Bible Study - Promises to Count On (2) - Preservation - You Will Find Interesting - Genesis 9 - June 9, 2014

 

Bible Study – Promises to Count On (2) – Preservation – Genesis 9:1-13 – June 9, 2024

GOD promised to preserve HIS creation.

Our focus scripture is Genesis 9:1-13.

In last week’s study we explored from “In the beginning GOD to Adam and Eve Sinning and losing eternal life.” This week’s study focuses on GOD starting over with a remnant of humans – Noah, Noah’s wife, his three sons, his son’s wives, and the animals (air breathers) that GOD chose to be on the Ark. Aquatic life was secure.

There is an especially important verse recorded in Genesis 7:16: ¹⁶ Those which entered, male and female of all flesh (creatures), entered as God had commanded Noah; and the Lord closed the door behind him.

“GOD closed the door!”

Earth itself was as GOD desired for it to be. It was humankind that needed a reboot. GOD chose the family that would be the foundation for this new beginning of the human race and animal life.

Moses wrote Genesis under the direction of GOD. Moses recorded earth and man-kinds history before and after the great world-wide flood as revealed by GOD. GOD chose the Israelites (Hebrews) to carry out HIS redemptive plan through Shem.

The words that GOD led the Apostle Paul to write in his letter to the Ephesians, as recorded in Ephesians 1, are very insightful and reveals that all humans, living since the flood, came from one of Noah’s son and wife. GOD chose us to survive through human history. We are blessed by GOD but are we in GOD’S eternal Family through faith in JESUS? We had no choice in our physical birth, but all people have a choice in their Spiritual birth.

Let’s read Ephesians 1: ³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.^[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.^[d] 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the right time^[e]—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

¹¹ In him we have also received an inheritance,^[f] because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, ¹² so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.

¹³ In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. ¹⁴ The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR GRACE through our faith in JESUS. The law is firm and requires a blood sacrifice to atone for sin. Your gift of eternal life cost the precious, sinless life of JESUS.

Let’s read Genesis 9:1-19:

9 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. ² The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. ³ Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. ⁴ However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. ⁵ And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood;^[a] I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.

⁶ Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans his blood will be shed,
for God made humans in his image.

⁷ But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”

This is the same charge GOD gave Adam and Eve.

⁸ Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ⁹ “Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again 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 future generations: ¹³ I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. ¹⁶ The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”

Do you get excited when you see a rainbow? It is GOD’S covenant promise to humankind. Marriage is also a covenant between man, woman and in the presence of GOD.

Prophecies about Noah’s Family

¹⁸ Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Notice the order Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The common order is to list the eldest first to the youngest -- Using the typical birth order from the eldest to the youngest the order would be Japheth, Shem, Ham.

So, why is Shem listed first in the Bible? It is through Shem’s ancestral line from which JESUS came. Abraham was a descendant of Shem. Shem’s ancestral line traces back to Seth, Adam, and Eve’s son. Of course, Noah and all of his family ancestral line trace back to Adam and Eve.

[Note: Sources other than the Bible may list the order differently depending on a certain religion.]

Since Japheth, Shem and Ham and their wives are the source for new beginnings, what is their history?

In general Japheth and his descendants populated Europe, Ham’s descendants populated Africa and Shem’s descendants populated Asia. All started over time from Mount Ararat in Turkey where the ark came to rest and their ancestors populating and spreading over those land masses over centuries of time and modes of transportation. Keep in mind that there were land bridges then that are not visible to us today. Humans love to explore.

Let’s read Genesis 9:20-29:

²⁰ Noah, as a man of the soil, began by planting^[b] a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. ²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

²⁴ When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son (Ham) had done to him, ²⁵ he said:

Canaan is cursed.
He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.

²⁶ He also said:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
Let Canaan be^[c] Shem’s slave.
²⁷ Let God extend Japheth;^[d]
let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem;
let Canaan be Shem’s slave.

²⁸ Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹ So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.

Ham showed disrespect to his father when he went and told his brothers that their dad was naked. It is what it is. The action of Ham determined the sequence of future their family events.

Our ancestral lines came through one of Noah’s sons and have been preserved and kept safe until each of us are born. Life gives each of us the opportunity to be redeemed through GOD’S redemptive plan through faith in JESUS.

Do you recall what the Apostle Paul recorded in Ephesians 1: ⁴ For he (GOD) chose us in him (GOD), before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.^[c] 

We were chosen by GOD and our ancestral line survived the flood. We who exist today were secure and chosen by GOD to survive until born in the flesh. All humans have the freedom to choose eternal salvation through faith in JESUS. All humans today face another major life event, the second coming of JESUS.

Noah preached to those who were alive while he and his children were building this huge vessel in the middle of the desert where it didn’t rain.

If I were alive at that time, I would have been one to think Noah was some kind of nut.

It is like many of us today, we read in the Bible that in the final days JESUS is coming back to rapture the true church, its true believers, from earth. Dr. David Jeremiah calls it, “The Great Disappearance.”

How do most people respond to such information?

When GOD called Noah to build an ark, he had to trust GOD, which he did. How do we know that? He and his family built the ark and survived and guess what, so did all who are alive and have been since the great world-wide flood.

What a sight it must have been when all the animals began to come to the desert and go into the ark.

Noah building the ark reveals the trust and faith Noah and his family had in GOD to preserve the original origin of the human race through their obedience in GOD.

The sins of the human race were still an issue, disobedience toward GOD and HIS guidance. So, GOD in HIS wisdom, concluded it was time for a do-over for the human race. GOD’S do-over to populate earth was using humans who still carried the original ancestral qualities that were pleasing to HIM. Why? Because HIS redemptive plan was to be fulfilled and accomplished in future generations, which was to achieve HIS REDEMPTIVE PLAN OF ETERNAL Salvation through faith in JESUS. JESUS would be the perfect acceptable sacrifice for original sin. Thus, JESUS is the second Adam and HIS Passion restores eternal life to all who come to HIM believing that HE paid, in full, for all sin.

It is not complicated but placing one’s faith and trust in JESUS takes just that, trust, and a step of faith.

If you have never asked JESUS to come into your heart/life, cleansed you from all your sin and thanked HIM for saving you and establishing HIS presence in you by the indwelling Holy Spirit or miracle of being born-again, please do so now.

JESUS, GOD’S only SON willingly gave HIS sinless life to pay, in full, for sin by the shedding of HIS blood. Sin is individual and each person must ask for forgiveness.

The Bible is clear as written in Hebrews 9:22:
According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The key is that we must accept what JESUS did for us personally. JESUS gave HIS sinless life, by the shedding of HIS Blood, just for you and me to have eternal life! Redemption is individual and personal. Why? It is because sin is personal and individual!

Do you agree with GOD that you are a sinner and stand in the need of salvation? If so, ask JESUS to come into your life now, believing that JESUS willingly gave HIS sinless life, to pay for all your sins – past, present, and future - in full and ask JESUS to come into your heart, your inner most being where truth resides. When you do, thank JESUS for saving your soul, for HIM coming into your life as confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is your teacher and confirms the fact that you are in GOD’S eternal Family. Pray and ask GOD to lead you to a Bible teaching and active Church or Fellowship if you are not already in a fellowship.

Blessings!!!