The promise and the warning
Our focus in this post will be on Genesis 9:8–17. There is much we can observe from the word “covenant” in this passage. The term “covenant” is found seven times in Genesis 9:8–17. God established the Noahic Covenant with Noah and his offspring. That would include us since we’re all descendants of the people on the ark. The covenant details were that all flesh would never be cut off by the waters of a flood because there would never be another worldwide flood again. The Noahic Covenant’s sign is the rainbow. Every time God sees the rainbow, he remembers that everlasting covenant that he made with all of humanity after the flood. The Noahic Covenant is an unconditional one that does not depend on human obedience. This is evident because God repeatedly says that the bow is for his remembrance that he has hung up his weapon after warring against humanity. That is not to say that we should get nothing from seeing the rainbow just because God is doing it for himself. If anything, that should make us feel even better because the rainbow is not warning us that God could do this again. God’s reminder to himself shows us how important it is for him to keep his word, his covenant with us.
Let us not read into this something that is not there, though. The Noahic Covenant does not mean that God will never destroy the earth again. All he said was that henceforth all flesh shall not be rooted out by the waters of a flood. 2 Peter 3:10–13 warns that the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day, the heavens will pass away with a loud noise. The very elements will disintegrate in heat. The earth and all that is in it will be burnt up to nothing. Seeing then that all these things will be dissolved, Peter exhorts us to display holy behavior and godliness. He says we should actually look forward to that day when God will set the heavens on fire, and the heavenly bodies melt, disappearing in flames. That might sound like something we would want to avoid rather than looking forward to. But when that happens, we know that coming right behind it is New Heavens and New Earth, where there will be only goodness.
Let that be your application, your takeaway from this post. We are not called to just sit around and speculate on the timing of the Rapture and the subsequent events that will lead to what I just talked about in 2 Peter 3. We are to heed this warning by living our lives in light of its eventual reality. We do this by displaying holy behavior and godliness in our daily lives. Allow the imminent return of Jesus to govern the choices you make today.
