Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 9:8 - 9:17

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 9:8 - 9:17


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The Rainbow a Token of the Covenant

v. 8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,


v. 9. And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your seed after you,


v. 10. and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you, from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
The Lord here addresses both Noah and his sons, although the latter occupied a subordinate position. He established, set up, confirmed, a covenant, by giving the promise of the covenant, of the realization of future happiness. Not only with Noah, his sons, and their descendants did God establish this league, but also with the irrational beasts, especially those that had found refuge in the ark, with all animate beings over whom He had given them dominion, whether birds, or mammals, or any other beings on the earth.

v. 11. And I will establish My covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
This is the resolution which God had determined upon within Himself, Gen_8:21, which He now made known to man as His covenant: there should be no new destruction to cut off all flesh in a sudden catastrophe; the end of the earth should not be brought about through a deluge, to cause the universe to perish.

v. 12. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:


v. 13. I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth.
In confirmation of His words God gave to man a special token, or sign, for everlasting generations, to last as long as the earth stands. This token was to be a reminder of the covenant which the Lord now established between Himself and all living beings. It is the rainbow, God's bow, which is the sign of His covenant. He did set it in the rain-clouds, thus establishing that law of nature which causes the refraction of the light-rays when they pass through drops of water.

v. 14. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud;


v. 15. and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

v. 16. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
In speech which is modeled strongly after that of men, and by a repetition of thought which emphasizes the bow and the covenant of God and the relation between the two again and again, the Lord impresses the significance of His act upon Noah and his sons. Whenever dark clouds do arise for a rainstorm on the earth, and whenever this beautiful phenomenon of the rainbow appears, then God has given His promise to remember His eternal covenant not to destroy all living flesh with another flood.

v. 17. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Whenever we see the rainbow in the clouds, we should remember the covenant of God toward all flesh, the fact that He-is at peace with His creatures, so far as their outward existence is concerned. The token of God's covenant with which He has connected His promises really guarantees His goodness and grace, possessing power and significance not only for men, but also before God. Every appearance of the rainbow should cause a prayer of thanksgiving to arise to our lips, praising the goodness and mercy of God. It may be remarked in this connection that the changing of the laws of nature indicates that the atmosphere and the climate of the earth before the Flood must have differed materially from that which now obtains, an assumption which is sustained by biological discoveries during the last centuries.