This is the first time I've posted my SOAP, I was actually going to skip over this one because as I initially read through it, I thought to myself, I don't see how I'm going to really learn anything from this. Believe it or not this happens to me a lot. But when I discovered the gospel in this passage I decided I probably ought to put it up here. You can't hear the gospel too many times, ya know.
Observations:
- Context: Because of the corruption of "all flesh", God has just sent a flood to destroy life on the earth. God chose a righteous remnant in Noah and his family and the accompanying animals through whom to repopulate the Earth. God now blesses Noah and his descendants, reiterating to them the blessings and exhortations he gave to man at creation (providing food, "be fruitful and multiply"). Finally, God establishes his covenant with all life that never again will all life/the earth be destroyed by the waters of the flood.
- "Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you." God requires no stipulations on the part of creation. He is making this promise to us. He requires nothing from us, and there is nothing that we can do to break this covenant, forfeiting the promise.
- "Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." There are two aspects to the promise. In Genesis 3, after the sin of man, God explains the consequences of their sin. Both mankind and the earth suffer the consequences of sin. Later, in Genesis 6, God says "I have determined to make an end to all flesh . . . Behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Presumably, as a result of sin entering the world, the earth and all flesh have become so corrupt that God determines to "blot" them both out. Yet after the flood, in chapter 8, God says, "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though the inclination of his heart is evil from his youth." In this covenant God is promising to us that, even though we are still sinful, he has purified what we have defiled.
- "This is a guarantee [sign] of the covenant I am making with you . . . I will place my bow in the clouds." The sign of a covenant serves a few different purposes. First, it is a guarantee as the New English Translation puts it. This is similar to the signing of a contract today. The sign of the contract is the signature. The signature guarantees that the contract is agreed to and will be kept. In the same way, God guarantees that he will keep the promises he makes to Noah by placing his rainbow in the clouds. In a way, his rainbow is his signature on this contract or covenant. Insofar as the sign represents a signature which guarantees that both parties agree to and will keep the contract/covenant, it is interesting that God does not require Noah (or all living things) to "sign" the covenant. This goes to show that the covenant which God is making is a promise, not a contract. God requires nothing from Noah (or all living things). Secondly, the sign also serves as a reminder to both parties, of the stipulations of the covenant. God says that when the rainbow appears, he will remember his covenant with Noah and with all living things. But the rainbow does not just remind God, it also reminds creation. Interestingly, God sets his "bow" in the "clouds". There is a lot of imagery behind these two words, particularly since they're being used together. The word for "rainbow" in this passage is qeshet. It's the same Hebrew word that's used to refer to a hunter's bow or a warrior's bow. There is a sense of judgment associated with the bow of God. The same can be said for the use of "clouds". Clouds often accompany God's intervening presence in this world. Clouds are often mentioned in the theophany accounts. They are also used extensively when God describes impending judgment. If clouds provoked the idea of judgment for the Hebrews, then there is much significance in God placing the reassuring sign of his covenant in the "clouds" of judgment.
- The flood story is a beautiful foreshadowing of baptism. In this baptism of the flood, sin and corruption are figuratively blotted out. Noah points to Christ in this story. Had God not preserved a remnant of humanity in Noah, all humanity would have perished in the flood. But God provides a Savior in the time of judgment. My Savior is Christ. It is in him that I am sheltered from the flood of God's judgment. And now that judgment has fallen on Christ, those who find their salvation in him may share in his promises. And so in this story we see that "all flesh" which found their salvation in the ark also share in the promises God makes to Noah.
- When I think about God, I think about Christ, and when I think about Christ, I think about what man was supposed to be. I am a sinner, I always have been. It's difficult to take an honest look at my sin, not just my sins, but that SNAFU within me that drives me to sin. In part, it's difficult because the very sin that I am trying to take an honest look at actually skews my vision. It hides just how disgusting and heinous the sin within me is. Or maybe it's God's grace that keeps me from seeing how utterly jacked-up sin has rendered me. Maybe if I saw my sin in all its (what's the opposite of glory?) I would find my condition so incredibly corrupt that I would be tempted to doubt the sufficiency of what Christ has done for me.
- It's good for me to take time to notice my sin. There are a lot of preachers out there who want to downplay sin or ignore it all together because they think it will bring people down and make them feel hopeless and depressed. They want to be encouraging and uplifting. That's great, but I think it's misguided. The genius of the gospel is in how it is a bridge between the two. I regularly listen to a podcast called Issues, Etc. In a discussion of this sort, the host mentioned that until you preach the law in all of its sternness, you can't preach the gospel in all of it's glory. The idea is that until we're given a proper picture of what sin is and who we are as sinners, we cannot fully appreciate what Christ did for us. It is very scary to submit to the condemnation of the law, but if I do, I know that there is good news on the other side. Christ's life and death was more than enough to rescue me from that condemnation, but if I don't realize what I'm being rescued from, how can I fully appreciate what Christ has done?
The Gospel According to Genesis 9:8-17
When the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinful condition, we see that we are unrighteous. We face the judgment of God's law. And so we see the storm clouds of the law gathering to bring judgment upon us, but we need not hide from them. We can look right into them and see the sign of his covenant, the cross. When we see the cross, we can know that God sent his Son to live the life that we were supposed to live. When we see the cross we can know that God sent his Son to take the judgment that we have earned. When we see the cross, we can know that while Jesus lived that perfect life, we were in him. And when he died that death that we earned for ourselves, we were also in him. Judgment has come, but it has come to Christ on our behalf. He faced the waters of the flood in our place, and he offers his to us his life in exchange for ours.
No comments:
Post a Comment