All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Noah's Ark
A verse-by-verse explanation of these chapters.
Even a New Start Cannot Guarantee a Good Journey
An overview of the principles and applications from these chapters.
Melding these chapters to life with God.
Tying these chapters to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of these chapters.
Zeroing these chapters in on daily life.
“Majorities mean nothing; during the Flood; only one
man knew enough to get out of the rain.”
Unknown
These two chapters present the culmination of the flood and the new agreement that God makes with Noah as head of the human race.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Noah's Ark
On my office door I recently placed a cartoon drawing of Noah's ark with the following statements printed underneath:
While we may smile at these statements, what God apparently wanted Noah and his descendants to know isn't mentioned in this list. God spoke directly to Noah after he left the ark and told him exactly the conditions under which he was to live. Most Sunday school lessons never deal with any of these stipulations. So it is no wonder that Christian people know the sign of this covenant—the rainbow—but they don't know the content of the covenant.
Rainbow and Peace
MAIN IDEA: Mankind is given a new chance to live a life pleasing to God. But it is not long before the “cancer” of sin conquers man again.
Docking on Dry Land (8:1-14)
SUPPORTING IDEA: God intervenes in the watery judgment and acts with favor toward Noah.
8:1a. But God remembered Noah is how the eighth chapter of Genesis begins. Allen Ross developed the entire flood narrative in a chiastic (sometimes called inversion parallelism) structure (Ross, 191). In his arrangement the climax of the entire narrative comes at Genesis 8:1a: But God remembered Noah. God, of course, had not forgotten Noah! To “remember,” as it is used in Scripture, is not merely to recall to mind. It is to express concern and care for someone. For example, in the post-exilic period Nehemiah desired that God “remember” him and act “with favor” (Neh. 5:19; 13:31). In Genesis 19:29 God “remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe.” In Genesis 30:22 God “remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.” God is gracious when he remembers his people. So again the grace of God is emphasized when the waters begin to recede to allow the earth to dry out so mankind might live once again on the land.
God did not only remember Noah; he also remembered all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark. The living creatures with Noah were also the objects of God's favor.
8:1b-5. The receding of the waters occurred for two reasons. First, the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. This had actually happened after the first forty days and nights (Gen. 7:17), but the resulting flood remained on the earth for 150 days. Now God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. This wind could have caused some evaporation but not enough to cause mountains to appear on the earth. Somehow God caused pressure from water to buckle the crust of the earth to create the large oceans we have today. Apparently he did so by causing a huge tidal surge created by a divine wind.
As the waters pressed down the crust of the earth in other places, the crust must have thrust upwards to create the mountains we have today. This entire process took another 150 days. So at the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The mountain that today is known as Mt. Ararat (over 17,000 feet above sea level) lies on the north-central border of modern Turkey and Soviet Armenia.
8:6-14. This extensive narrative in Genesis describes the method Noah used to ascertain that the waters had receded enough for his family to leave the ark. Forty days after the tops of the mountains became visible, he sent out a raven. Today ravens are omnivorous, that is, they will eat anything edible (and many things that aren't). Their usual diet consists of insects, seeds, berries, carrion (the bodies of animals killed by creatures other than the raven), the eggs and young of other birds, and occasionally small mammals. When living near humans, ravens will also eat human garbage. The ravens of Noah's era were strictly vegetarian. But compared to the dove, the raven seemed to be willing to rest on wet surfaces.
The forty days that the raven remained outside the ark equals the time from when it was released until the time when the water had dried up from the earth. The phrase it kept flying back and forth should not be taken to mean continuous flight for forty days but a constant flying around the ark. In contrast, the dove which was released (probably seven days after the raven since for the second dove Noah waited seven more days) returned because the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth. The earth was still wet from the flood, although the waters were receding.
The second dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth at least to the level where plants once grew and for a long enough duration that plants could begin to grow again. The modern symbol of peace, represented by a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak, has its origin here. The dove with the olive branch did not represent peace between any people but only that the earth was becoming a place where man could live once again.
The third dove never returned. This indicated that the earth was so dry that the bird could make a nest and find food.
Leaving the Ark (8:15-19)
SUPPORTING IDEA: God designed mankind and the animals to live on the dry land of the earth, so once again he provides that environment for them.
8:15-19. The disembarkment occurred after Noah and the other inhabitants of the ark had been confined there for more than a year (Gen. 8:13). This disembarkment took place, not only because there was dry land available, but also because God commanded it: Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature … so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” This reiterates the creation mandate of Genesis 1:26-28. Obviously this is not the complete fulfillment of Genesis 6:18, “But I will establish my covenant with you,” since the Adamic covenant had already been established with mankind.
God's Covenant with Noah (8:20-9:17)
SUPPORTING IDEA: In response to Noah's worship and in fulfillment of the Lord's declared purpose, God makes a covenant with Noah as head of the human race.
8:20. Noah's act of worship in sacrificing burnt offerings using the clean animals and clean birds was probably done both as an act of gratitude and of anticipated covenant ceremony. The form and size of the altar is unknown since this is the first mention in Genesis of an altar. Later the Lord gave the nation Israel specific details about the form and size of an acceptable altar (Exod. 27:1-8; 38:1-7) as well as prohibitions about an altar (Exod. 20:24-26; Deut. 27:5-6). The purpose of the large number of clean animals and birds taken on the ark is made clear here. It was necessary that more than one pair of these particular animals and birds be preserved so sacrifice could be made after the flood.
8:21. The phrase the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma (or “smell of satisfaction”) is a figurative way of saying that the Lord took notice of Noah's sacrifice. It was smoking and smelling like a backyard barbecue! Early on in my ministry I had a young person give a devotional to a small group. When she announced that her title was “Stink for God!” I was a bit apprehensive about what she would express as biblical truth. While the title was perhaps lacking in delicacy, she proceeded to challenge the group to live a life that God would take notice of because of our total commitment to him.
As a result of Noah's gratitude and sign of commitment, the Lord said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.” Not until Genesis 9:8-9 would God speak directly of establishing the covenant with Noah and his descendants. But the first pledge by God is made here. It dealt with the promise not to curse the ground any further because of man's sinfulness.
The Hebrew verb for curse is different than the one used in Genesis 3:17 when the ground was originally cursed. This pledge can be taken in two possible ways—that the ground would no longer be subject to continual cursing because of mankind's sin (as happened because of Cain's sin; Gen. 4:12), or that the ground would never again experience the type of cursing by water that had just occurred in the flood. The second explanation is in keeping with Genesis 9:11b: “Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” This did not prevent God from disciplining mankind because of sinful actions (for example, scattering the nations as a result of the Tower of Babel; Gen. 11:8).
While many of the changes in nature after the flood are not stated, they included: length of life was decreased; oceans were more extensive and therefore habitable land was reduced; there was a greater variation in climate; the crust of the earth was now unstable and subject to seismic activity; hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms would now buffet the earth; and local floods and ocean surfs would also cause destruction. This curse upon the earth would be lifted in the future.
Romans 8:21 says, “The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Isaiah 65:20 speaks of a time when a man dying “at a hundred will be thought a mere youth.” When Christ returns and rules, the effect of sin on this world will be changed dramatically.
The reference to childhood in the clause every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood, emphasizes the fact that sin contaminates a person from his earliest conscious moments. Psalms 51:5; 58:3 indicate that sin is part of us from conception.
8:22. The pledge of no universal flood in the future is further developed in a passage that guarantees uninterrupted seasons: As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
The need for such a promise may result from the changes in climate that would now occur after the flood. Times and seasons were created by God in the beginning (Gen. 1:14), but the more drastic changes of cold and heat, summer and winter may be a new innovation. Now when it began to get colder and to rain, Noah's descendants were not to hurriedly build an ark. This promise would not prevent local floods.
Any drastic change in climate from pre-flood climatic conditions may be a reason why certain species like the dinosaur became extinct. Even today when a scarce animal's environment changes, the possibility of extinction exists.
9:1-3. The Noahic covenant was a reiteration of much of the original Adamic covenant but now with modifications caused by man's sin and the resulting judgments. One of the clearest aspects of the original covenants was the command to multiply. Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth is repeated from Genesis 1:28a. But God stopped before repeating his original command: “Subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen. 1:28b). Now the fear and dread of you [mankind] will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.
There was a significant change in the way animals would now respond to mankind. Before the flood the animals “came” to Noah (Gen. 7:9,15); now they would tend to flee from him. This was a means of survival for the animals since the Lord declared that everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. An animal diet would cause mankind to kill various creatures. To prevent the annihilation of many species, the Lord provided animals with a fear of mankind.
The declaration that the fear and dread of you will fall upon all beasts of the earth does not mean that pets and domesticated animals are a violation of God's revelation. Man has been able to overcome the natural fear of man by animals through a process of behavioral modification. The rare and surprised “wild” reaction by trained animals reminds us that animals have an innate fear of man.
9:4-6. The provision of animals for food is further evidence of the grace of God to mankind. Now that the seasons would involve the extremes of cold and heat, there would be a need in some cases to supplement the vegetarian diet with animal flesh. But even in this gracious provision was a prohibition that would test humanity's obedience: You must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. Leviticus 17:14 emphasizes the connection between life and blood by declaring that “the life of every creature is its blood.” Man might be tempted to increase the length or quality of his own life by drinking the “lifeblood” of another creature, but this was not God's design. It is interesting that many cultures throughout history have attempted this very thing. The opposite extreme are religious groups that refuse the intravenous taking of blood to save a life.
Life is a gift of God, and he is the great defender and preserver of life (Gen. 4:9-12). As such he has the right to put a value on life. His declaration is that whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. The introduction of capital punishment (both of humans as well as the destruction of an animal that takes man's life; Gen. 9:5b; Exod. 21:28-32) must be carefully observed.
Capital punishment introduces a measure of societal government since there must be an accounting for the loss of the life of a human. The resulting death, because it is done in response to a command of God, is considered the proper result, not a second murder. This is a divine command that was established before the Mosaic covenant was introduced to the nation of Israel (Exod. 21:12-14; Num. 35:16-32). This covenant with Noah was made with him as the new head of the human race. Unless God chose to change this requirement in a future covenant made with mankind, this should remain in effect for all people in all nations (cp. Rom. 13:1-4; 1 Pet. 2:13-14). Of course, Christians must submit to governmental laws. Individual believers have no right to take this judgment into their own hands if a properly recognized government refuses to enact such a punishment.
The reasons given for capital punishment are not merely to serve as a deterrent to others, or so that the criminal could not commit murder again, or that it is impossible to rehabilitate a murderer, but because in the image of God has God made man. Man has an innate nobility. To murder someone is to extinguish a revelation of God and to display contempt for God who has made mankind with the highest value in all of creation. The senseless killing of animals, while wrong, is not on the same scale as the murder of a human.
The murder of Abel by Cain did not result in capital punishment (Gen. 4:11-12) nor did Lamech's murder of an unnamed young man (Gen. 4:23). The reasons that God now required capital punishment to signify the value of human life seem to be twofold: First, it would help prevent the violence that existed before the flood. Second, the stigma against taking life would be blunted because of the killing of animals. Now that humans would hunt for food, the weapons used for killing would be available. God must ensure that humans will not take human life carelessly and thoughlessly.
9:7. After the instructions about capital punishment, God repeated the creation mandate about procreation. Like the promise of childbirth given after the fall, this repetition serves as a declaration that life should go on. Humans, even with the possibility of giving birth to someone who could commit murder, must procreate and carry out the divine commands.
9:8-11. God declared that he would establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature. This covenant was made between the sovereign Lord and Noah, his descendants, and every living creature on the earth. He promised again that a flood would never again destroy all life. Capital punishment would function to keep life on earth in check so such a drastic universal judgment would not be needed again.
9:12-17. The sign of the Noahic covenant was the rainbow that forms in the clouds, especially after a rain. This was probably a new phenomenon as a result of the changed atmospheric conditions. This sign would be observed by mankind, but it would be a sign that would bring remembrance of the covenant on God's part. This covenant is of the nature of an unconditional royal grant type (see “Deeper Discoveries”) because the substance of the covenant was what God promised to do. Mankind has no responsibility in ensuring that God would not flood the earth again. The sign was for God since he had obligated himself and made the promise to man.
Noah's Curse on His Grandson Canaan (9:18-29)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Canaan, the son of Ham, will be cursed with slavery because of the disrespect shown by Ham to his father Noah.
9:18-19. The material in verse 18 is similar to the material in Genesis 5:32; 6:10 except that now we learn that Ham was the father of Canaan. This is done in preparation for the following narrative. The description given in verse 19 anticipates Genesis 10-11.
9:20-24. Just as Adam's son Cain violated God's moral law and murdered his brother Abel, so now Noah's son Ham violated God's moral law and sinned against his father. The nature of the crime remains under considerable debate. It is clear that Noah got drunk. Verse 21 contains the first use of the Hebrew word for wine. Some interpreters suggest that Noah may not have been aware of fermentation and the effects of alcohol. But the reference in Matthew 24:38 to “eating and drinking” may imply that alcoholic drink was available before the flood and that Noah would have known the effects of drinking. Certainly, fermentation could take place even if climatic conditions were somewhat different before the flood.
While Noah's actions may have been wrong or at least unwise, this is the only negative event in Genesis 3-11 in which God does not say a word. However, both here and in Genesis 19:30-38 where drunkenness again occurs, the results show the devastation that can result from drunkenness.
In addition to being drunk, Noah lay uncovered inside his tent. Since this is connected with his drinking, his nakedness may have occurred because Noah became warm from the alcohol or because he lost his inhibitions from being drunk. The shame of nakedness has already been recorded in the case of Adam and Eve. But Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. In contrast to Ham's actions, Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
There are at least six interpretations about the nature of this crime:
The last interpretation seems the most natural, when all the circumstances are considered. Any improper action can be seen as an attempt to embarrass the father and as a result possibly to take leadership from the father. The actions of the brothers Shem and Japheth seem to contrast with the actions of Ham. Since they actually covered Noah's nakedness, Ham apparently saw and left his father in a compromising position and then gossiped about it. Since Canaan has been mentioned previously (Gen. 9:18,22) and Noah's curse on Canaan appears immediate, Canaan is best seen as living at the time of this incident.
9:25-27. Noah's reaction came in the form of a curse oracle: Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. This reaction was similar to the curse oracles of God after the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The question about why Canaan, probably Ham's youngest son (Gen. 10:6), was cursed instead of Ham who was Noah's youngest son (Gen. 9:24) has had many suggested answers, including the following:
The judgment that Canaan would be the lowest of slaves … to his brothers is not evident early in the Scriptures. Joshua's subjection of the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:11,27), who were descendants of Canaan through the people called the Hivites (Gen. 10:17; Josh. 9:7), may be the first clear example (see also Josh. 16:10; Judg. 1:28,30,33,35; 1 Kgs. 9:20-21). But the entire conquest of Canaan can also be regarded in the light of the Canaanites exhibiting forced subjection to the descendants of Shem.
The biblical Canaanites became extinct (their last colony at Carthage in North Africa was destroyed by the Romans in 146 B.C.). Therefore, any attempt to apply this curse to so-called “Canaanites” today is unwarranted. Any attempt to place this curse on all of Ham's descendants, many of whom settled in Africa and became the majority of the black race, is also unwarranted.
But the curse oracle contains more than just the initial stanza that focuses on Canaan. Noah also said, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth, may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave. The Lord is to be blessed because he is the God of Shem. Shem was given precedence over his nephew Canaan by the word of Noah, but this was apparently approved by the God whom Noah served. This reference to the Lord demonstrates that this was not a vengeful individual who was out of fellowship with God. Although this curse oracle came from the mouth of Noah, the implications are that God would stand behind Noah's words. For the first time God is a God of the individual.
The wish may Japheth live in the tents of Shem uses “Japheth” for the subject of the Hebrew verb that is third masculine singular, typically translated “may he live” (the NASB translates this clause “and let him dwell in the tents of Shem”). A second translation that this construction allows is “may God live in the tents of Shem” (Kaiser, 114). This fits the parallelism that can be seen in verses 26 and 27. Scripture does not develop the idea that Japheth lived in the area or dwellings of Shem, but it does develop the concept that Shem's line would be the chosen line through Abraham.
9:28-29. These verses have the same form as the genealogical material of Genesis 5. Noah was the tenth member of the genealogy of Seth. The report of his death brings the toledot of Noah (Gen. 6:9) to an end.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: Mankind is given a new chance to live a life pleasing to God. But it is not long before the “cancer” of sin conquers man again.
Even a New Start Cannot Guarantee a Good Journey
God gives human society a chance at a new start by destroying all that was evil and corrupt and starting with a blameless, righteous man named Noah. But even Noah and his sons were descendants of Adam, who had sinned in the Garden of Eden. They inherited the tendency to sin, and they chose to act on that tendency.
Noah sinned by getting drunk. Ham failed by disrespecting his father and then by gossiping. As a result of these sins, a portion of this new society would find itself on a bad journey.
PRINCIPLES
APPLICATIONS
One thing that comes through clearly in the conclusion to the flood narrative is that God expects human beings to place the highest value on human life. He does this by requiring that the highest payment be made for it. God took the lives of thousands of pre-flood people because of their sin. God gave them life and he took it away because they were treating others with violence out of a corrupt heart. Mankind is required to demonstrate that life is made in the image of God.
In our world today many people see the financial or emotional well-being of a mother as more important than that of the life of an unborn child. Some people see the jobless or homeless as “throwaways.”
Jesus called us to protect the inner life of fellow human beings. Many people do not recognize that the anger they show toward others is a form of murder. Jesus declared, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment … Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:21-24).
It is easy to talk about capital punishment as a theory and regard serial murder as something equal to evil itself. But we should ask ourselves, “Have I given or taken life today in the way I have treated my brother?”
Lord, give us the desire to be life-givers rather than life-takers in how we treat others. Remind us that life is from you and that fellow humans bear your image. Amen.
A. The Search for Noah's Ark (8:4)
Many Christians believe that Noah's ark has been found, or that it will be found, while others scoff at such an idea. It is important to keep the following facts and ideas in mind:
B. Royal Grant Treaty or Covenant (9:16)
A royal grant was a covenant made between a superior (such as a king) and a loyal servant. It was usually made because of some long-time faithful or exceptional service. Such a grant was perpetual and unconditional, but the heirs of the person to whom it was originally given could benefit from it only as long as they continued in the type of faithful service that characterized their ancestor (see 1 Sam. 8:14; 22:7; 27:6; Esth. 8:1).
The Noahic covenant was made with “righteous” Noah and would continue with his descendants and every living creature on earth.
Other types of treaties or covenants found in Scripture are the parity covenant, a covenant between equals, and the suzerainty-vassal treaty, a conditional covenant that regulated the relationship between a king and a subject. This latter type of treaty regulated the relationship between the Lord and his people Israel.
A. INTRODUCTION
B. COMMENTARY
C. CONCLUSION: PROTECTING ALL LIFE