Genesis 9 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Genesis 9:1-7

1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

4 ‘But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

6 ‘Whoever sheds human blood,
    by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
    has God made mankind.

7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.’

A. Find Out:

1. What original command did God now repeat? v.1
2. How did the relationship of humans to animals now change? v.3
3. How did God’s provision for man now change? v.3
4. What constraint did He put on it? v.4
5. How did the Lord provide a “You must NOT”? v.5
6. What was the reason for that? v.6

B. Think:

1. Why would the animals now fear man?
2. Why do you think they had to eat meat only without its blood in?
3. How is who man is, important in terms of what may or may not happen to him?

C. Comment:

This is almost a restarting of the world. Twice in this passage God gives them the original command to populate the earth (v.1,7). No longer are they only to be vegetarians but now they may eat the meat of animals (v.3). Perhaps the original injunction to eat only that which has grown on plants was to keep any form of violence off the earth.

Now violence has come and sin is inherent in man. Nevertheless, God doesn’t want them to eat meat with blood in it (v.4). Throughout Scripture blood is a sign of the life of a creature and the Lord wants that life respected. Meat eating is now acceptable but not with the abandonment of the respect for life.

In line with this, the Lord then gives a warning that taking a human life will result in further life being taken as well, whether by vengeance or in justice is not specified (v.5,6). Man is important because he is made in the image of God and to kill man is to violate that. Life is to be respected, especially man’s life. This passage is therefore especially significant in the light of today’s casual “respect” for life.

D. Application?

1. Ask the Lord today to help you be a respecter of life, especially of other people.
2. Thank Him that every person is important because there is something of God’s likeness in them.

Passage: Genesis 9:8-17

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 ‘I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’

12 And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’

17 So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.’

A. Find Out:

1. Who did God’s covenant first cover? v.9
2. But what else did it also cover? v.10
3. What did He promise? v.11
4. How long would it last? v.12
5. What sign did he choose? v.13
6. How would it work? v.16

B. Think:

1. How many times is the word “covenant” used in this passage?
2. What should have been the effect of that covenant by God upon Noah?
3. What does the fact that God will need reminding imply? (NOT that He forgets!)

C. Comment:

Eight times in the statement by God, He uses the word “covenant”. (v.8,11,12,12,13,15,16,17). Eight is the number of resurrection or new life in the Bible and here that is exactly what is happening. God is promising a new start for the earth free from the fear of God’s judgement coming again.

The early inhabitants of the earth so turned to evil that mass destruction was necessary. Although there are likely to be further times when God will wonder whether He should destroy, because of evil that comes like a plague, He has determined, and made that determination public by this covenant, that He will not destroy in the same manner ever again.

“Covenant” here is really a one-sided agreement by God with Himself. It is the first of a number of covenants that God makes through the Bible. It should have brought Noah (and us) comfort and assurance that he need not fear similar destruction. Perhaps the rainbow and certainly the words of this passage are more for our benefit than for God’s, for we can now rest secure and at peace.

D. Application?

1. Thank the Lord that we have the assurance from Him of a life free from the fear of universal destruction.
2. Thank Him today for the provision of this world for your enjoyment.

Passage: Genesis 9:18-29

18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backwards and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

‘Cursed be Canaan!
    The lowest of slaves
    will he be to his brothers.’

26 He also said,

‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!
    May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth’s territory;
    may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
    and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.’

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

A. Find Out:

1. What did Noah set out to do next? v.20
2. Why did this seem not a good idea? v.21
3. How did Ham react when he saw his father? v.22
4. How did his brothers react? v.23
5. How did Noah respond to Ham? v.24,25
6. How did he respond to the other two sons? v.26,27

B. Think:

1. How does Noah illustrate how one wrong move can lead to a series of other wrongs?
2. How does Ham illustrate the wrong way to respond to other’s misfortunes?
3. What did Noah obviously understand about curses and blessings?

C. Comment:

Noah, the only righteous man on earth, who has just been saved by the grace of God, unwisely plants a vineyard (v.20). All right if you can control the effects of alcohol, but why get into a possibly dangerous situation to start with. He ends up undressed in a drunken sleep (v.21) and when Ham sees his father he goes out, obviously joking about him (v.22). There is no respect in Ham’s actions or attitude (Read Ephesians 6:2)

Shem and Japheth have an entirely different attitude and respect their father and will not join in his downfall. They, instead, respectfully cover him up without looking at him (v.23). What an example of righteous behavior by these two sons!

When Noah awakes (v.24), realizes what has happened, questions his sons and finds out their actions and attitudes, he places a curse on Ham’s descendants (v.25). He clearly believed in the power of curse and blessing. What he said came true. Canaan was later to be put in subjection to Israel, a descendant of Shem

D. Application?

1. Stop any activity which can lead on to a series of wrongs.
2. Will I expose others’ weaknesses or help cover them with Jesus’ love and righteousness?

 Additional Note: The Flood

With the story of the flood come a number of problems. It is to face those problems that this additional note is provided.

1. Extent of the Flood?

  There are basically two likely possibilities here:

a) The Entire Globe was covered

• there are sediment signs in many parts of the world- this may, however, raise other difficulties in respect of other ancient civilizations (although many have reference to a flood in their history) and lack of uniformity in the fossil record

b) A limited area was covered

•   this is acceptable if the words “the earth” in 7:17 -23 are taken not to mean “the planet” but simply “the surface of the ground”, meaning the entire area was covered
•   the entire heavens in 7:19 would need to be taken to mean the entire area under consideration, presumably Mesopotamia.
•  the point of God restarting the earth because of the wickedness across the earth is somewhat negated if this view is held.

2. Biblical Fact

      Arguments will continue between Christians as to which of the above views is correct. What is the important question for most people is not about fossil theory but whether they will simply believe it as historical fact – however it happened!   The Bible is quite clear on that.

• In Isa 54:9 the prophetic word through Isaiah from God referred specifically to Noah.
• Jesus himself referred to Noah’s day as an historical event in Matthew 24:37-39.
• Peter also refers to the flood in 1 Peter 3:20 and 2 Peter 3:6
• while the “gallery of faith” in Hebrews also speaks of Noah as a man of faith (Hebrews 11:7) 

The Bible is quite clear, therefore, that it was an event in history whereby God condemned mankind but at the same time saved it by the faith of one man. Now where have we heard that scenario before? Praise the Lord that that is the very scenario of salvation through Jesus Christ!