noahic Covenant. This confirmation of God's commitment to the covenant promises made it irrevocable (Hebrews 6:13-20).
previous covenants, in the Book of Genesis. II. The BLOOD of the Covenant
burnt offerings. This animal body and blood constituted the sacrifice of the Noahic Covenant and was a "sweet savour" unto the Lord (Genesis 6:19,20; 7:2,3,8,9; 8:20).
"non-sweet" sacrifices (Leviticus 1-7).
office (Genesis 8:20; Hebrews 8:3). Adam, Noah, Job, and Abraham all illustrate the existence of the household priesthood order. The fullest illustration of the details of priestly ministry came later under the Mosaic Covenant. Noah's priesthood pointed to the ultimate mediator who began a new creation - Jesus Christ.
Noah's altar is the first mention of an altar in Scripture (Genesis 8:20). In that this was the place where the priest offered his sacrifice, the altar constituted the sanctuary of the patriarchs. Wherever God's covenant people built an altar, whether of earth or stone, there God promised to record His name, come to them, meet with them, and bless them. This revelation of His presence would consecrate that place as being sacred and holy to the Lord (Exodus 20: 24-26). III. The SEAL of the Covenant Genesis 9:12-17 plainly states that the rainbow was given by God as the token of the Noahic Covenant. God placed a sign in the sky between heaven and earth, and between God and man. God committed Himself to look upon it as He looked towards earth and remember His covenant mercy. Likewise man was to look upon it as he looked toward heaven and remember with faith God's covenant promise. In that this covenant was made with the whole earth for the duration of its existence, all the world may witness to the fact that God is a covenant keeping God. Subsequent Scripture reveals that the rainbow is also around God's throne, indicating that all the administrations of God's authority in relation to earth and to man pass through the remembrance of His covenant mercy (Ezekiel 1:28; Revelation 4:3). The ultimate revelation of the token of the Noahic Covenant is seen in the Lord Jesus Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant, having the rainbow around His head (Revelation 10:1). The Noahic Covenant contains a reaffirmation of the creative purposes of God as stated in the Edenic Covenant. It is also an extension of "the seed" promises of redemption as in the Adamic Covenant. Though it arises out of a time of great judgment, it establishes a hope that God's purposes in creation will be fulfilled through redemption. The hope of the Noahic Covenant finds its complete fulfillment in the New Covenant. The 'Second' Covenant of Redemption In God's covenant with Adam the first reference to the two lines of development among humanity appears. One line belongs to the seed of Satan, one line belongs to the seed of the woman. Genesis 4-11 sketches the early development of these two divergent lines. The covenant with Noah appears in the context of the unfolding of these two lines, and manifests God's attitude toward both. Total and absolute destruction shall be heaped on the seed of Satan, while free and unmerited grace shall be lavished on the seed of the woman. Primarily four passages present the nature of the covenant established with Noah: Genesis 6:17-22; Genesis 8:20-22; Genesis 9:1-7; and Genesis 9:8-17. The following characteristics of the covenant with Noah may be noted on the basis of these passages: 1) The covenant with Noah emphasizes the close interrelation of the creative and redemptive covenants. Much of God's bond with Noah entails a renewal of the provisions of creation, and even reflects closely the language of the original covenant. The reference to the "birds...cattle...(and) creeping things" of Genesis 6:20 and 8:17 compares with the similar description in Genesis 1:24,25,30. God's charge to Noah and his family to "be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth" (Genesis 9:1,7) reflects the identical command given at creation (Genesis 1:28). Still further, the cultural mandate to "subdue" the earth (Genesis 1:28) finds a close parallel in the covenant with Noah. God's judgment on sin brought a disharmony into man's ruling role over creation. As a consequence, the fear and terror of man was to fall on every beast, bird, and fish of creation (Genesis 9:2). Man's rule shall be exercised in an unnatural context of "terror" and "dread." Yet he continues to maintain his created position as "subduer." The explicit repetition of these creation mandates in the context of the covenant of redemption expands the vistas of redemption's horizons. Redeemed man must not internalize his salvation so that he thinks narrowly in terms of a "soul- saving" deliverance. To the contrary, redemption involves his total life-style as a social, cultural creature. Rather than withdrawing narrowly into a restricted form of "spiritual" existence, redeemed man must move out with a total world-and- life perspective. At the same time, these broader implications of God's covenant with Noah must be viewed in a distinctively redemptive rather than in a more generalized context. God does not relate to his creation through Noah apart from his on-going program of redemption. Even the provision concerning the ordering of seasons must be understood in the framework of God's purposes respecting redemption. One of the earliest writings of Israel's prophets rather forcefully emphasizes the unity of these broader dimensions of the covenant with Noah to God's redemptive purposes. Hosea expresses himself in the language of God's covenant with Noah on questions relating to God's ongoing purposes of redemption for Israel. God will "cut a covenant" with the created universe, including the beast of the field, the birds of the heaven, and the creeping things of the ground (Hosea 2:18). In anticipation of future redemptive activity for Israel, Hosea employs the distinctive categories of the universe found in God's covenant with Noah. Thus Hosea anticipates the continuing significance of God's broader covenant commitments squarely in the context of God's purposes to redeem a people to himself. The sustaining of all God's creatures by the grace of the Noahic covenant relates immediately to God's reestablishing of Israel in a fruitful relation to Himself. The covenant with Noah binds together God's purposes in creation with His purposes in redemption. Noah, his seed, and all creation benefit from this gracious relationship. 2) A second distinctive of the covenant with Noah relates to the particularity of God's redemptive grace. Prior to the flood, the wickedness of man provoked God's decision to destroy him from the face of the earth (Genesis 6:5-7). In contrast to this solemn determination, God expressed a gracious attitude toward Noah: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Genesis 6:8. From among the mass of depraved humanity, God directed His grace toward one man and his family. It may be that God's grace had kept Noah from sinking to the levels of depravity found among his contemporaries. But nothing indicates that Noah's favored position arose from anything other than the grace of the Lord Himself. The term "grace," which describes God's attitude to Noah, occasionally refers to something other than a response of mercy to a sinful situation (Genesis 39:4; 50:4). But when describing God's response to fallen man, "grace" depicts a merciful attitude to an undeserving sinner. In Noah's day, every initial formation of the thoughts of man's heart (Genesis 6:5), were only evil all the day. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Although Genesis 6:9 affirms that Noah was a "righteous man," structural considerations characteristic of the book of Genesis forbid the conclusion that Noah received "grace" because of a previously existing righteousness. The phrase "these are the generations of..." which begins Genesis 6:9 occurs 10 times in Genesis. Each time the phrase indicates the beginning of another major section of the book. This phrase decisively separates the statement that "Noah found grace" (Genesis 6:9) from the affirmation that Noah was a "righteous man" (Genesis 6:9). God's grace to Noah did not appear because of this man's righteousness, but because of the particularity of God's program of redemption. The principle of particularity as seen in God's favor toward Noah represents an early manifestation of a theme which continues throughout the covenant of redemption. As stressed by the apostle Paul, the whole by-grace-through-faith salvation-experience comes as a gift of God to those who are dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1, 2, 8-10). 3) A third principle inherent in the establishment of the covenant with Noah relates to God's intention to deal with families in his covenant relationships. God will destroy all the earth. But to Noah God says: "But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy son's wives with thee." Genesis 6:18 The repetition of this theme of God's dealing with the family of Noah through the narrative indicates the significance of the concept for the Noahic covenant. One text in particular may be noted: "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." Genesis 7:1 The righteousness of the single head of the family serves as the basis for including the whole of his descendants in the ark. Because Noah is righteous, his entire family experiences deliverance from the flood. 4) Fourthly, the covenant with Noah primarily may be characterized as the covenant of preservation. This dimension of the Noahic covenant becomes evident in God's response to Noah's thank-offering after the flood-waters had subsided: "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold, and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Genesis 8:20-22. By this decree, God binds himself to preserve the earth in its present world-order until the time of the consummation. In some respects, the reason given for God's affirmation never again to curse the earth appears to be a non sequitur. "Because the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth," God will not again curse the ground. It might be expected that God would determine to curse the ground repeatedly because of man's persistent depravity. However, God understands that the sin-problem never will be cured by judgment and curse. If appropriate relief from sin's corruption is to appear, the earth must be preserved free of devastating judgments such as the flood for a time. God exercised his prerogative of just judgment in the days of Noah not because he was ignorant of the inability of judgment to cure sin. The Lord knew precisely the state of man's heart before the flood, and certainly understood the limitations of judgment's power to change the heart of man (Genesis 6:5-7). However, to provide an appropriate historical demonstration of the ultimate destiny of a world under sin, God consumed the earth with the flood. This cataclysmic event later became the model of God's final judgment of the earth, and the basis for refuting the argument of scoffers who would mock the certainty of an ultimate accounting-day (11 Peter 3:4-6). The divine dealing with man after the flood must be viewed with this overall perspective in mind. Man is totally depraved, inclined toward self-destruction, and worthy of judgment. But God in grace and mercy determines to preserve the life of man, and promotes the multiplication of his descendants. God's commitment to preserve man subsequent to the flood also becomes evident in the provisions of Genesis 9:3-6: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." Genesis 9:3-6 All created life is sacred. Yet the highest value must be attached to the life of man. To sustain life, man may eat of all the beasts of God's creation. Yet reverence must be shown for the life-principle of the creature, symbolized by his blood. More particularly, the man or beast that commits murder stands under special sanctions. God requires that the life of the manslayer must be taken by the hand of man. Preservation of mankind is not stated explicitly as the reason for this requirement. The reason goes deeper. Because God's own image is stamped in man, the murderer must die. Yet preservation of the race plays a major role in this legislation. The immediately succeeding verse reiterates the earlier command to Noah and his family to, "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Genesis 9:1. If this divine mandate of multiplication is to be realized, humanity must be preserved from the murderous forces of man and beast, which so obviously are present in a depraved world. The taking of the life of the manslayer enforces the sanctity of human life, and preserves the race for future multiplication. Earlier, God had reserved for himself alone the right to deal with the manslayer. In the case of Cain, God spoke judgment against the one who dared touch him (Genesis 4:15). But now God deliberately places the responsibility for the execution of the wrongdoer on man himself. If the degenerating character of man is to be stopped short of total self-destruction, adequate curbs to the advancement of wickedness must be erected. In the wisdom of God, the execution of the manslayer provides a major curb to overflowing wickedness. While the words spoken to Noah do not present an elaborately developed theology of the role of the state, the seed- concept certainly is present. In effect, God institutes the temporal power of the state as his instrument in the insistent necessity of controlling evil. This power of the sword, now for the first time placed in the hands of men, terrifies the potential evildoer and restrains his conscious activity of wickedness. Generally, commentators tend to modify the reference to capital punishment in the covenant with Noah. Either they deny the presence of such a reference, or they oppose the application of the principle to current societal structures. A series of questions addressed to the issue may aid in clarifying the problem: First question: Does God's covenant with Noah sanction the taking of the life of a murderer under any circumstances? This question may be asked without entering immediately into the particular problems involved in determining the current relevance of this provision to the new covenant believer. Does the covenant with Noah in itself offer divine sanction to capital punishment? Genesis 9:5,6 might be interpreted simply as stating a fact that shall occur. If a man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed. On the other hand, the verse might be understood as offering divine sanction for the taking of the life of a murderer. The first consideration in deciding between these optional understandings relates to the precise meaning of the phrase which may be rendered literally, "from the hand of (man or beast) I shall require it." The phrase could mean: "By the instrumentality (of man) I shall demand an accounting." In this case, man would be the instrument by which God would bring the murderer to account. Thus the principle of capital punishment would be established. However, this interpretation of this particular phrase runs into immediate difficulty. For the verse says that "by the hand of beast" as well as "by the hand of man" God will require life. It would be rather difficult to imagine a wild beast serving as an instrument of God's judgment in the same sense in which a man would function in this regard. The more likely interpretation of this phrase "by the hand of (man or beast) I shall demand an accounting is: "From (man or beast) I shall demand an accounting." That is, God will exact justice from either man or beast that murder. This interpretation of the phrase "from the hand of (man or beast) I shall require" is supported elsewhere in Scripture. The prophet Ezekiel states that God shall "require from" the hand of the watchman the blood of the unwarned, using the identical phaseology found in Genesis 9:5,6, Ezekiel 33:6; 34:10. Genesis 9:5 in itself would not appear to settle the question as to whether or not God intends man to be his instrument in the execution of justice on the murderer. Indeed, God shall require the life of the manslayer. But does He require it specifically from the hand of another man? Genesis 9:6 answers this question in the affirmative. Both the parallelism in the structure of the verse and the indication of the instrument for executing justice point in this direction. The parellelism of phraseology as found in the original text of Scripture may be represented as follows in English translation:
The structure of the verse suggests in itself the lex talionis, the law of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The one who sheds man's blood shall have his blood shed by man. More specifically, man is indicated as the agent by which the murderer's blood shall be shed. When this thought is combined with the affirmation in verse 5 that God shall "demand an accounting" of the murderer, it becomes clear that the intention of the passage is to designate man as God's agent in the execution of justice on the murderer. This conclusion is supported by subsequent scriptural legislation. Exodus 21:28 indicates that the animal that takes the life of a man must have its life taken by man. In addition, Israel is charged explicitly with the responsibility of executing capital punishment on the murderer (Exodus 21:12; Numbers 35:16-21). In conclusion, this text indicates that man has a responsibility respecting the murderer given to him by God. The requirement is unmistakable: the person who takes the life of a man must have his life taken by man. Second question: May the covenant with Noah be regarded as the first revelation of this requirement? Those who work from the framework of a critical reconstruction of the text of Genesis would have genuine difficulty with this question. Much of the narrative concerning Noah is attributed by critical scholars to the "priestly" school, and dated into the sixth century B.C. or later. If such were the case, the material relating to capital punishment in the covenant with Noah very possibly would follow chronologically the stipulations regarding capital punishment found in the Mosaic covenant. However, the prominence in Hosea of material strongly reminiscent of God's covenant with Noah raises serious doubts concerning the sixth-century "priestly" character of the material under discussion. Hosea, writing in the eighth century, echoes the language of a covenantal relationship preceding his own time, Hosea anticipates Israel's future situation. In this light, it is hardly appropriate to suggest that the distinctive provisions of the covenant with Noah did not appear until some 200 years after Hosea. On an even more basic level, it is essential to accept the Scriptures as reporting faithfully the character of God's Covenant with Noah. From this perspective, the covenant with Noah must be regarded as the first revelation of the sanction of capital punishment. The concept did not arise in the legislation given for Israel in the days of Moses, which subsequently was projected into a legendary past. Instead, it originated at the point of humanity's new beginning with the family of Noah. Third question: Is this injunction concerning capital punishment limited in a temporal or ethnic sense, or universally binding in its requirements? Obviously the provisions concerning the execution of the murderer have no ethnic limitations. Noah's covenant does not speak narrowly to one race. The first father of the new humanity, together with his entire family, constitutes the human party of this covenant. God makes his covenant to sanction life with "every living creature" (Genesis 9:9,10). Quite interestingly, ethnically universal legislation concerning the sanctity of life reappears at a later turning-point in the history of redemption. At the time of apostolic confirmation of the extension of the gospel to Gentile as well as Jew the law concerning the non-eating of blood reappears. The decision of the Jerusalem council frees Gentiles from the ritualistic laws of Moses. But they must abstain, "...from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." Acts 15:20,29. Apparently this passage alludes to the Noahic covenant. The entry of the gospel into the broadstream of humanity passes once more through the provisions of the covenant with Noah. It is not necessary to retain up to the present the letter of the ritual laws of the Noahic covenant to appreciate their significance as transitional legislation. To avoid unnecessary stumbling among Jewish converts to Christ, this broader Old Testament legislation taken from God's covenant with Noah was enforced for a period, although later New Testament evidence points to its early repeal (Romans 14:14; 1 Corinthians 10:25). The question of a temporal limitation of the specific legislation concerning capital punishment is a more disputable point. Primarily, the problem centers on the relation of the legislation concerning the non-eating of blood to the requirement that the life of a man-slayer be taken from him. If one aspect of the legislation is temporally limited, could it not indicate a temporal limitation for the entirety of Noahic legislation? In response to this question, two points may be noted: First, the possible presence of some temporally limited elements in a divine covenant does not automatically temporalize every element of the covenant. The covenant with Abraham had its circumcision rite. The covenant with Moses had its sacrificial system. Yet the essence of both these covenants continues to play a vital role in the life of God's people. Secondly, the sanctity of the life of man finds abiding reinforcement through the recognition of the power granted to the state in Scripture. Civil authorities continue to bear the sword on behalf of God. In any case, the preservative character of the covenant with Noah plays a central role in the progress of redemptive history. Men today still live under the provisions inaugurated in this covenant. The regularity of the seasons derives directly from God's determination to preserve the earth until deliverance from sin can be accomplished. The institution of the state indicates the purpose of God to restrain the evil inherent in humanity. Thirdly, the covenant with Noah possesses a distinctively universalistic aspect. The particular stress on the cosmic dimensions of the covenant with Noah should be noted in this regard. The whole of the created universe, including the totality of humanity, benefits from this covenant. Not only Noah and his seed, but "every living creature" lives under the sign of the rainbow (Genesis 9:10). This inclusion of the totality of the universe in God's redemptive covenant finds vivid recognition in Paul's expression concerning the final expectation of the redeemed: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Romans 8:22,23. Not only man, but the entire universe shall experience ultimate deliverance from the curse. This universal character of the covenant with Noah provides the foundation for the world-wide proclamation of the gospel in the present age. God's commitment to maintain faithfully the orderings of creation displays his longsuffering toward the whole of humanity. He desires to make known the testimony of his goodness throughout the universe. At a subsequent point in the history of redemption, the Psalmist reflects on the regularity of day and night as witness to the universality of God's redemptive program. Day following day utters speech, and night following night shows knowledge. The "voice" of these regulated ordinances goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world (Psalm 19:2-4). Wherever man is found, the witness of God's ordering as determined by the covenant with Noah testifies to the glory of the Creator. God's commitment to maintain a universal witness to the whole of humanity through the ordering of creation later plays a significant role in the missionary mandate of the apostle Paul. In establishing that the gospel should be proclaimed among all nations, he appeals to the universal witness borne by God through creation (Romans 10:18 in its reference to Psalm 19:4). The world-wide scope of the testimony of creation provides the foundation for the universal proclamation of the gospel. The God who has commissioned the witness of himself to the ends of the earth through creation also has shown himself to be "...Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." Romans 10:12. This universal witness of the ordering of creation roots deeply in the covenanting word to Noah. By the provisions of the Noahic covenant God committed himself to a course of universal testimony. Creation's witness of grace toward sinful man still provides the platform from which the universal proclamation of the gospel should be launched. Fourthly, the seal of the covenant with Noah emphasizes the gracious character of this covenant. In a context of threatening judgment symbolized by the bloated rain-clouds, God designates the overarching beauty of the rainbow to depict his grace-in-judgment. Having once destroyed the world, thereby depicting the immutability of his righteous decrees, the Lord God now couples the clouds with his rainbow to manifest his free and unmerited purpose of grace. It is no accident that the throne of the righteous Judge of heaven and earth is depicted as having "a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon" (Revelation 4:3). What a joy it should be to the true sharer of God's covenantal grace in Christ that the sign and seal of God's good purposes arches the place of his final disposition. ***** In conclusion, some attempt may be made to evaluate the definition of the term "covenant" previously suggested as it related to the covenant with Noah. May the covenant with Noah be described as a "bond-in-blood sovereignly administered"? In one sense the covenant with Noah offers the greatest tension-point for the suggested definition of the term "covenant." The covenant with Noah is a "bond"; it is a bond "sovereignly administered." But in what sense may the covenant of Noah be described as a "bond-in blood"? How is pledge-to-death involved in the Noahic covenant? Two factors in the covenant with Noah indicate the presence of this aspect of the covenant idea. First, notice the alternatives involved in the period anticipating the formal ratification of the covenant with Noah. God will destroy man from the face of the earth; but Noah will find grace in the eyes of the Lord. Life and death indeed are the underlying motifs of the Noahic epoch, as seen in the dramatic representation of God's attitude toward the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan. Secondly, note the solemn provision concerning capital punishment; "Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed..." Genesis 9:6. Undoubtedly life and death are involved in these words. Death shall come to the covenant-breaker who takes the life of man, while preservation will be the result of proper observance of these stipulations. To summarize, the covenant with Noah provides the historical framework in which the Immanuel principle may receive its full realization. God has come in judgment; but he also has provided a context of preservation in which the grace of redemption may operate. From the covenant with Noah it becomes quite obvious that God's being "with us" involves not only an outpouring of his grace on his people; it involves also an outpouring of his wrath on the seed of Satan. Sources: The Christ of the Covenants, by O. Palmer Robertson, Copyright 1980, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company. The Covenant, by Keith J. Conner and Ken Malmin, Copyright 1983, Bible Temple Publishing. |
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2010 - HIS GLORY REIGNS
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