Genesis 9

Written on 05/08/2024

Verses 1-7

  • Verses 2-3. Animals are now food for us. We can eat animals as we eat plants. As believers today, we're told, “Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).

    • There was a time in the Old Testament when God restricted the diets of His people to certain types of animals, but now, every animal that God has made is good for us to eat if we are thankful. Eat what is available with a good, grateful attitude!

      • Foods only become bad for you to eat if you think of that food as bad to eat. You are sinning if you eat what you believe you shouldn't (Romans 14:14, 23).

 

Verses 8-17

  • God put the rainbow in the sky to remind us of His judgment of the earth, and to remind us that He would never again use water to destroy the earth.

    • Again, we live in a very sinful world. But when you see a rainbow, remember that God is showing us mercy, and thank Him. Also remember that God will judge the earth again, but He will use fire next time (2 Peter 3:5-7).

 

Verses 18-29

  • Verses 22-23. Ham was not careful to avoid embarrassing his father, or to avoid seeing him in this bad state. Shem and Japheth, on the other hand, were careful to cover Noah's mistakes. They did not want to see their dad in his sin.

    • We can learn from this that we should not find any enjoyment in other people's sins. We should not look into anyone's sin as a way of entertainment. “For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret” (Ephesians 5:12).

      • As believers, we should not desire to catch people in their sin. If we must correct someone for their sin, we should do it, but we should do our best to help them without telling their sin to others, unless we have to (details on this in Matthew 18:15-17). This is respectful to them, like Shem and Japheth respected Noah.

        • In most cases, if a believer's sin will be exposed, they should confess it to others themselves (James 5:16). This is good for their repentance.