The flood occurred because most preflood people chose not to have a relationship with God. This devotional reading looks how God’s covenant with Noah changed – or didn’t change – the relationships among God, humans, and animals.
Nuggets
- Humankind’s purpose had not changed, so the blessing had not changed.
- The relationships between humans and animals was going to change.
- Humans could now eat animals.
In the last devotion, we talked about how God established a covenant with Noah – and how it was a process with several parts. We left Noah completing the required sacrifice and God accepting that sacrifice.
We turn now to the blessings and responsibilities section of the covenant.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Creating Everything theme, click the button below.
Devotions in the Creation’s Do-Over series
Humankind’s Purpose Restated
“Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth” (Gen. 9: 1 NLT)
Humankind’s purpose had not changed, so the blessing had not changed.
We remember in Genesis 1 that God had pressed the humans after he had created them. “Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground” (Gen. 1: 28 NLT).
God wanted a whole race of humans, and He wanted us for a purpose.
We have to think that God wanted to create humankind. Before He even created us, He knew we would disobey Him. He had just gotten finished with destroying those who had disobeyed Him.
God created us for a purpose. He has a plan for our lives.
- “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 1: 9 NLT emphasis added).
- “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom. 8: 28 NLT emphasis added).
God’s purpose for creating humankind was so that we could worship Him. Arnold agreed. He wrote,
“We were made for our Maker’s glory, after His own image, that we should make His will the rule of our lives, and His love and anger the great objects of our hope and fear; that we should live in Him, and for Him, and to Him, as our constant Guide and Master and Father.”
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We have already seen confirmation that some pre flood did just that.
- “When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift — the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock …” (Gen. 4: 3-4 NLT).
- “When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the Lord by name” (Gen. 4: 26 NLT).
- “Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God …” (Gen. 5. 23-24 NLT).
The whole purpose of the ark was to save lives. That is the business God is in — salvation. He sent His Son to die on a cross so that we could accept the gift of salvation.
Even though God knew man was going to sin, He wanted us to multiply. Even though He did a major reset, He still wanted us to multiply.
Many may look at the story of the flood and say God failed miserably in His plan for humankind. We can say that, but we’d be wrong.
God showed us that He isn’t afraid of going big to get us back to worshiping Him. He showed us that, even as flawed as we are with a sinful nature, when we ABCD, He will protect us and provide for us.
Even after the great destruction of the flood, God’s purpose for us is the same: worship Him and multiply so more will know His love for them.
Renner had an interesting observation. He wrote, “Interestingly, He likely gave that commission in the place where life first began — in the region of the Garden of Eden, where it is believed the Ark came to rest.”
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It doesn’t really surprise me. God doesn’t change. His purpose didn’t change. He is committed to that region. Jesus is coming back from where He left.
All the Food
“All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables” (Gen. 9: 2-3 NLT)
Fear of upon Every Animal
The relationships between humans and animals was going to change.
The only difference between the Genesis 1 blessing and the Genesis 2 blessing was — now — we were not told to “… govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground” (Gen. 1: 28 NLT).
We don’t want to put too much emphasis on our domination over the animals, but we do need to keep it in perspective. “You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority — the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.” (Ps. 8: 6-8 NLT).
For a year, I think it would be safe to say that there were no squabbles between natural predators and prey. On top of that, I doubt they gave Noah and his family much trouble.
Oh, sure. There might have been a few squabbles. But I don’t see God locking them in there and making it a torment on the waves.
Post flood, the animals were going to fear humans. Probably a good thing.
Food for You
Humans could now eat animals.
That brings up the question as to whether the humans ate meat before the flood. Some verses seem contradictory.
But there is Genesis 7: 8. “With them were all the various kinds of animals — those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not — along with all the birds and the small animals that scurry along the ground” (Gen. 7: 8 NLT emphasis added).
Wouldn’t Noah have scratched his head when God told him this if they hadn’t been eating meat?
Let’s back up a second. Many think that, from Adam and Eve on down to then, were commanded to a specific diet. “Then God said, ‘Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food’” (Gen. 1: 29 NLT).
That makes sense to me. If Adam and Eve had eaten the animals, that would mean death was already present when they committed the original sin.
True, they knew what death was, Adam and Eve would have been more knowledgeable about what was at stake. “But the Lord God warned him, ‘You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden — except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die’” (Gen. 2: 16-17 NLT).
That would have made the consequence of breaking the law more understandable.
Yes, if they had killed for food, that would make the killing of the animal for clothes less of a blood-covering-sin issue.
I have a feeling Adam, Eve and their line were vegetarians. But what kind of food?
Let’s looks at this in the Complete Jewish Bible.
- “Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; just as I gave you green plants before, so now I give you everything” (Gen. 9: 3 CJB emphasis added).
- Then God said, ‘Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant.’ And that is how it was” (Gen. 1: 29-30 emphasis added).
God had previously given animals the green plants to eat, not humans.
Did God come back later and say they could eat the green plants, and Moses didn’t record it? We know he didn’t record the directions on how to offer sacrifices – and Cain and Abel were doing that.
We also know that when God gave Moses the law, He did put more restrictions on what kind of animal could be eaten or not.
Plus, had God defined for Moses what clean and unclean meant? He may have. He may not have.
That will have to go in the UNR book – understanding not required.
God doesn’t spell out everything every time. Sometimes, He requires flat out obedience without any direction or rebuttal time.
Whatever food restrictions God had in place in Noah’s time, Noah was following it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been considered righteous.
Maybe one of the ways that the world was wicked was they ignored God’s command to be vegetarians, but Noah didn’t. This was now giving him permission – without restriction – to eat meat.
Back to God giving the animals to Noah and his family to eat. He was providing for humankind’s continued presence on earth. He knew that, in order to fulfill the go-forth-and-multiply blessing, they would need the fuel that animals could provide.
Making the Connections #1
Adamson made a good point. He wrote,
“At the successive periods of the unfolding of God’s great promise, we find one individual representing the history of the race, and foreshadowing in brief the essential character of large phases and long periods of human development. Hence it is that here Noah becomes the representative of the patriarchal families in covenant with God. He is the individual with whom God enters into covenant, in relation to the successive generations of the human race.”
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It is easy to think of Adam that way. He is compared to Jesus. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come” (Rom. 5: 12-14 NLT).
Noah represented humans that have been redeemed. Yes, Moses represented God, so he is another one. Joseph, we’ll find out, was a type of Christ.
Making the Connections #2
We forget what Venables said. He wrote,
“All nature, every physical law, and every revealed law of God on earth, is but a material image of the spiritual; ‘as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.’ The heavenly laws are presented to us in our earthly state in an earthly form, and are images to us of the spiritual truths which we shall recognize in our heavenly condition.”
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Earth mirrors Heaven in many ways. We mirror God in many ways, but we will become more like Him in Heaven.
That is one reason we can view this life as preparation and practice for the next.
How Do We Apply This?
- Not only increase the population but also grow closer to God.
- Witness to others so that they can see how much God loves them.
- Follow God’s dietary restrictions.
Father God. You have always wanted to have a relationship with humans. Forgive us because we let sin into the world that ended the relationship as you intended it. Help us to walk with You so that our relationships lead to a restoration of that original one. Amen.
What do you think?
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