The Noahic Covenant, which is also called the Covenant with Noah, is the covenantal promise of God not to destroy the world again with water. For clarification, a covenant is a pact or an agreement between two or more parties. Biblically speaking, covenants have signs that represent them. The sign of the Noahic covenant is the rainbow.
Genesis 9:11–13, “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.”
Furthermore, the rainbow was a reminder to God so that he would remember the everlasting covenant that he made with all the flesh of the earth (Genesis 9:16). Of course, the rainbow serves to remind us as well about the promise that God made.
Included in this covenant was the stipulation that Noah was to build the ark and God would bring in two of every kind of animal to keep them alive.
Genesis 6:18–20, “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.”
After the flood was completed and Noah and his family left the ark, Noah offered a burnt offering to the Lord and God promised not to ever again destroy every living thing
Genesis 8:20–21, “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.”
The Noahic covenant is a one-sided covenant in that God is who initiated it, establish it, carried it out, and designated the covenant sign. But what is different about the covenant with Noah from other biblical covenants, is that it also includes the whole earth (Genesis 9:13) and every living creature (Genesis 9:10, 12, 15, 16).
Why did God make the covenant with Noah?
The reason God decided to destroy the world via the flood was because of the great wickedness of mankind at that time.
Genesis 6:5–7, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
Miscellaneous Info
One of the things that a lot of people miss about the ark into which Noah entered, is that it is a type of Christ. Please consider the following.
- The Ark was a gracious act of God that saved Noah and his family. Jesus’ death on the cross is a gracious act of God that saves those who trust in him.
- Those who were in the ark were saved from the wrath of God. Those who are in Christ are also saved from the wrath of God.
- There was only one door on the ark (Gen. 6:16). Jesus is the one door to salvation (John 10:9).
- Those who entered into the door of the ark were saved. Those who enter through Christ are saved (John 10:9)
- Eight people were in Noah’s Ark. The gematria of “Jesus Christ” is 888.
- The flood which was a judgment upon the wicked was unexpected. So too, the return of Christ in his judgment will be unexpected.
