Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai
INTRODUCTION
In last week’s study we looked at how mankind became corrupted to the point where God repented that He created man and decided to wipe the slate and start afresh. He found Noah, a righteous man and instructed him to build an ark and then, sent a catastrophic flood that completely destroyed the earth. In today’s study, we will look out how God began restoring creation through Noah and his family. Genesis chapters 8 and 9 detail the receding waters, Noah’s worship, and God’s covenant with humanity. These chapters mark a fresh start for mankind, revealing God's mercy, justice, and expectations for His creation.
CHAPTER 8
1. The Floodwaters Recede (Verses 1-14)
God remembered Noah & every living thing (Verses 1-3) – The phrase "God remembered Noah" does not imply that God had forgotten him but signifies His faithfulness in acting upon His promise to preserve Noah and his family. God sent a wind to dry the waters, similar to how He parted the Red Sea for the Israelites in Exodus 14:21. This is one factor that often confuses scientists - when God uses His creation to perform the miraculous. (Discuss)
In Genesis 7:11 (AMP) the Bible says: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep [subterranean waters] burst open, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened". The Hebrew Bible refers to this account as a poetic description of a physical reality. God caused volcanic eruptions to break through the entire earth – across the land and sea that was instrumental to the flood. It is what also caused what the scientist refer to as the “continental drift” because all the land mass on earth were together prior to the flood according to Genesis 1:9-10 the Bible says: “9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”
Although scientists erroneously believe that this drift of the continents started happening roughly 200 million years ago. The Biblical account in Genesis 7:11, gives the most accurate description of the cause.
• Noah’s Patience and Testing
When God sent a wind to dry up the waters, it was not automatic. It took days. It was after 150 days, that the ark finally settled on dry ground, on Mount Ararat (verse 4). So in Verses 6-12 – Noah sent out a raven and a dove to check for dry land. The dove later returned with an olive leaf, signalling renewal after several attempts. It was only by the second month of Noah’s 601st year, that the land became completely dry. (Verses 13-14)
Lesson #1: When God’s Word or promise comes to us, they do not necessarily manifest immediately. Many times, there is a waiting period we must go through. The wait is usually a time of renewal of strength for believers. (Isaiah 40:31)
2. Noah’s Actions Provokes God’s Blessing and Covenant (Verses 15-22)
We see in Verses 15-19 that Noah, his family, and all creatures left the ark to repopulate the earth on God’s command. “15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.”
The first thing Noah did after they came out of the ark was to build an altar and offer God a sacrifice (Verse 20) – He offered burnt offerings to God in gratitude. And God in Verse 21 was moved by Noah’s worship, He reverted the curse He made in Genesis 3:17 (Cursed is the ground . . .) by saying “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done”. He vowed never to destroy the earth again, and established the covenant of seedtime and harvest. (Verse 22)
CHAPTER 9
3. God's Covenant with Noah (Verses 1-17)
• The Original Covenant Re-Established (Verses 1, 7)
In verses 1 and 7, we see God re-establishing the initial blessing and command given to Adam and Eve. Noah and his sons were instructed to be fruitful and multiply.
• Change to Human Diet (Verses 2-4)
Verses 2 - 3 are very interesting verses with respect to what was before. It implies that prior to these verses, the animals were not afraid of man and vice versa. No wonder they all were able to go into the ark without fear or agitation. Because in many cases, wild animals are not naturally aggressive toward humans unless they feel threatened, cornered, or provoked. Verse 3 also implies that prior, human beings were vegetarians! It was in verse 3 that God gave the go ahead to eat animals. “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
Although God permitted the eating of meat, He forbade the consumption of blood.As we see in verse 4. “4 But never eat animals unless their life-blood has been drained off".
Lesson #2: All of the time when God instructs us not to indulge in certain things, it is always for our own good. The blood of any creature usually carries bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause diseases and therefore not safe or healthy for humans. And because this was the first time man was going to be eating meat; He had to put safety measures in place to protect man. We see the same reflected in Lev 11 and Deut. 14 about not eating unclean foods.
Although the primary reason God forbade the Israelites from eating unclean foods was spiritual and symbolic, the unclean animals listed in the Bible are now known to carry higher health risks compared to clean animals. For instance,
Pigs (Pork) carry worms, that can cause trichinosis, a disease that causes muscle pain, fever, and inflammation. Pigs also do not sweat, meaning they do not detoxify as effectively as other animals holding onto toxins. Pork has also been linked to heart disease and high cholesterol levels.
Other listed animals are
Shellfish (Shrimp, Lobster, Crab) Shellfish can absorb mercury, lead, and other pollutants, leading to long-term health risks.
Scavenger Birds (Eagles, Vultures, Ravens) eat decayed flesh, and may carry harmful pathogens that can transfer to humans.
These laws would have protected the Israelites in ancient times when proper food handling was difficult.
• Respect and Sanctity of Human Life (Verses 5-6)
In verses 5-6, murder was condemned, and capital punishment was established.
“And murder is forbidden. Man-killing animals must die, and any man who murders shall be killed; for to kill a man is to kill one made like God.”
• The Rainbow as a Sign of the Covenant (Verses 12-17)
God then set the rainbow in the sky as a reminder of His promise never to destroy the earth by flood again. Naturally, Noah and his sons may have had PTSD. God knew that every time it threatens to rain, they would be afraid, and so He once again used natural occurrences to produce the rainbow. When water droplets in the sky act as prisms that bend and scatters light rays to form a rainbow. What I believe provides a re-assurance for mankind that another flood is not on the way and according to Him, when He sees it, He is reminded of His promise – not that He forgets.
4. Actions and Consequences (Verses 18-29)
• Noah’s Drunkenness (Verses 20-21)
To every action, there is a consequence. Although the Bible records this account in two verses, (20-21), the time between when Noah planted a vineyard (which could be shortly after the flood), to when he became drunk would have been between 3-5 years that it takes a vineyard to produce a harvest. But he became drunk. You will agree that his intention was not to expose his nakedness in his tent after drinking wine.
But “Noah took a drink; the drink took a drink and then the drink took him!”
• The Fate of His Sons (Verses 22 – 27)
His indiscretion only created room for another indiscretion. Ham, his 3rd son saw him naked and told his brothers (Verses 22-23), but Shem and Japheth covered Noah respectfully. What could Ham have done? He had already seen his dad naked. He could have simply taken a cloak and covered his dad and not broadcast the incident.
• The Curse of Canaan (Verses 24-25)
Although his brothers respected their father as opposed to Ham, one of them must have snitched on him as we see in verse 24. They didn’t need to have done that. 1 Peter 4:8 tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. So, there is a possibility that love was lacking in their relationship. And so in verse 25, Noah cursed Ham’s son Canaan while blessing Shem and Japheth. This to me was yet another indiscretion. Ham was the offending son, but the curse was on Canaan. Possibly out of anger or the hangover.
Lesson #3: We must be careful of the words we speak and the proclamations parents make over their children. Proverbs 18:21 says: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Having said that, there is a school of thought that believe that the “curse” Noah proclaimed was more of a prophecy about future nations rather than an immediate punishment as we will see in future events.
• Noah’s Prophecy and Blessings (Verses 26-27)
In verses 26 & 27, we see Noah blessing Shem and Japhet while stating that Canaan would be their slave. This implies that Canaan’s descendants (the Canaanites) would serve the descendants of Shem (Israelites) and Japheth (Europeans and Asians).
Canaan's lineage is listed in Genesis 10:15-19, and his descendants settled in the land of Canaan (modern Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan). They became known for their idolatry, immorality, and opposition to Israel. God commanded Israel to drive out the Canaanites because of their idolatry and child sacrifices (Leviticus 18:24-25).
Noah’s Prophecy was fulfilled because most of Canaan’s descendants were conquered, displaced, or enslaved by Shem’s (Israel, Assyrians, Babylonians) and Japheth’s (Greeks, Romans) descendants.
• Debunking the Myth that Africans are Under Noah’s Curse
From the above, we see that it was Canaan, not Ham that was cursed (verse 25). And Canaan is not the father of Africans but mostly people in the Middle East. And thus, Africans are not under the curse of Noah! However, over time, some people most likely under the influence of the devil, interpreted this curse as applying to all of Ham’s descendants, particularly those in Africa. This misinterpretation is what contributed to harmful racial stereotypes and justifications for slave trade years ago. Let’s not even “waste” the scripture (Galatians 3:13)
• The True Picture
Ham had four sons, Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). Cush is often associated with Ethiopia; Mizraim is linked to Egypt (North Africa). Put is associated with Libya (North Africa), while Canaan, settled in the region of Canaan (which is now Israel, Palestine, and parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan). Although Ham’s descendants are linked to parts of Africa, as explained above, he is not the literal "father" of all Africans.
CONCLUSION
Genesis chapters 8 and 9 tells us how God exhibited His mercy in preserving Noah’s family and establishing a new covenant with humanity after the destruction of the earth. As an assurance from Him, He orchestrated the rainbow; one of the wonders of God’s creation that serves as a lasting sign of His faithfulness, not what the world has turned it to, today. We have also learnt some other important truths. Such as God using nature and His creations to perform the miraculous. The lyrics of the song “So Will I” state: “And as You speak, a hundred billion creatures catch Your breath, evolving in pursuit of what You said”
We also learnt that (i) when God’s Word or promise comes to us, they do not necessarily manifest immediately. (ii) We must be careful of the words we speak and the proclamations parents make over their children. And (iii) when God warns us against certain indulgences, it is usually for our own good. There is really nothing new that scientists are discovering now that God had not warned us about in His Word. That He did not give the reasons for such commands is because He expected absolute trust in Him.
