Genesis (Part 13)
Bible Study Time 9-7-08
(From James Roberts 10-27-96)
Bible Study Time 9-7-08
(From James Roberts 10-27-96)
Last week in our Journey Through the Scripture, we saw God bringing Noah out of the ark. God had sent Noah into the ark because it was time for the great flood which would destroy the earth and all of the inhabitants that were on the earth. When Noah and his family and all of the animals were safely inside the ark, God shut the door, and the great flood judgment came. Noah did not have to suffer the judgment of the flood because the ark bore all of the judgment of God’s wrath. The ark floated above the water and protected Noah from the judgment of God.
The ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who is our ark of safety. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He died for your sins and for my sins. All of the wrath of God for mankind’s sins was poured out upon the Lord Jesus so that He cried out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And now Jesus Christ is the beautiful ark of safety for those of us who have put our faith and trust in Him. When we trust Christ, we are given a position in Christ where we are safe and secure from the coming judgment of God.
The first thing that Noah did when he came out of that ark was to build an altar, an altar whereby he could worship God and thank God for bringing him safely through the flood. Through the judgment of God, Noah was safe and secure, and so his desire was to worship God.
How you and I who have been saved by the grace of God should offer up our sacrifices of praise unto the Lord. We are safe and secure in Christ Jesus. As the Apostle Paul said:
Romans 8:1 NKJV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus . . .
When God brought Noah out of the ark, God gave Noah new instructions which were to govern Noah and his descendants after the flood. These instructions were different from any instructions that God had given before the flood. In other words, God changed the way He dealt with mankind after the flood. This was the beginning of the new dispensation.
Not long ago I was talking to a man, and I told him that it is important to study the Bible rightly divided and that we need to take into account the various dispensations of the Bible. Well, this man asked, what do you mean by dispensations?
Sometimes people are afraid of the word dispensation, but it’s a good Biblical word. In the book of Ephesians, Chapter 3, Paul speaks of the dispensation of the grace of God that was given to him for us. The word dispensation comes from a Greek word which means a house manager. In the Old Testament, Joseph was placed as a house manager over all of Potiphar’s house. That means that Potiphar gave Joseph authority over all of his house.
In the Bible we see that every time God changes His dealings with mankind, He raised up a person to be responsible for that new dispensation. That person then serves as the house manager, or steward, of that dispensation. Adam was the first house manager of a new dispensation. Adam lived in innocence, but when he sinned, he became conscious of his sin. Then, because of the presence of sin, God gave Adam new instructions for approaching God in a world that was under the curse of sin.
Undoubtedly, God told Adam to tell his family how they were to approach God. As you may recall, Cain rejected Adam’s instructions while Abel accepted them. Accordingly, Abel was accepted by God, but Cain was rejected. Adam was the house manager for this new dispensation.
After the flood, we find that Noah was the house manager, or steward, of a new dispensation from God. God delegated to Noah the responsibility for teaching His descendants about God’s order for their post-diluvian life. In our lesson today, we are going to take a look at some of the changes that God made after the flood. In Genesis, Chapter 9, we read that:
Genesis 9:1 NKJV
1 . . . God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them:"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
Previously, when Adam and Eve were the only two people on the earth, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. That commandment was not given again until it was given to Noah after the flood. After the flood, it was just Noah and his wife, and Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives. So God told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
In our present age of grace, where we have billions of people living on the earth, I don’t see where God tells us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. There was a need for that injunction in the time of Adam, and there was a need for it in the time of Noah because they were the only ones living on the earth when God gave this command.
After the flood we also see a change in the animals of the earth. Before the flood, animals had no fear of man as they lived among men. But after the flood, God said to Noah:
Genesis 9:2 NKJV
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
Why is it that God put the fear of man into all the animals? Why is it that when we come close to a bird today, that bird will usually fly away? When a man comes near to an animal, most of the time that animal will flee? Why are they so afraid of man? Notice in verse three:
Genesis 9:3 NKJV
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
This implies that man was a vegetarian before the flood, but after the flood, God added meat to man’s diet. After the flood, man was permitted to eat the flesh of animals. They were given to him for food.
In order to preserve and protect animals, God put the fear of man in the heart of the animals to provide for a balance in nature. Animals became afraid of man because man was now going to hunt them for food. God put the dread of man within the animals to protect them in some measure from man.
Some people today are offended by the thought of eating meat. Some claim that eating the flesh of animals makes people more beastly and more violent. However, the people before the flood were vegetarians, and they were extremely violent. Some think that a vegetarian diet will make a person more spiritual, but there is no Biblical basis for that idea. God ordained in Genesis, Chapter 9, that man may eat meat as well as the green herbs.
There was, however, one dietary prohibition when it came to eating meat. God told Noah that he and his descendants should eat no flesh with its blood. Before eating any animal, they were to butcher the animal and allow the blood to drain. In this we see that blood is sacred in the sight of God. In Leviticus we read that the life is in the blood, and the book of Hebrews teaches that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins. Ultimately, we see that blood is typical of the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for our sins that we might have eternal life.
Now, as we continue in verse 5, we read:
Genesis 9:5-16 NKJV
5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man.
6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it."
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:
9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.
11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said:"This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
In this passage, God institutes human government. God said that if a man kills someone, he should be killed by other men. A man’s blood is to be required at the hands of the another men. I believe that God instituted human government right here in Genesis, Chapter 9, and when we come to Romans, Chapter 13, we find the Apostle Paul saying that the principle of human government is still in effect for us today. Romans 13:1, says:
Romans 13:1-3 NKJV
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil . . .
I believe that this authority for human government comes from Genesis, Chapter 9, where God made a change in His dealings with mankind and appointed man to rule over man. In Romans, Chapter 13, we find the authority for capital punishment, and we are told that we should be in submission to all authority, all human laws. This is not only to be done out of fear but also for conscience sake.
Well, I see we have run out of time in our journey today. Next week we are going to see something about the effects of human government and why God established human government for man’s good.
If you don’t know the Lord today and you’re not in the ark of safety, you can be saved today by simply trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Next week we will take up our Journey Through the Scripture once again. Until that time we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
The ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who is our ark of safety. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He died for your sins and for my sins. All of the wrath of God for mankind’s sins was poured out upon the Lord Jesus so that He cried out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And now Jesus Christ is the beautiful ark of safety for those of us who have put our faith and trust in Him. When we trust Christ, we are given a position in Christ where we are safe and secure from the coming judgment of God.
The first thing that Noah did when he came out of that ark was to build an altar, an altar whereby he could worship God and thank God for bringing him safely through the flood. Through the judgment of God, Noah was safe and secure, and so his desire was to worship God.
How you and I who have been saved by the grace of God should offer up our sacrifices of praise unto the Lord. We are safe and secure in Christ Jesus. As the Apostle Paul said:
Romans 8:1 NKJV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus . . .
When God brought Noah out of the ark, God gave Noah new instructions which were to govern Noah and his descendants after the flood. These instructions were different from any instructions that God had given before the flood. In other words, God changed the way He dealt with mankind after the flood. This was the beginning of the new dispensation.
Not long ago I was talking to a man, and I told him that it is important to study the Bible rightly divided and that we need to take into account the various dispensations of the Bible. Well, this man asked, what do you mean by dispensations?
Sometimes people are afraid of the word dispensation, but it’s a good Biblical word. In the book of Ephesians, Chapter 3, Paul speaks of the dispensation of the grace of God that was given to him for us. The word dispensation comes from a Greek word which means a house manager. In the Old Testament, Joseph was placed as a house manager over all of Potiphar’s house. That means that Potiphar gave Joseph authority over all of his house.
In the Bible we see that every time God changes His dealings with mankind, He raised up a person to be responsible for that new dispensation. That person then serves as the house manager, or steward, of that dispensation. Adam was the first house manager of a new dispensation. Adam lived in innocence, but when he sinned, he became conscious of his sin. Then, because of the presence of sin, God gave Adam new instructions for approaching God in a world that was under the curse of sin.
Undoubtedly, God told Adam to tell his family how they were to approach God. As you may recall, Cain rejected Adam’s instructions while Abel accepted them. Accordingly, Abel was accepted by God, but Cain was rejected. Adam was the house manager for this new dispensation.
After the flood, we find that Noah was the house manager, or steward, of a new dispensation from God. God delegated to Noah the responsibility for teaching His descendants about God’s order for their post-diluvian life. In our lesson today, we are going to take a look at some of the changes that God made after the flood. In Genesis, Chapter 9, we read that:
Genesis 9:1 NKJV
1 . . . God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them:"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
Previously, when Adam and Eve were the only two people on the earth, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. That commandment was not given again until it was given to Noah after the flood. After the flood, it was just Noah and his wife, and Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives. So God told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
In our present age of grace, where we have billions of people living on the earth, I don’t see where God tells us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. There was a need for that injunction in the time of Adam, and there was a need for it in the time of Noah because they were the only ones living on the earth when God gave this command.
After the flood we also see a change in the animals of the earth. Before the flood, animals had no fear of man as they lived among men. But after the flood, God said to Noah:
Genesis 9:2 NKJV
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
Why is it that God put the fear of man into all the animals? Why is it that when we come close to a bird today, that bird will usually fly away? When a man comes near to an animal, most of the time that animal will flee? Why are they so afraid of man? Notice in verse three:
Genesis 9:3 NKJV
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
This implies that man was a vegetarian before the flood, but after the flood, God added meat to man’s diet. After the flood, man was permitted to eat the flesh of animals. They were given to him for food.
In order to preserve and protect animals, God put the fear of man in the heart of the animals to provide for a balance in nature. Animals became afraid of man because man was now going to hunt them for food. God put the dread of man within the animals to protect them in some measure from man.
Some people today are offended by the thought of eating meat. Some claim that eating the flesh of animals makes people more beastly and more violent. However, the people before the flood were vegetarians, and they were extremely violent. Some think that a vegetarian diet will make a person more spiritual, but there is no Biblical basis for that idea. God ordained in Genesis, Chapter 9, that man may eat meat as well as the green herbs.
There was, however, one dietary prohibition when it came to eating meat. God told Noah that he and his descendants should eat no flesh with its blood. Before eating any animal, they were to butcher the animal and allow the blood to drain. In this we see that blood is sacred in the sight of God. In Leviticus we read that the life is in the blood, and the book of Hebrews teaches that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins. Ultimately, we see that blood is typical of the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for our sins that we might have eternal life.
Now, as we continue in verse 5, we read:
Genesis 9:5-16 NKJV
5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man.
6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it."
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:
9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.
11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said:"This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
In this passage, God institutes human government. God said that if a man kills someone, he should be killed by other men. A man’s blood is to be required at the hands of the another men. I believe that God instituted human government right here in Genesis, Chapter 9, and when we come to Romans, Chapter 13, we find the Apostle Paul saying that the principle of human government is still in effect for us today. Romans 13:1, says:
Romans 13:1-3 NKJV
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil . . .
I believe that this authority for human government comes from Genesis, Chapter 9, where God made a change in His dealings with mankind and appointed man to rule over man. In Romans, Chapter 13, we find the authority for capital punishment, and we are told that we should be in submission to all authority, all human laws. This is not only to be done out of fear but also for conscience sake.
Well, I see we have run out of time in our journey today. Next week we are going to see something about the effects of human government and why God established human government for man’s good.
If you don’t know the Lord today and you’re not in the ark of safety, you can be saved today by simply trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Next week we will take up our Journey Through the Scripture once again. Until that time we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
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