If you’re new here, you might want to go back and listen to the Introduction episode, so you can get the gist of what this podcast is all about and my hope for our time together.
But this is a place where we set everything down, read some scripture, and listen to what God might be trying to say to us through His word. Hopefully, it is a time marked on your calendars daily. If not, you have come to a great place to start.
These episodes are around 15 minutes and the plan is to post them every work day until we get to the end of Genesis. If you need more time on any given section, just hit pause. Remember, not rushing is what makes this time with Him more beautiful.
OK.
Let’s get started by taking a deep breath,
By releasing the stresses of the day,
And by being still.
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Tell God what is keeping you up at night; what thoughts keep your mind swirling when you need to rest. Holy God – Meet with us today in the quiet. Help us to find you in Your Word. Will you teach us today?
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Yesterday, we listened as Noah and his family waited in the ark for what must have felt like an eternity. For just over a year, they were shut in the ark. There was no land, only sky and water as far as they could see. Then, God remembered them and set them free to be fruitful and multiply. Today, we’ll hear about the first covenant God made with his people, and we’ll uncover a tragic part of Noah’s story. Let’s listen.
Chapter 9
God Confirms His Covenant
Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. 3 I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. 4 But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.
5 “And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. 6 If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings* in his own image. 7 Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”
8 Then God told Noah and his sons, 9 “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, 10 and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. 11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
12 Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. 13 I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17 Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”
Noah’s Sons
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.) 19 From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth.
20 After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21 One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked.
24 When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. 25 Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham:
“May Canaan be cursed!
May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.”
26 Then Noah said,
“May the Lord, the God of Shem, be blessed,
and may Canaan be his servant!27 May God expand the territory of Japheth!
May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem,*
and may Canaan be his servant.”28 Noah lived another 350 years after the great flood. 29 He lived 950 years, and then he died.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ge 9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
May God bless the reading and hearing of his word.
Think back to the details of the story…the animals and God’s people being set free; the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, the requirement of blood for the death of another; the covenant between God and his people; the sign of the covenant; and the failure – once again – of mankind. What stood out to you? Did anything surprise you?
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Maybe you already knew about a characteristic of God but have forgotten, or maybe you saw something about him for the first time? What did you learn about the character of God?
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How did humans fail in this passage? How have you failed God lately? What hope is there in this story despite our failures?
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Use these next few minutes to confess your failures to God. Ask him how you should respond to him in light of who he is.
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Ease back into your day with a few moments of quiet. The world with wait just a few more minutes.
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Father God, we thank you for Your Word and how it changes us; how it exposes our weaknesses in light of your strengths.
Precious Jesus – We thank you for your sacrifice, for the blood you shed to cover our sins. We thank you that despite our failures, in you with find mercy and grace.
Holy Spirit – We ask for your counsel today. Will you teach us how to be more like Jesus? Will you help us to see You today?
Thanks for listening to this 9th episode of Coffee with Christ. If you like what we do here, please pass it along to your friends or leave a comment for future listeners.
Have a great day and be sure to tune in tomorrow for our next episode.