September 7th, 2021 – Tuesday Evening
“I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ~Genesis 9:11
God is faithful. He is ALWAYS faithful. We cannot completely wrap our minds around His faithfulness because we are not 100% faithful 100% of the time (like He is); yet, we can understand much about what it entails. For instance, we know and understand that He never fails those who trust in Him, that He never not does what He says He’s going to do, and that He never goes against what He has already said. He cannot act outside of His character, and He will do what He has promised.
What this means in the context of this passage is that the LORD’s promise of an unconditional covenant with Noah (and all of mankind) can and will never be broken. He will never flood the entire earth and destroy all flesh from it by water. This doesn’t mean that He isn’t going to judge all evil and every human being (He HAS promised that He will do that), but His promise following the Flood was that He will not execute that judgment in the same way. [If you look back to Genesis 8:21, it seems that this promise may have come in response to the sweet-smelling sacrifices that Noah had offered to Him.]
One more comment on this passage: This is the first recorded “covenant” between God and man. Unlike some covenants that require two-way adherence, this was an unconditional covenant; this means that regardless of what Noah (or any other human being) did/does, the LORD would not/will not break the covenant. This is where His faithful nature becomes so amazing; He will not go back on His word because He has promised – He has entered into covenant – that He will not destroy all flesh by a flood ever again, with no mention of whether all flesh would deserve such a thing or not.
Now, let me ask us a question: If God can be trusted to keep His unconditional promises (after all, all flesh has not been destroyed by water since the Flood some 4500 or so years ago) to people who largely ignore, reject, or blaspheme Him, then don’t you think we trust Him to keep His promises to those of us who have been reconciled to Him through Christ Jesus? Listen! The LORD is faithful; it is His very nature. We CAN trust Him and we can rely on His unchanging character regardless of our circumstances, emotions, needs, and desires; He will not leave or forsake those who trust in Him, He WILL do what He has promised, and He will accomplish His will and good pleasure because He is ALWAYS FAITHFUL.
Do you know and believe that?