A FRESH START; THE
RAINBOW SIGN
Genesis 9:8-17
V:8. "Then God said to Noah and to his sons with
him."
A. God looked at the
people of his creation and saw that they were corrupt and filled
with
violence. Gen 6:12
1. God decided to
end the corruption on earth by destroying every living thing with
a great flood.
2. We must
remember that God is aware of what we do against Him.
3. We must be
aware that God is sovereign and He can punish us in some
unexpected ways.
a. We should
consider that God who created us can get angry enough to destroy
us for
our sins.
B. One Family can
make a difference.
1. The whole world
had turned against God, but there was one family that feared
God and honored
Him with their lives.
2. Just because
everybody else is wrong, don't make it right for you.
3. Noah and his
family followed God.
4. God takes
notice of the faithful.
C. God gives us an
opportunity for a fresh start.
1. God loves
family.
2. He started the
human race with one family and He began fresh with one family.
3. He started with
a new covenant.
4 He started with
a new government.
5. He started with
the righteousness of one family.
V;9."I now establish my covenant with you and with your
descendants after you."
A. God honors our
righteous with His personal commitment.
1. When everybody
in the world was having trouble, God protected Noah and his
family.
2. Floods are part of life.
a. There is no way to live in this world
without trials and tribulations.
b. While
everybody is drowning, God can keep you a float.
c. When we get
up in the morning, we can expect God to bless us through the
storms of life.
3. God makes
promises and He keeps His promises.
a. God started
fresh with 8 people.
b. Noah, his
wife his three sons and their wives were
the first participants of
God's new
covenant with man.
4. Because of
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we have a fresh start each day.
a. We receive God's grace and mercy fresh each day.
V:10. " And with every living creature that was with
you — the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came
out of the ark with you — every living creature on earth."
A. God instructed
Noah to put in the ark two of every kind
of animals that He had
created.
1. In the Ark
pair of all the unclean animals. (Gen 7:2)
a. The total
estimated time in the Ark
Dictionary).
b. Except for
the animals in the Ark
c. Man may have corrupted the animal
kingdom because of his corruption.
Gen 6:11-12.
2. The waters of
the flood cleanse the earth of all unrighteousness.
3. After the flood, God repopulated the earth with animals
starting with those that
came out of the Ark.
B. God allowed all the
species of animals that He created to repopulate themselves.
1. They were covered
under the new covenant.
2.
The animal kingdom will not be destroyed by another flood.
V:11. " I establish my covenant with you: Never again
will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a
flood to destroy the earth."
A. A new generation
of men began with the righteousness of one family.
1. Noah was a
righteous man before the Lord. Gen 6:8-9
2. Noah and his
family found security in the Lord.
B. The ark that Noah
and his family labored to build for 120 years became their
sanctuary during
the flood. Gen 6:3
1. In troubled
times, God is our sanctuary.
2. God is our
place of provisions and protection.
a. God
instructed Noah and his sons to put enough food in the ark for his family
and all the
animals for the year long journey.
b. God is
enough for us.
3. Noah found grace
with God because of his faithfulness. Gen 6:8
C. God made Noah the
new beginning for mankind because he lived according to His
righteousness.
1. Every family
that believes in Jesus and lives according to His commands is the
beginning of
a new generation for the Lord.
2. We will never
be cut off from heaven if we live for Jesus.
3. It makes no
difference what happens around you, God is your sanctuary.
a. In the ark
was peace.
b. In the ark
was protection.
c. In the ark was provisions.
d. In the ark
was comfort.
e. In the ark
was companionship.
f. In the ark
was relationship.
g. In the ark
in ark was the grace of God.
h. We got all
the above and then some in Jesus our Lord and Savior.
V:12. " And God said, "This is the sign of the
covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a
covenant for all generations to come."
A. There are times
when we need to be reminded of God's promises.
1. God can do it
in a visible way of he can awaken our conscience to His promises.
2. When we get
caught up the trials and troubles of life, it is easy to focus on the
problems and
forget God's promises.
3. It is easy to
worry about we see than to trust God for the solution.
4. Some times God
has to let us face trouble so that we can't see our way out to
force us to trust
His word.
B. God has made
agreement between Himself and us that only He can keep.
1. Noah had no
part in keeping the covenant, but he had faith to trust God's
Word.
2. In all our ways, we must trust God.
a. God is the
solution to all our troubles.
V:13. " I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."
A. God made an
agreement with the earth that He created that He would not flood it
again.
1. How can God
make an agreement with an object that can't think, reason or
respond?
2. Why does God
have to be reminded of what He has said?
B. God uses the
rainbow to remind us of His supreme authority over everything.
1. God uses the
rainbow to remind us of His creative powers.
2. God uses the
rainbow to remind us of His glory.
3. God uses the
rainbow to remind us of His wrath.
4. God uses the
rainbow to remind us of His mercy.
5. God uses the
rainbow to remind us of the consequences of sin.
6. God uses the
rainbow to remind us that He keeps His promises.
V:14. " Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the
rainbow appears in the clouds,"
A. It is God who
makes the clouds appear in the sky.
1. The rainbow
represents the mercy of God on mankind.
2. The rainbow is a
reminder of new start for man.
3. The rainbow
represents the miracles of God.
a. A rainbow develops
from the reflection and the refraction of the rays of the sun
on falling
rain.
b. A rainbow
does not always appear during a rain when the sun is shinning.
c. A rainbow
appears when God decides that man needs a reminder.
B. God orders the
forces of nature to accomplish His will.
1. The rainbow
appears when He wants it to be visible to man.
a. God will
set clouds in the sky.
b. God will
cause the rainbow to appear in the clouds
2. The rainbow is
a constant reminder of God's promise not to destroy the earth by
a flood
again.
V:15. " I will remember my covenant between me and you
and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a
flood to destroy all life."
A. God repeats His
Words to reconfirm them in our mind that He will keep His
promise.
1. The covenant
was made to man and to every living creature on land, in the air
and in the waters
of the earth.
2. This covenant
settles the issue of how the earth will not be destroyed,
a. We will
have floods and storms, but they will not signal the end of the earth.
B. God has a plan for
how this world will end.
1, God is Alpha
and Omega. He is the beginning and the end.
2. There are no
new discoveries or plans. God planned it
all out from the
beginning. He is omniscience,
V:16. " Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I
will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living
creatures of every kind on the earth."
A. Again, God
reaffirms to Himself. But I think more
so for us that He will keep His
covenant.
1. As stated by
Matthew Henry, "the eye may affect the heart and confirm the faith;
it shall be
the token of the covenant."
2. The brilliant
colors of the rainbow have their source from the light that is Jesus
Christ.
B. We serve a God who
loves colors.
1. He clothed His
creation in may different brilliant colors.
2. Trees, plants
and animals have a variety of colors.
3. The colors are
an indication of life in its abundance.
4. The rainbow
sign points to and confirms God's covenant for the life of His
people.
V:17. " So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of
the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."
A. God chose a
faithful man to establish His covenant for all mankind.
1. In God's Word
is His plan for the ages which includes now and the end times.
2. God said to
Noah and His Word say to us that His mercy endures forever.
B. The whole world is
blessed under the covenant that God established with Noah.
1. It is our
faithfulness to God's commands that blesses our lives.
2. Thank God for
his abundant blessing.
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