The Untrained Biblical Theologist

Genesis Chapter 9

Genesis Chapter 9

(KJV) Chapter 9

(NIV) Chapter 9

This is my understanding of Genesis chapter 9, first of all we see that God blesses Noah and his sons and he tells them to be fruitful and multiply on the earth.  God also tells them that all the animals or all that lives and moves will be theirs for food, but he makes sure to tell them not to eat meat that still has lifeblood in it.  In verse 6 we see that God demands an accounting for any man’s lifeblood, which I interpret to mean that if a man or animal kills a man then by man shall his blood also be shed.

We see God wanting the earth to be increased upon after the flood so he tells them to be fruitful and multiply and he also established a covenant with Noah and his sons that would extend to all generations after them and with all the living creatures that were with them on the ark, in this covenant God says never again would He cut off all life by the waters of a flood, never again would a flood destroy the earth.

God also speaks of a bow or rainbow that would appear in the cloud if He tried to bring a flood over the earth again, in the King James version of the bible it says bow while in the New International version it says rainbow, God said this will be the sign of the covenant He made with the earth, He says whenever the bow or rainbow appears he will remember the covenant, so it makes me think, does this mean every time a rainbow appears in the cloud does it mean it is a day when God wants to send a flood but is reminded of the covenant or is it just a symbol of the covenant without the thought of sending a flood?  Just something I thought of when I read the verse.  I invite you all to remember the covenant too whenever you look upon a rainbow in the clouds, rainbows are beautiful and a truly fitting symbol  for such a gift from God as the covenant is, don’t you think?

Also in the Chapter it speaks of the sons of Noah, the three of which would be the seeds that scatter to become all the people of the earth.  We see here that Noah plants a vineyard and gets drunk from its wine, then one of his sons Ham comes in and sees him naked and proceeds to tell his brothers, when they hear this they took a garment and walked in backwards without looking upon their father’s nakedness and placed the garment on his naked body.  Now when Noah learned of what Ham had done he made Ham’s son Canaan the lowest of slaves to his brothers, Noah blessed Shem and Japheth but made Canaan their slave. 

After the flood Noah lived 350 years and then he died at the age of 950.  This whole chapter shows how God blessed Noah and his family and in turn us, descendants of Noah and when God makes a covenant he does not break it, remember this every time you see a rainbow that God made his covenant with the earth.

Till next time.

God Bless you!