Remsen Bible Fellowship, 02/04/2024
Introduction
If you get nothing else from this sermon, here is what I want you to walk away with: God always remembers his covenants, God is always faithful. And for that, we should praise him.
You may have come in this morning feeling like God has forgotten about you, you may doubt whether God is good. There may be circumstances in your life that seem insurmountable, and you don’t see how God could provide salvation. But brothers and sisters, hear me: God sees, God knows, God remembers.
Last week we left off at the end of Genesis 7. At that point God had not only promised to judge the earth for sin, but he had called Noah, told him that he would enter into covenant with him, and given him instructions to build an ark large enough to house not only his family, but also to carry two of each kind of animal, and food enough for those people and animals to last for a year. Noah obeyed these instructions from God, and that turned out to be salvation for his family: God’s word of judgment held true, and the waters of the flood buried the earth, washing away all human and animal life. Only those inside the ark were saved. At the end of chapter seven, Noah and his family have been in the ark for five months. Today, we’ll pick up the reading in Genesis chapter 8 v1.
Read the Text
Explanation
I know we just read the text, but it is pretty lengthy, so let me recap what we just read. There are several things worth noting. The first, which we’ll come back to, is the fact that God remembers Noah and all the people and animals with him. Because of this, he sends a wind that starts the process of the waters subsiding. The flood language is used now in reverse, as the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven, which had been opened up and burst forth (7:11), are now restrained and closed up (8:2). This period lasts another five months, though - an excruciatingly long time for Noah & co, you would have to think. But then toward the end he begins sending out birds - first a raven, then a dove three times over. First, she finds no place to land, and returns. The second time, she returns, but with an olive branch. And finally, she doesn’t return at all, and Noah knows that it must be dry. Noah and his family spent, all told, one year and ten days on the ark before God tells them (8:15ff) to disembark.
When they do so, Noah wastes no time in making ready sacrifices of every clean animal which they had brought with them. These sacrifices were pleasing to the Lord, and in the verses that follow we read of the intentions of God’s heart - to never again curse the ground in this way. He chooses rather, to show forbearance to humanity, though every thought of man’s heart is evil from his youth (8:21). As you enter chapter 9, the original creation blessing of Genesis 1 is re-issued, with Noah and his sons being told to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:1).
We also have some lines that might seem strange: the permission to eat meat (9:2-3), and the introduction of capital punishment. The principle at play in both is that the shedding of blood is a serious matter - the life of the animal is symbolized by its blood, and so even though humanity is permitted to eat meat after the flood, it must be from animals that have been properly bled-out. This would seem to prohibit certain pagan cultural practices of eating or drinking blood.
The blood of man is on another level, altogether, though. To shed man’s blood is to attack the image of God, and to therefore bring upon yourself the punishment of death. For this to be carried out without simply having constant feuds and revenge killings necessitates the forming of civil governments, and so many commentators here see the first institution of government (I think a good argument can be made that the family, built upon marriage, is actually the first government, but that’s not important for this sermon).
And the final section, 9:8-17, deals with the covenant God made between himself and all of creation. This is often called the Noahic covenant, because obviously the human representative for mankind (and all the creatures) was Noah. God promised to never destroy the earth by flood again, and he hung the rainbow in the clouds as a sign and seal of that covenant. Within this discussion of covenant are numerous mentions of God remembering, which harkens back to 8:1, with the references to God’s remembrance bracketing the passage.
So, that’s all very interesting - Noah got off the boat, and God promised not to flood us all out again - but, other than that one reassurance, what does this text have to do with us today?
God remembers
I’ve noted already that this text is bracketed with references to God remembering. Why is that significant?
Try to put yourself in the shoes of Noah, or his wife, or their sons or their wives. One year and ten days is a long time to be on a boat with the same 7 human companions. I don’t know what their method of composting or disposing of waste was, but I imagine it probably started to smell pretty bad in there. That’s a lot of animals to care for. That’s a lot of “quality time” with the family. And there was just so. much. water. For 150 days the boat is tossing about on the seas which covered the earth - probably not fun. But then it came to rest for more than 150 days more - was it level? We don’t know. That could have created its own issues.
It seems like the sort of circumstance where one could start to feel pretty jaded about one’s circumstances. I wonder if you can relate to that this morning? I doubt, unless you spent time in the Navy, that you’ve even been in a boat for anything approaching that amount of time. Certainly none of us have been part of the only 8 people left on earth. Nonetheless, there are times when you might feel that God has forgotten about you. It could be medical problems that just keep compounding, or changing. It could be a painful relationship with a family member that you can’t seem to fix, no matter how hard you try. It might be a work situation where your boss is seemingly impossible to deal with. It might be a struggle against sin where you just seem to keep losing and losing and losing.
Do you feel forgotten this morning? Friends, hear the words of this text: God remembered Noah. He put Noah in that boat. And while it could be easy for Noah to forget while shoveling yet another steaming pile of elephant waste, that ark was the ark of God’s salvation for him. God placed him there as an act of grace.
Wherever you are this morning, whatever you are struggling with, God knows where you are. He sees you. He remembers you. How could Noah be sure that God remembered him? What would Noah have to hold onto? The words of God in Genesis 6:15: “I will establish my covenant with you.”
Noah could be sure that God would be there, that God would remember, and that God would save: not because Noah deserved it, but because God had bound himself to Noah by a covenant.
God remembers his covenant (and his covenant people)
That covenant is spelled out more clearly after Noah and his family have exited the ark. I mentioned last week that this word, “covenant”, was of central importance to understanding the Bible clearly. Some people compare covenants to contracts, but they really are more than that. In the ancient near east, a covenant was a legally binding agreement between two parties. Covenants included stipulations for both parties, and were often “cut” in blood - that is, sacrifices were made, the bodies of those sacrifices split in two, and the parties would pass through the broken bodies, symbolizing that if they failed to uphold their end of the bargain, their lives would become like those of the split open animals. We see an example of this in Genesis 15 where God has Abram cut animals in two, and then God himself (made visibly manifest by a smoking pot and flaming torch) passed between the broken bodies, committing himself to Abram and his family.
Theologian Wayne Grudem gives this definition of a biblical covenant: “A covenant in an unchangeable, divinely imposed legal agreement between God and man that stipulates the conditions of their relationship.” God imposes these covenants upon humanity: he promises blessing for those who engage in covenant relationship with him, but he also gives stipulations for what recipients of the covenants must do. Most covenants are also given a symbol.
So when we take these lenses and look at the passage before us, we see these elements. What is the promise God makes? To never again destroy the entire world by flood. Unlike other covenants in Scripture, which only give blessings to those who submit to the terms of the covenant, this blessing and promise is poured out unconditionally for all of humanity, and for all of time. It is given to all future generations (9:12), and it is an everlasting covenant (9:16).
We can tell it is unconditional, because unlike the covenant with Abraham which required the ritual act of circumcising all sons, or the New covenant sign of baptism for believers - actions performed for and by human beings - in Genesis 9:13, 14, & 16, God gives his “bow in the clouds” as a sign for all to see and know that God will not destroy the earth by waters again. Not only is it a sign for humanity, it’s a sign which God himself recognizes as a binding symbol of promise: v15, “I will remember”, v16, “I will see it and remember.”
It’s worth noting that the word “remember” does not mean God would otherwise forget, like he was a hapless old grandpa who needed some notes in the sky. Rather, that language points to the deep care and attention given by God the Father for those who are his, those with whom he has made covenant.
This is good news for those, not only who are creatures on this earth and thus beneficiaries of the Noahic covenant, but especially for all who have placed their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. Being safe from a literal flood isn’t much hope if you are still destined for an eternity separated from God because of your sin. But if you will turn from your sin, agree with God that your sins deserve death, and trust in Christ Jesus as your only sufficient savior, then you are brought into the new covenant made in his blood (Luke 22:20). This covenant, too, has signs. The sign of baptism visibly marks entry into the covenant community. And then that place is marked visibly each time we take the Lord’s supper together, the covenant meal of the people of God. These symbols aren’t just rituals done because “it’s the thing to do.” Rather, we participate in these signs to obey the Lord Jesus who instituted them, and furthermore, to remind ourselves that he remembers us. He has claimed us as his own, named us in baptism with the Triune Name, and now we celebrate that his sacrifice makes us family as we eat of the one loaf representing his one body broken for many. When we take communion later in the service, realize that this is a time to be reminded of the great salvation which Jesus accomplished by his broken body and shed blood, and receive the bread and cup as tangible reminders that he claims you as his own and will never leave you nor forsake you. Receive the spiritual nourishment of being known and remembered by your Savior.
Which brings us to our final point.
God remembers his covenant, and his covenant people should respond with grateful sacrifice
What did Noah do when he and his family exited the ark? Did he try to get as far from the ark as possible? No. He stopped and built an altar. 8:20, “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” We learn in the following verse that the “LORD smelled the pleasing aroma.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled burning hide and hair and animal viscera - but it is not what I would generally describe as a “pleasing aroma.” Does the Lord love the smell of death and burning? What is going on in this verse?
First, we should note that Noah had been told ahead of time to bring seven pairs of each type of clean animal, and each type of bird (7:2-3). It does not explicitly say, but we can guess that Noah would realize the need for these extra animals was to provide enough animals to offer sacrifices to the Lord. The wages of sin is death; but ever since the garden, there had been animals ritually sacrificed in the place of human beings. Their blood was meant to cover the guilt and the shame of sinful man.
We aren’t told explicitly what Noah’s motivation was when he built this altar. We are simply told that he built the altar to the Lord and offered sacrifices thereon. But if we set it in context, I think it becomes fairly obvious. Noah had just lived through the most visible demonstration of 6:23 that the world has ever seen: the wages of sin is death - and the whole world’s debt was called due at once. Though Noah was a righteous and upright man who walked with God, better than twelve months on a boat with all your family would provide plenty of opportunities to realize how sinful you all still are. And so he offered sacrifice for his sin, and he praised the Lord for his deliverance and salvation. This was fitting and right to do, and these sacrifices which came from a repentant and thankful heart were pleasing to the Lord.
How can we offer such sacrifices to God today?
First, we should recognize that we can’t offer sacrifices for sin. That might sound like bad news, but it’s really the best news in the world: you can’t make a sacrifice for your sin and you don’t need to. We see this made clear in Hebrews 10:4, “4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” But the good news comes later, down in verses 10 and fourteen: 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” The Old sacrifices had to be made over and over and over. Jesus offered himself once. And that sacrifice endures forever. It cannot - and need not - be repeated.
Those who have been covered by the blood of Jesus are God’s covenant people, he has remembered us, and we should be grateful. How can we express that gratitude to him? I’m going quickly list seven ways the Bible gives us to offer acceptable sacrifice to the Lord:
Repent and turn from your sins. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). As soon as you recognize a sin, stop. Repent to the Lord, confessing in prayer.
Cling joyfully to the promises of God for those who do repent. The main promise is this: he forgives you. “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Just two verses earlier, we are told that it is on the basis of Jesus’ blood that such forgiveness comes.
Offer the sacrifice of praise. “15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:15). Practically, this means to sing in church - lift your voice in praise.
Financially give to the church and other ministries. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:12 that financial giving is a ministry overflowing with thanksgiving to God. He has blessed you with what you need; give back to his work as an expression of gratitude.
Help the needy around you: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16).
Tell others how God has worked in your life. “With my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 89:1).
Offer your whole self to God: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). Everything about your life should be turned toward God. God doesn’t want a little piece off in the Sunday morning corner of your life. He wants all of you.
Conclusion
Friends, this text is full of hope for our lives today. Noah and all the creatures on the ark were remembered by God, because God had made a covenant with them. God will not forget his covenants or the people of his covenants. If you have trusted in Jesus Christ, he has brought you into the new covenant and given you forgiveness and eternal life through the blood of his son, Jesus. You have received a salvation even greater than what Noah and his family experienced.
And so, like Noah, offer sacrifice to the Lord. Give to him, not to curry favor or to put him in your debt, but to express gratitude for the greatness of his mercy.
Responding to God's Salvation