The Noahic covenant is God’s oath after the flood,
with the earth and every living thing.
I establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood,
and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
I have set my bow in the cloud,
and it shall be a sign of the covenant.
While the earth remains,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night,
shall not cease.
The Flood has passed. Noah’s Ark is empty. Noah builds an altar, and the Lord smells the offering and speaks. He will not again curse the ground in that way, or strike down every living thing as He has done. The oath is not only with Noah. It is with his offspring, and with every beast, and with the earth. The bow in the cloud is the sign God says He will see and remember.
- God blesses Noah and his sons: be fruitful and multiply. Life on the earth is under a pledged order, not a temporary pause.
- Blood is named. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His image. The oath and the dignity of the image travel together.
- This covenant is not the promise of a seed who blesses the nations. That comes to Abraham. This one keeps the stage standing so that later oath can be kept.
Isaiah can appeal to it: as He swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so He swears concerning His steadfast love. Peter says the world that then existed was deluged and perished, and the heavens and earth now stored up for fire are kept by the same word. The bow does not mean judgment is retired. It means this judgment, by water over all flesh, will not be repeated.
The bow is for God to see,
and remember.
Seedtime and harvest remain,
until the word that keeps them is done.
- The oath is with all flesh, not only with Israel. It is older than Abraham.
- Never again by flood is specific. It is not a promise that God will never judge.
- The bow is God’s reminder to Himself, spoken so Noah can trust it.
- Image of God and the ban on murder sit inside this covenant.
- Seasons are pledged while the earth remains. Common grace has an oath under it.
- Isaiah uses the waters of Noah as the pattern of a greater steadfast love.
- Peter keeps the flood in view and points to a judgment by fire, not another worldwide water.
- The Parties – God, Noah, his offspring, every living creature, the earth.
- The Oath – Never again will all flesh be cut off by a flood.
- The Sign – The bow in the cloud, which God will see and remember.
- The Order – Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, day and night.
- The Image – Blood required, because man is made in God’s image.
- The Limit – This judgment by water will not be repeated.
- The Later Word – Steadfast love sworn in the same key; fire still ahead.
- Genesis 8:21-22 – “I will never again curse the ground because of man… Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
- Genesis 9:1-6 – “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth… Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
- Genesis 9:9-11 – “I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature… never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
- Genesis 9:13-16 – “I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth… I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant.”
- Isaiah 54:9 – “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.”
- 2 Peter 3:6-7 – “The world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment.”
Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant. I will see it and remember.
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest shall not cease.
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image.
As I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn.
The world that then existed was deluged and perished. By the same word the heavens and earth now exist are stored up for fire.
Trust the bow for what He promised. He will not cover the earth with water again. Do not hear that as a promise that He never judges. Seedtime remains by oath. The later oath is the Son. The word that kept the ark still keeps the day.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.