Genesis 9:8 - Meaning and Application

Here, first, we see God’s broad covenant with this new world, and how wide its reach is (Genesis 9:9, Genesis 9:10). God is pleased to deal with people by covenant. In doing so, he shows great kindness and gives strong encouragement to obedience, which is a reasonable and rewarding service.

All God’s covenants with people come from his own choice: “I, yes, I make this covenant.” That wording is meant to stir wonder. It reminds us that even though God is high above us, he still looks kindly on people. It also gives us confidence, because the covenant depends on the one who makes it, and he is faithful and able to keep it.

God’s covenants are more firm than the pillars of heaven or the foundations of the earth. They cannot be broken. They are made with the people who receive them, and also with their children. The promise belongs to them and to their offspring. Even those who cannot answer for themselves, or formally agree to it, may still be brought into covenant and share its benefits. This covenant reaches every living creature, even the animals of the earth.

Second, we see the special purpose of this covenant. It was meant to keep the world from another flood. God had once drowned the world, and it was still just as sinful and provoking as before. God knew all the wickedness that would continue, yet he promised that he would never drown the world again. That shows that he does not deal with us as our sins deserve.

The reason the world has not often been flooded, and is not flooded now, is God’s goodness and faithfulness, not any moral improvement in the world. As the old world was destroyed to stand as a sign of justice, this world remains to this day as a sign of mercy, according to God’s oath that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth (Isaiah 54:9). This promise keeps the sea and the clouds in their appointed places and sets bounds on them, with gates and bars they cannot pass (Job 38:10, Job 38:11).

If the sea were to rise freely for only a few days, as it does twice each day for a few hours, the damage would be terrible. And if heavy rains like the worst storms we have seen went on for long, they would be just as destructive. By sending tides and rain, God shows what he could do in judgment. By keeping the earth from being drowned between them, he shows what he can do in mercy, and what he will do in truth. We should give him glory for his mercy in making the promise, and for his truth in keeping it.

This promise does not mean that God cannot send other wasting judgments on mankind. He has not used this arrow again, but he has other arrows in his quiver. It also does not mean he cannot destroy particular places or countries by floods from the sea or rivers. And the final destruction of the world by fire at the last day will not break this promise either. The sin that drowned the old world will burn this one.