Dictionary of Bible Themes  »  1000 God  »  1300 God, work of  »  1345 covenant  »  1347 covenant, God's with Noah

God's confirmation of, and commitment to maintain, his relationship with the natural order- implicit in the act of creation- whereby he promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood. This divine pledge, given unconditionally to Noah and to every living creature on earth, was accompanied by the sign of the rainbow.

The occasion of the covenant

The flood as divine judgment

Genesis 6:17 See also Genesis 6:5-7,11-13; 2 Peter 2:5

God's promise of salvation to Noah and his family

Genesis 6:18 See also Genesis 7:23; Genesis 8:1,15-17; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20

God's promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood

Genesis 9:11 See also Genesis 8:21; Isaiah 54:9

The sign of the covenant

Genesis 9:13 See also Genesis 9:14-17

A universal covenant

God's relationship with every living creature

Genesis 9:8-10 See also Genesis 7:1-3; Ezekiel 34:25; Hosea 2:18; Zechariah 11:10

God's relationship with the natural order

Genesis 8:22; Jeremiah 33:25-26 God's relationship with the created order is here expressed as a covenant. It is probable that this is a reference to the Noahic covenant through which the implicit relationship between Creator and creation was confirmed. See also Genesis 1:14,31-2:1; Psalm 74:16-17; Jeremiah 5:24; Jeremiah 33:20-21

An everlasting covenant

Genesis 9:16 See also Genesis 9:12

Isaiah 24:5 The reference here is to the Noahic covenant. Though this covenant was unconditional, the prohibition of bloodshed--often described as bringing pollution to the land--was associated with it. There may be, also, a wider reference to the effects of mankind's disregard for the norms laid down at creation. See also Genesis 9:6; Numbers 35:33; Isaiah 26:21

See also

4005  creation
4845  rainbow
5106  Noah
5467  promises, divine
7203  ark, Noah's
7227  flood, the