V1-17
God gave Noah instructions for living in the land after the flood. Then he made a covenant with Noah never to destroy all living things again by a flood. He put a rainbow in the sky, the sign of his covenant.
The Hebrew word for (my) covenant in verse 9 is בְּרִיתִ֖י (bə·rî·ṯî) from the noun בְּרִית (berith) which means agreement, league, covenant (the root word means to cut, to eat, to choose, select).
Be fruitful and increase in number (v1)
This verse echoes Genesis 1:28, where God spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. God sent the flood and gave Noah and his family a fresh start.
by humans shall their blood be shed (v6)
God said that the penalty for shedding human blood was the shedding of human blood.
Philippians 2:6-8 says that Jesus, “being in very nature God,” came to earth as a human, “being made in human likeness.” He died in our place, “becoming obedient to death … on a cross!”
God’s ultimate solution to our sin was to become a human so that he could take the penalty for our sin by shedding his own blood.
I now establish my covenant with you (v9)
Genesis introduces the concept of covenant.
In Genesis 9:9-11, God made a covenant with Noah, his descendants and all living creatures. He promised that he would never again destroy all life with a flood.
In Genesis chapters 15 and 17, God made a covenant with Abram to give him the land, increase his numbers, and make him a father of many nations.
This is the sign of the covenant (v12)
The sign of the covenant that God made with Noah was the rainbow.
The sign of the covenant that God made with Abram was circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14).
The covenant God made with Noah was a one-way promise. Noah did not have to do anything in return.
The covenant God made with Abram was a two-way agreement. Abram’s descendants were required to circumcise all their male children, or they would break the covenant.
V18-29
Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk. His son Ham acted disrespectfully towards him, but the other two did not.
The Hebrew word for covered in verse 23 is וַיְכַסּ֕וּ (way·ḵas·sū) from the verb כָּסָה (kasah), which means to cover, conceal, to cover over, to be pardoned, to put on, to hide.
he became drunk (v21)
Noah came out of the ark into a place of freedom. He was now able to grow grapes. However, he made the mistake of drinking too much wine.
When we come into the kingdom of God, we are set free from our past. Grace gives us freedom, but if we use that freedom to indulge ourselves too much, there will be consequences.
covered their father’s naked body (v23)
First of all, I want to say that there are times when we should speak out against sin. Crimes, such as child abuse, should never be covered over.
However, in this instance, Noah made a mistake and got drunk. One son exposed him to ridicule, but the others covered his nakedness.
When other people make mistakes, do you go out and gossip about them? Do you treat other people’s problems as a soap opera, a spectacle to be watched, or as something to be covered over and forgiven?
When people become Christians, they do not become perfect. People still make mistakes, especially at first. We should help them to learn from their mistakes rather than ridicule them.
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