Genesis 9 - Life in the Post-Flood World

In Genesis 9, Noah and his family step off the ark to a world that has been totally changed by the flood of Genesis 7. At that time, God instructed Noah on how to live in the post-flood world. While giving Noah instructions, God told Noah that He would provide and protect him, that there would never again be a judgment by flood, and God extended his grace and forgiveness to Noah, even when he fell.

God gives protection to man. In verse 2, God said, "The fear of you, and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered."

In the post-flood world, food would be scarce for a while. Animals who were desperate for food would become more vicious in their search for sustenance, and man could be prey to some. So, to protect man, He gave animals an instinctive fear of man. So, God protected man.

Not only did God protect man from animal attacks, He protected man from starvation. In verse 3, "God said "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things." Fruits, vegetables and grain, which had been man's food supply, would be in short supply in the months following the flood. So, God expanded man's food supply to include meat.

God then set protections for man from other man. In verse 6, God said "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: For in the image of God made He man." When one man kills another, He commits violence against the image of God, and God takes that seriously. So, God's penalty for murder is execution.

God then promised that He would never destroy the world in a flood again. In verse 11, God said "I will establish My covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood, neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth."

God promised to never again destroy the world with a flood. In fact, He won't destroy the world again until His judgment in the end time.

Then, in verse 13, God said "I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth." This is, of course, the rainbow. When you see the rainbow in the sky following a rain, you have a reminder that God promised that He won't destroy the world with a flood again. You also have a reminder that God is delaying His judgment upon the earth, giving men plenty of time to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men county slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

And finally, God is gracious, even when His people fall. Verses 18-29 record how Noah got drunk and passed out naked in his tent, and the fall-out this caused in his family. From this, we learn that alcohol abuse is sinful, and it destroys lives, families and testimonies. But, we also learn how forgiving God is. Despite this sin Noah committed, God still held him in high regard. God loves us, and forgives our sin, but we have to repent and turn back to Him.

God has given us many blessings. He has met our needs for shelter and food, He comforts us after the storm by providing the rainbow, and He forgives our failures. Have you appreciated His blessings today?