Genesis 9:8–17

"I will establish my covenant with you" had been God's word to Noah, before he built the ark or the waters came (Gen. 6:18). Now that the judgment is past, and the new earth is inherited, God details that covenant in full and pledges it again to His elect (Gen. 9:8-17). Every covenant we read of in Scripture is specific. Each one names its parties and states its objects plainly. There is no mistaking them.

Genesis 9:1-7 set out the blessing of God pronounced on Noah and his sons for the world that now is. From then on God allowed man to eat animal food, yet forbade him to eat blood, which belongs to God. God also put government into man's hand for the first time. Its task was to protect human life, and to vindicate God where life was taken. Now Genesis 9:8-11 give the covenant God established with mankind and every creature set under man. It is the largest covenant God ever made. It still holds under a merciful pledge that cannot fail.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature. It was something new.

The covenants made by God are of a different order. He makes His covenants from Himself, without consulting man. With Noah God made a covenant that He would not again destroy the world by a flood. As a token of that covenant He set the rainbow in the cloud (Gen. 9:8-17). This kind of covenant takes the form of an unconditional promise.

Here we may observe that it is "God" (Elohim) who blessed and who spoke; no other title would be fitting. "The LORD" (Jehovah) would have been entirely out of place. This is not an occasion for expressing a special relationship. The subject before us is of the widest character. It is the Creator who is declaring Himself the Preserver of all here below. He does so despite the imagination of man's heart being evil from his youth, which had so recently ended in the destruction of everyone on earth outside the ark. God could and would and did bless on the ground of sacrifice. That blessing was provisional, until the infinite sacrifice by which the new heavens and new earth will come in. Here God establishes His covenant with Noah and his sons on a footing that leaves aside all question of the soul or of moral considerations.

His first act on the cleansed earth was to build an altar to the LORD. There he offered burnt offerings of all the clean animals and birds. The LORD smelled a pleasing aroma. He said in His heart that He would not again curse the ground because of man. He would not again strike down every living thing as He had done. This teaches us that God carries on His providential government of the world on the ground of the pleasing aroma of Christ's sacrifice.

God covenants not only with Noah and his sons and with his descendants after them, but with every living creature — cattle, bird, and beast. Without such a covenant, what could guilty man expect but repeated strokes of the same judgment which had just taken them all away? Would not old sins renewed and fresh sins added provoke the same punishment? No; God's covenant with man and the earth steps in absolutely. "I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth." He will surely judge and destroy in another way, as He warns elsewhere. But it was no small comfort, when the world that now is began after the flood, that God settled their trembling hearts against a blow they naturally and rightly dreaded.

"With you I will establish my covenant" had been God's word to Noah, before the ark was made, or the waters had come. Genesis 6:18. Now the judgment is past and the new earth is inherited. So God spells that covenant out in full, and pledges it again, to His chosen. Genesis 9:8-17. And it is here that the word "covenant" is first used. Every covenant we read about in Scripture is specific. Its parties and its purposes are clearly defined and plainly stated. There is no mistaking them.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature. It was something new.

God had talked with Noah, because he was righteous before Him. He had often spoken to Noah, but never before to his sons. The Lord could not do this before the flood, or even before Noah and his family left the ark. Once the sacrifices were offered on the altar, He could and did do it... To the righteous one God could speak apart from a sacrifice; to others only on the ground of it. Noah had a place before Him on earth because of what he was; his sons only because of the sacrifice.

Genesis 9:1-7 set out the blessing of God pronounced on Noah and his sons for the world that now is... Now Genesis 9:8-11 give the covenant God established with mankind and with every creature placed under man. It is the largest covenant God ever made, and it still stands under a merciful pledge that cannot fail.

Notice again that it is "Elohim" Who blessed (Genesis 9:1) and spoke (verse 8). No other title would be fitting here. "Jehovah" would have been entirely out of place. This is no occasion for expressing a special relationship. Far from it: what is before us here is as wide as it could be. It is the Creator declaring Himself the Preserver of everything here below. And He does so even though the thoughts of man's heart are evil from his youth — which had so recently ended in the destruction of everyone on earth outside the ark.

The second head in this second world — the world since the flood — was Noah. But his place stood on changed terms: under a covenanted and unconditional blessing, whose full token was the rainbow God set in the cloud. Under the protection of that blessing we take our part as "his seed" and descendants. This unchanging covenant rests on the faithfulness of God. It is what secures all blessing to every living creature.

There are really only two covenants in Scripture — the old covenant and the new. Still, the word covenant is used in several places about the Lord where it only announces certain relationships. These are relationships He was pleased to enter into with man or with the creature (Genesis 9:8-17, and so on), or on which man was to approach Him — but without conditions. The context must decide the sense.

Genesis 9:8-11 give the covenant God established with mankind and with every creature set under man. It is the largest covenant God ever made. It still stands, held up by a merciful pledge that cannot fail.

At this time God also announced a covenant with Noah and his sons. It included all his descendants too, as well as the birds and animals — all who had been in the ark, and therefore not the fish. The covenant was that God would not again send a flood to destroy the earth.

Here again we may notice that it is "Elohim" Who blessed (Gen. 9:1) and spoke (v. 8). No other name would fit. "Jehovah" would have been completely out of place. This is not an occasion for expressing a special relationship. What is before us is as wide as it could be. It is the Creator declaring Himself the Preserver of all here below.

Because of the sacrifice, God established His covenant with Noah, his sons, their descendants after them, and every living thing that was with them — birds, cattle, beasts of the earth, all that came out of the ark. So the earth and everything tied to it shared in the benefits of the sacrifice. As far as the consequences of man's sin had reached on earth, just as far the blessed results of the burnt offering would be felt.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature.

Without such a covenant, what could guilty man expect but repeated blows of the same judgment that had just swept them all away? Would old sins repeated and new sins added not bring the same punishment? No. God's covenant with man and the earth stands in the way, and stands absolutely... He will judge and destroy in other ways, as He warns elsewhere. But it was no small comfort, when the present world began after the flood, that God calmed their trembling hearts about a blow they had every natural and just reason to dread.

We have had many pledges of this final redemption and joy of the creatures. Noah carried them, two of every kind, with himself and his household through the waters into the new world. And the same covenant that settled him and his descendants there provided just as much for them (Gen. 9:10).

God never forgets His rights as Creator and Preserver. Even when our blessed Lord brought out heavenly and eternal things, He never taught us to despise the birds of the sky or the lilies of the field, or God's care in either case... And the New Testament is as clear as the Old in keeping before us the deliverance He will surely bring for the whole creation, which groans and suffers pain together until now.

In Genesis 9:8-11 God establishes His covenant with mankind and with every creature set under man. It is the largest covenant God ever made, and it still stands on a merciful pledge that cannot fail. Neither of these applied to the world before the flood. In the verses that follow (12-17) God kindly gives a sign or token of His covenant with the earth. Of a covenant with Noah we first hear in Genesis 6:18.

God makes a covenant with Noah and with the creation, and as the witness of it He gives the rainbow… God gave this covenant to the earth right after the sacrifice of Noah, which is a picture of the sacrifice of Christ.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature. It was something new. The wording of God's promise clearly implies that mankind had never seen a rainbow before.

So the goodness of God pledged in the bow He set in the cloud brings immense comfort. As a rule you do not see the bow unless there is rain. You see it only when the sun shines bright at your back from the opposite quarter of the sky. So no sign could be more fitting. The rain might awaken fears; the glorious bow was fitted to calm them. This was God's own way of assuring man of His unfailing covenant.

The Lord God makes a covenant with Noah and with all the creatures around him. He will keep the earth safe from a second flood. As a token of this, He hangs the bow in the cloud, up there under His own eye, that He may look on it, and so remember His promise… The cloud might threaten, and swell itself with water; the bow should control it. The cloud might frown; the bow should smile… And God set the creation on sure conditions, not on conditions that could fail.

Because of the sacrifice, God established His covenant with Noah, his sons, their descendants after them, and every living thing that was with them… The earth and all connected with it shared in the benefits of the sacrifice. As far as the consequences of man's sin had reached on earth, so far the blessed results of the burnt offering would be felt… The earth as well as man had a share in the covenant, and the creature will one day rejoice in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.

The bow God set in the cloud long ago, with its many colours and varied beauty, is the token of His covenant with the earth (Gen. 9:9-17)… It is God's object lesson for the human race. It is a public sign hung out in the heavens, so that all may see and learn that God is good. The last mention of the rainbow shows it over the head of the Lord as He claims the earth in power (Rev. 10:1).

The bow is given as the token of the covenant; that does not mean it was created then. God could, of course, have put plenty of clouds above the earth without a rainbow. He says, "I do set my bow."

It is a pointless question, because Scripture has not given us enough evidence to settle it. Was the rainbow seen then for the first time, or was it well known in the earliest ages?... The least we can draw from the words is that God was now, after the flood, pleased to attach a new and merciful meaning to it.

So there is immense comfort in the bow God's goodness pledged when He set it in the cloud. As a rule you do not see it unless there is rain, and only when the sun shines behind you from the opposite side of the sky. No sign could fit better. If the rain might stir up fear, the beautiful bow had every right to calm it, because God Himself was pleased to assure man of His unfailing covenant.

"I bring a cloud... I do set My bow." We may not separate these two, nor look at one apart from the other. It is good for us to remember that man — himself and his works — is only fit for judgment. It is just as good to remember what God is, or the soul must sink into despair.

The bow in the cloud is man's assurance; but it is more, it is God's memorial of the new relationship into which He has entered with His creatures. His eye is on the bow, and not man's only. So He gives them fellowship with Himself in a sign that speaks of peace in the middle of trouble, and of light in the place of darkness.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature. It was something new. The words, "I do set My bow in the cloud," clearly imply that no one had ever seen a rainbow before.

Another universal judgment by water will never come again (verse 15). Another judgment is in store for this planet. "The world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."

This is a lovely picture of God's glory, for "God is light." Each colour stands for some part of God's many attributes — supremacy, power, authority, grace, righteousness, holiness, love... So all the glory of God is bound up in His promise never again to judge the world by a universal flood.

There was a cloud indeed — a dark, thick, heavy cloud of judgment pouring itself out on the sacred head of the Lamb of God... But, thank God, faith sees in that heaviest cloud that ever gathered the most brilliant and beautiful bow that ever appeared.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature. It was something new. The words, "I do set My bow in the cloud," clearly suggest that no one had ever seen a rainbow before.

The rainbow may have appeared to Noah before, but it was not appointed by God as a token until after the flood. The word translated "set" (nathan) is sometimes translated "appoint," as in Joshua 20:2. Others think it more likely that no one saw a rainbow before the flood, since the air was in a different state then from what it became after the flood.

Men had good reason to tremble after that terrible disaster. Dark clouds covered the sky, the rain fell in torrents, and tidal waves rose with overwhelming force. An accusing conscience would speak even louder of the disaster they had just lived through. Man naturally expects that what happened once will happen again. He expects it all the more if old sins still ruled and new evils sprang up.

As a rule you do not see it unless there is rain. And you see it only when the sun shines brightly at your back, from the opposite side of the sky. So no sign could be more fitting. If the rain might stir up fears, the glorious bow had every right to calm them. God Himself gladly chose this way to assure man of His unfailing covenant. The accuracy is even more striking. The words run, "When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds." Rain does not seem strictly necessary, but cloud is.

We look at the cloud; God looks at the bow. What grace is here! He says, "And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it." The bow tells of God's unchangeable faithfulness and mercy when all is over with man. This is the ground we are on with God.

The mighty angel, the angel of judgment, comes down. He is clothed with a cloud, the frightening vessel of wrath and sign of judgment. This is what God said at the beginning: "When I bring clouds over the earth." But even then the rainbow is with Him... It is not simply with a cloud He comes down, but with the cloud and the bow accompanying it. See Gen. 9:14; Rev. 10:1. This tells us that at the very end He remembers His word, and will hold judgment in check. He will say to it, "You may come this far, and no farther." ... The cloud carries out its commission and pours out its waters, or its judgments, again. But it must stop in obedience to the bow that measures and controls it.

My fellow-believer, in all the trials of the way God would have us see the bow in the cloud. Think of this in your present trial, which He has allowed. Think of the thing that distresses you most of all, which perhaps no other Christian knows anything about. These words are written for you... The cloud may be dark and gloomy, but there is a beauty in it painted by His own hand, and it tells you, despite everything, what He is to you. And remember, whether you see it or not, IT IS THERE.

God sets up His covenant to cut off the least fear from every heart that trusted Him. No flood will destroy all flesh again, and God will not deal with the earth in any such way. Without such a covenant, what could guilty man expect but repeated strokes of the same judgment that had just swept them all away? Would not old sins renewed and fresh sins added provoke the same punishment? Not so; God's covenant with man and the earth steps in absolutely.

This is the immense comfort God's goodness pledged in the bow He set in the cloud. As a rule you do not see it unless there is rain. And you only see it when the sun shines at your back from the opposite quarter of the sky. No sign could be more fitting. If the rain might wake fears, the glorious bow was there to calm them; for God Himself in this way assured man of His unfailing covenant. The accuracy is all the more striking. The terms run, "When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant." So "rain" does not seem strictly necessary, but "cloud" is.

The Lord God makes a covenant with Noah, and with all the creatures around him, that He will keep the earth safe from a second flood. As a sign of this, He hangs the bow in the cloud, up there under His own eye, so that He may look on it and so remember His promise. The cloud might threaten and swell with water; the bow would control it. The cloud might frown; the bow would smile.

Because of the sacrifice, God established His covenant with Noah, his sons, and their seed after them. He included every living thing that was with them — birds, cattle, beasts of the earth, everything that came out of the ark. The earth and all connected with it shared in the benefits of the sacrifice. As far as the consequences of man's sin had reached on earth, there the blessed results of the burnt offering would be felt... The covenant took in the earth as well as man, as the creation will one day rejoice in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.

The rainbow speaks of a judgment now past, of His salvation and His remembrance. Another universal judgment by water will never come again (verse 15). But another judgment is in store for this planet. "The world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly" (2 Pet. 3:6-7).

The rainbow was the seal of God's covenant with the earth, an agreement in which He pledged Himself never again to visit the earth with a flood. So the rainbow appears as a complete circle around the throne, alongside all the judgments about to come from that throne upon the earth. It is as if to remind us that God would act according to the terms of that covenant. He will never forget the pledge He has given, and all the judgments of the great tribulation will not wipe it out.

The whole creation rests, as to its exemption from a second deluge, on the eternal stability of God's covenant, of which the bow is the token; and it is happy to bear in mind that when the bow appears, the eye of God rests upon it; and man is cast not upon his own imperfect and most uncertain memory, but upon God's. "I," says God, "will remember." How sweet to think of what God will, and what He will not remember! He will remember His own covenant, but He will not remember His people's sins.

If God has swept man away once in the judgment of the flood, then whatever the cloud may be, it declares again what He thinks of the first man. If mercy has shown itself and we are spared, we must still never forget that His estimate of what we are is on record, and that the same cloud bears witness to it again. And the bow in the cloud declares His faithfulness to His promise... We look at the cloud; God looks at the bow. What grace is here! He says, "When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it."

So God's goodness pledged immense comfort in the bow He set in the cloud. As a rule the bow only shows when there is rain, and only when the sun shines behind you from the opposite side of the sky. No sign could fit better. If the rain might stir up fear, the glorious bow had every right to calm it; for God Himself stooped to assure man of His unfailing covenant.

Genesis 9:8-11 give the covenant God established with mankind and every creature set under man: the largest covenant God ever made, and still subsisting under a merciful pledge that cannot fail.

Because of the sacrifice God established His covenant with Noah, his sons, their descendants after them, and with every living thing that was with them... So the earth and all connected with it shared in the benefits of the sacrifice. As far as the consequences of man's sin had reached on earth, so far the blessed results of the burnt offering would reach... The earth as well as man had a share in the covenant, and one day creation will rejoice in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.

The bow in the cloud is the sign, or token, of this covenant with creation. Under it the earth has continued to the present time, and it will continue all through the millennial (thousand-year) period. Then Christ will hand the kingdom over to the Father, and the heaven and the earth will pass away. They will give place to the new heaven and the new earth — the everlasting state — in which God will be all in all.

Here the rainbow is God's remembrance of His covenant with the earth... God is about to pour out judgments on the earth, and on those who had the responsibility of being His people. But He takes pains to show that, before a single judgment falls, there is mercy in store. Before He touches creation, there is the sign of His covenant with the earth... The rainbow was the witness that God had not let go of His ancient word: He could not forget it.

Genesis 9:8-11 give the covenant God established with mankind and with every creature set under man. It is the largest covenant God ever made, and it still holds good under a merciful pledge that cannot fail. Neither the one nor the other applied to the earth before the flood. In the verses that follow (12-17) God chooses to give a sign or token of His covenant with the earth.

This covenant made with Noah and all creation was unconditional. It was a covenant of promise, not depending on any faithfulness of the creature. It was something new. God's words about setting His bow in the cloud clearly imply that mankind had never seen a rainbow before.

At the very least, the words mean that God was now, since the flood, pleased to attach a new and merciful meaning to it. For men might well tremble after that terrible disaster. Dark clouds had covered the skies, the rain had fallen in torrents, and tidal waves had risen over everything.

So God's goodness pledged immense comfort in the bow He set in the cloud. As a rule you do not see it unless there is rain, of course. And you only see it when the sun shines brightly behind you, from the opposite side of the sky. No sign could be more appropriate. If the rain might awaken fears, the glorious bow was fit to calm them. In this way God Himself chose to assure man of His unfailing covenant.

Last of all, God ratifies the covenant and gives a token to confirm it. The bow in the cloud is man's assurance. But it is more. It is God's own memorial of the new relationship He has entered into with His creatures. His eye, and not man's only, is upon the bow. So He gives them fellowship with Himself in a sign that speaks of peace in the middle of trouble, and of light in the place of darkness.

Pure white light divides into seven distinct visible colours. They always appear in the same order, and each colour of the spectrum has a beauty of its own. This is a lovely picture of God's glory, for "God is light." Each colour stands for some particular aspect of God's many attributes: supremacy, power, authority, grace, righteousness, holiness, love, and others. So all the glory of God is involved in His promise that He will not again judge the world by means of a universal flood.

The Lord is now gathering a people for heaven. He is not filling the earth with glory yet, but gathering out a chosen family to have communion with Himself in heaven. Still He is mindful of His promise. He looks on the bow and preserves the earth. He keeps seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, day and night, summer and winter, in their fixed rounds and seasons.

The bow set in the cloud long ago, with its many colours and varied beauty, is the token of God's covenant with the earth. It is God's object lesson for the human race, a public sign hung out in the heavens so that all may see and learn that God is good. The last mention of the rainbow shows it over the head of the Lord, when in power He asserts His claim to the earth.