What is the Covenant with Noah?
God formed his (first)
creation in/through water, and he let the waters destroy it again. The “second
creation” was both a new beginning as it was also a continuation of what
already existed[1].
(This is another biblical pattern. We find the same tension between the Old and
New Covenant. The New builds on the Old, so that we find continuity as well as
discontinuity.)
God made a new
beginning with the earth and the earth-dwellers. Who are those that dwell on
earth?
1.
In chapter
6 the focus is on Noah and his family. God makes a covenant with them and their
offspring, all humanity since the Great Flood.
2.
In chapter
9 we note that God’s covenant is with/for all
creatures. All animal-kinds included, for God also saves (representatives
for) them in the ark.
3.
The whole
earth is affected. The earth’s surface is afflicted by the destructive water
masses. And Jesus himself makes the circle yet wider by claiming that God loved
the whole cosmos to such extent that He offered his own Son in order to
preserve his creation for the restoration of his Kingdom and the inclusion of
everyone who would follow the Son.
I am convinced that,
although there are multiple facets in this account, yet this does not refer to
three different covenants. In Psalms we see that all humanity, all creatures,
and even all the earth is called upon the praise their God as their creator and
sustainer. Noah is -like Adam was in the
first creation- the head of creation, and sadly it does not take long before
the enemy manages to work destruction through Noah and his sons.
In the covenant,
however, God assures that He will never allow the Evil to (completely) destroy
his creation. God remains faithful: the antithesis, promised in Genesis 3:15, ensures
that His Kingdom will stand, His rule will be restored[2]!
As visible sign of
this covenant, God presents the rainbow. This bow embraces all humanity and all
the earth.
The rainbow occurs
when we can see the sun through the rain. As ‘the good book’ says, God lets the
sun shine over all creatures and he lets it rain over good and evil alike[3].
The point is, therefore, that God does not abandon His (association with)
creation, his creatures, and thus also with all
people.
I characterize the
Noah covenant as God’s Covenant of Creation and Providence.
It seems to me that
God assures all that He refuses to abandon his rightful claim as the Creator (the
One who made everything right), who refuses to let the enemy destroy it. God
maintains His claim, also by continuing in his faithful care and provision for
all creatures[4].
The roles of creation
and provision belong to the father-position. In biblical imagery, the father
‘creates’ the children. We realize that people are –as in a parent-child
relationship- created in His image: in a way, we look like Him!
How do we apply this
in our lives today? In the church of our youth we did not so much with it, I think.
The concept of ‘covenant’ was almost exclusively linked with Abraham, Moses,
and Israel with the notion that the Church today is the new Israel. The
Noah-covenant seemed irrelevant and obsolete.
Noah in the Old Covenant (background)
It’s important to
examine how the Noah-covenant plays a role in the rest of the Bible, otherwise
we could create the impression that there is little relevance or that it was
never completed or fulfilled. God never abandons what He has begun, so there
must be a follow-up, also with respect to the Noah-covenant.
With respect to the
Abraham-Israel covenant most Christians realize that it was God’s plan all
along to use it to restore his Kingdom in all the world. All trouble started
through the revolution of humanity, and in the end all God’s children (those
who lovingly submit to his rule) will and must be revealed, and then God’s
creation can freely breathe again, saved from the oppression of the enemy. Here
I cannot but submit just a brief summary of covenant history from the Fall
(Gen. 3), via the apostolic teaching[5]
up to the end (Rev. 11:15; Rev. 21, 22).
Through the seed of
Abraham all people (groups) would be blessed. Who is this Son or Seed of
Abraham? Matthew, chapter 1, provides us with the answer: Jesus, the Christ!
Israel was called to
be a light on the mountain to draw all nations to their Creator-God, their
Father-God. Israel, however, mostly failed to fulfill this role. Yet, God
provides a king after his own heart, and then -at the apparent climax of the
kingdom- God promises that God will establish David’s dynasty and provide a Son
of David, whose Kingdom will be all-comprehensive in space and time. Matthew 1
makes it clear that Jesus, the Christ has and will accomplish this.
Noah in the New Covenant: All of Creation
If we ignore the
further development of the Noah-Covenant, we give the impression that there are
loose strands left in the Covenant history. In a sense, it must be true that
the complete pattern has not yet been revealed, yet if the climax of the
covenant is to be found in Christ (and in this I agree with Tom Wright), then
we must be able to trace at least some level of development and fulfillment,
also in respect to the covenant with Noah.
Jesus himself made a
connection between the Great Flood and the Last Judgment at His Second Coming.
Peter, also, refers to the Flood, first in regard to “the salvation of only a
few”[6],
and again in his second letter5, where he seems to suggest that at
the Last Day there will be one more New Creation.
God so loved the
world… It’s not just about us, although humankind tends to put itself in the
center of the cosmos. On many (government controlled) church buildings in China
we can find the text: 神 爱 世 人. Those are the first four
characters of John 3:16 (CUV). Literally: ‘God love world people’. This is,
however, a reductionist image, for the Greek text refers not just to the
world’s residents but to the whole cosmos.
C.S. Lewis seems to capture this concept in his books
of Narnia. The queen of the world is not the rightful Ruler. Her unjust rule
makes the whole creation suffer under a wintry spell. Yet, the Lion of Judah is
on the move to bring an end to these troubling times.
All
of Humanity
When some Greek men wanted to see Jesus, his disciples
were reluctant while Jesus became excited[7].
For a long time, God’s offensive was focused on Abraham and his seed: Israel.
Yet, it had always been the plan and purpose that Israel were to be a
beachhead, a kind of Normandy for the liberation of the world by fully
restoring the Kingdom of God- in all the earth and all the nations. This was
the purpose for which Abraham had been called; through his Seed all humanity would be blessed[8].
When Jesus had accomplished his Mission, the last stage of Covenant-history
could begin. Is this not what we also find in Revelation 5?[9]
[1] 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s
wordthe heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by
water.6 By these waters also the
world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are
reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction
of the ungodly. (2 Pe.3)
[2] 15 The seventh angel sounded his
trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The
kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who
were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped
God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you,
Lord God Almighty, the
One who is and who was, because you have taken your
great power and have begun to reign. (Rev. 11)
[3] 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’44 But I tell you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in
heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and the unrighteous. (Mat.5)
[4] 27 All creatures look to you
to give them their food at
the proper time. 28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with
good things. 29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their
breath, they die
and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the
ground. (Ps.
104)
[5] 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to
God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”[c] Now when it says
that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not
include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be
made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all
in all. (1Co.15)
19 For the creation waits in
eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by
its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself
will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom
and glory of the children of God. (Ro.8)
[6] 19 After being made alive,[d] he went and made
proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited
patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it
only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not
the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward
God.[e] It saves you by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1 Pe.3)
[7] 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls
to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it
produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone
who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.26 Whoever serves me must
follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the
one who serves me. (Jo.12)
[8] 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham
from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have
done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as
numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your
descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on
earth will be blessed,[c] because you have
obeyed me.” (Gen.22)
[9] Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the
throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven
seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud
voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth
could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was
worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See,
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has
triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
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