A new Beginning after the Flood ...

Wednesday, Sept 4, 2013. We have read the story of Noah and the great flood. Today, we look at the new beginning after the flood. It is like a new start for mankind and for everything on earth. And there is a new covenant, the covenant of the rainbow.

After the Flood …

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 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. 3

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.

And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 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. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. 7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 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. 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.” 12 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: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 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. 16 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.” 17 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.” (Gen 9, 1-17) This is the time from when all food is allowed to mankind. And there is the ban to shed the blood of men. Murder or violence against humans has always been identified to be a severe crime! The Covenant …**

I do not read this sentence, that the blood of those who are shed the blood of humans will be shed, as a command. It does not tell us anything about what we should do with murderers or with violent people. Later, we will be told to love our enemies, to do them good, not bad. But it is a prophecy, which states or even establishes deep processes. Violence generates violence - and those who are violent will experience the fruits of what they sowed.

There is the new covenant, which is recorded in the second part of our passage. It is the covenant between God and Noah, between God and mankind. This will be the last such flood, as long as earth is there. God will not destroy mankind again. It is a very strong and universial covenant, which is established after the flood.

Do we know that we are all deeply linked to the Lord. We are linked to him, since we are created in his image. We are linked to him, since he loves us. And we are linked to him, since every living creature on earth is part of this covenant, the covenant of the rainbow. We are part of it independent of whether we follow him or act against him. Even if we do, what he does not want us to do, we are part of the rainbow covenant. That is very important - and it can help us to turn to the Lord and change our life.

(Roland Potthast) ... more texts