Origin Story: Genesis 9:1–29, God Keeps His Promise. October 18, 2026.
How many times have we said, “I just need a change of scenery?” Get a different job, different city, different church, or move to the Domain in Austin, TX! But, then six months later it’s like we’re back to those same problems. You know the joke, wherever you go, you’re still there! So, where do we find hope and optimism? I have this joke where I say, “I like being in my 50’s. When I was younger I felt all this pressure, what am I going to do with my life, how smart am I going to be, and now I know…this is it!”
What do you do when you keep seeing the same problems? What do we do when we lose some optimism about life? We block it out! We keep ourselves busy? We eat, shop, and numb ourselves with distractions, but as followers of Jesus we are going to come face to face with our soul eventually. We can bob and weave for a little while but the Lord is going to call us back, therefore, how do we carry those parts of life?
In our passage this morning, the crisis of the flood is over, the scenery has changed, but people are still peopling, so this morning we get to see how the Lord lifts our eyes to see the hope we find in Him! Let’s look at Genesis 9:1-2:
Genesis 9:1-2, “1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.”
If you are new with us this morning, we’ve been teaching through Genesis. We’ve seen the glory of creation in Genesis 1-2 and the pain of humanity in Genesis 3-6, so that the Lord brings judgment through the flood because violence and corruption can’t go on forever, so that verse 1 is almost a repeat of Genesis 1, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
Do you see it in verse 2, “Into your hand they are given!” Theologically that’s called Creation Mandate as the Lord calls humanity to steward, cultivate, protect and care for creation under His authority! Just as a side note, caring for the environment is a biblical statement, so that we can disagree about the best ways to care for the environment, but God’s Word is clear, the Lord is entrusting humanity with responsibility to care for creation! Look at verses 3-5:
Genesis 9:3-5, “3 Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.”
It might be hard to see, but again, this is language throwing us back to Genesis 2 and Genesis 4. Do you see it? Just like in Genesis 2 when we see the Lord telling Adam and Eve, “Don’t eat from this tree or you will die.” In a similar way, we see the Lord telling Noah and his family you get this, this, this, this and this is all for you to enjoy…just don’t eat that!
It’s possible some of us see this language as God giving us rules of what to do and what not to do, so you’re already checking out like, “Why does this really matter today?” Is this what we need to be talking about today? Yeah! This is what we need to be talking about! Verse 4 isn’t about restrictions and rules. This is the Lord building trust with His people. This is the character of Lord being generous with His people. This is the Lord pouring out His blessing through rescue and creation, and then saying, “Look man, don’t need to spill man’s blood, because, dude, that just happened back in Genesis 4, and it was this whole thing between me and Cain, and it didn’t end well.”
In addition, the Lord is reminding Noah and his family that all of life is valuable! I can’t stress this enough! And, it’s possible some of us might be thinking, “Of course life is valuable.” But, let’s be honest… The culture of our day says things like, “Love is love, justice for all, compassion” and then has no problem inflicting violence if people disagree. Right?
Some of y’all are like, “Is he liberal or conservative?” I am not trying to make a political statement. I am saying, “Don’t look at the words of humanity. Look at the actions of humanity!” Our culture loves people that agrees with them; do you vote like me, look like me, productive like me, physically healthy like me, outside the womb like me, and live in a part of the world like me, if so, you’re important! But if not, eh, not that important!
And, I am not even talking about people out there. I am talking about our own hearts. I am talking about my own heart. I see how I treat someone based on their background, their titles, how they dress, since of humor, where they live, social network, and it’s not all or nothing, but I see myself being more comfortable around some people more than others, therefore, God’s Word is like, “Dude, stop mistreating My creation!” Therefore, the Lord is reminding Noah and his family, “All of life is made in His image, therefore, all of life is valuable.” Amen? Look at verses 6-7:
Genesis 9:6-7, “6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man. 7 “As for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”
If you don’t know, these verses have been used for political agendas for capital punishment, against capital punishment, for war and against war, for abortion against abortion, but surprisingly, verses 6-7 are not talking about government policy. Just as a side note, You should be nervous any time a politician is using God’s Word to push their agendas. Talarico and Trump make me angry every time, so don’t fall for it! Look at verses 8-11:
Genesis 9:8-11, “8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 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.”
In Genesis 6 we see the Lord announce the covenant, and in Genesis 9 we see His covenant with Noah, his family and creation, so that a covenant isn’t just a promise. A covenant is a binding commitment that goes beyond Noah and creation, because this covenant is called a unilateral covenant. (Write that down!)
In Genesis 2 the Lord says to Adam, “If you eat of the tree, you shall surely die.” Adam and Eve ate from the tree, death entered into humanity. It’s a bi-lateral covenant or conditional covenant. But in Genesis 9 there’s no failure on Noah’s part that would cancel God’s promise to care for creation, so that creations future rests on the shoulders of…the Lord! The covenant in verse 9 gives assurance to Noah and his family that they can step into the future knowing God has bound Himself to His Word, because we’re about to see why that is so critical. Look at verses 12-16:
Genesis 9:12-16, “12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
In verse 12 the Lord not only makes a covenant with Noah and all of creation, but gives a sign of a rainbow as a reminder in verse 13. It’s possible someone might say, “Isn’t a rainbow just a natural occurrence in nature?” The sign of a rainbow doesn’t mean rainbows never existed until this moment. It means the Lord picked something all of humanity can see all over the world and said, “Every time you see the rainbow, let it be a reminder of My unconditional commitment to My Word.” Look at verse 17:
Genesis 9:17, “17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
The sign is the “rainbow!” The word “sign” in the original language means “symbol.” We will celebrate communion this morning, which is a symbol of the salvation we have in Jesus. The cup of wine in communion is a symbol of God’s judgment being poured out on Jesus. The cracker in communion is a symbol of Jesus’ death as He was crushed at the cross. The eating and drinking together in communion is a symbol of faith we share together as brothers and sisters in Christ!
Therefore, again, not trying to make a political statement, the rainbow isn’t a symbol of gay pride, despite what our culture will tell us today. The rainbow is a symbol that ultimately points us to the gospel. The reference to “My bow” back in 13 is literally “My War Bow.” Like, we’re not talking about a pretty flag of colors. We’re talking about God’s judgment being laid aside and the Lord promises in Genesis 9 to lay aside His war bow of judgment.
Not because humanity is going to be so great, which we will see in a few verses, but He makes this promise because the Lord is so great! That’s the gospel! Have you noticed, the “War Bow / rainbow” doesn’t face downward towards humanity but upward because He knows in Genesis 9 there is coming a day when the war bow of condemnation, wrath, and judgment for our sin will be poured out on Himself, Jesus, at the cross. C’mon! A rainbow never shows up on a sunny day. A rainbow only shows up in the threat rain nearby, and in the same way, the glory of the gospel shines brightest in our darkest moments as Jesus resurrects from the dead! Let’s look at verses 18-19:
Genesis 9:18-19, “18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.”
Now, if Genesis 9 ended here we might think, “Oh, that’s a nice story.” And they all lived happily ever after. But, in verse 19 w see the whole earth was populated from these people, so we’re not just reading about some family with some challenges. We’re reading about the challenges of our family history. Does that make sense? If you look at your life today, your family today, and think, “Man I come from a messed-up family!” You’re not alone, because Genesis 9 is just a giant family reunion! Look at verses 20-21:
Genesis 9:20-21, “20 Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.”
Let’s be clear, planting a vineyard is not the problem. Drinking alcohol is not the problem. Drunkenness is the problem, so that the man who was described as “righteous” in Genesis 6 is the man getting drunk in Genesis 9, and exposing himself to his family. We covered this in Genesis 6 but we need to remember, the righteousness of Noah in the original language means is credited to Noah’s account. It’s not earned. It is a gift from the Lord. You can read about this language used of Abraham in Romans 4, therefore, Noah is credited as righteous because the Lord was determined to credit Noah as righteous. That’s the gospel!
The righteousness of God is still a gift today. None of us can earn God’s righteousness. If you see anything righteous in me, it’s not me, it’s Christ in me! It’s why Jesus is so important. Jesus comes to give us His righteousness. It’s why Ephesians says by grace through faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we are clothed in His righteousness. We are made clean and pure and without blemish, because Jesus makes us clean and pure and without blemish.
It’s why the bride at a wedding is dressed in white. It isn’t because the bride is holy and pure. Who of us could make that claim? The bride is dressed in white as a symbol that Jesus has come to make us holy and pure. Sure, as followers of Jesus it’s possible there will be times when we might wander into death and darkness like Noah in verse 21? But those moments don’t change our position in Christ.
It’s not like the Lord is looking at Noah and saying, “Where did this come from?” He knows Noah is credited with righteousness, therefore, those moments when the follower of Jesus wanders from the Lord doesn’t make us unrighteous, because those moments; past, present and future, have been covered by Jesus! That’s the gospel! It’s so pretty!
Sometimes people will hear about the amazing beauty of the gospel and will say things like, “Well, if Jesus will give us grace and forgiveness, then why not just sin all the more!” Have you heard this? This question is actually asked in Romans and the Apostle Paul says, “May it never be!” When someone has been rescued from death and darkness, why would they want to go back into death and darkness? There are moments the electricity gets turned off in my house. All the lights go out, and it’s scary! It’s because once you’ve walked in the light, death and darkness is scary!
When you are in the darkness you start to see shadows. When you are in darkness it’s easy to get confused. When you are in darkness you start making up things, but, when you’ve walked in the light of Christ, there may be moments we stumble into darkness, but we want to get back to the light as fast as possible! Amen?
One time my wife and I had dinner with an elderly man who wanted to take us out to a nice dinner. He would order us appetizers, salads, steaks, wine, dessert, and it was the best. After every part of the meal our elderly friend would say, “Won’t you have another?” We would talk about how good the steak was or the pie and every time he would say, “Won’t you have another! You must have another!” That’s life in the light with Jesus!
I’ve lived in death and darkness and I have had moments where I’ve wandered into death and darkness. I can tell you, “Living in the light of Jesus is so much better.” If you don’t know Jesus, then like my elderly friend, I would say to you, “Won’t you meet Him? You must! There’s nobody like Jesus.
Won’t you walk with Him? Won’t you know the joy, freedom and peace of walking with Him in the light? You must!” Why would anyone go one another second without in darkness when you can walk in the light with Jesus? Look at verses 22-23:
Genesis 9:22-23, “22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.”
In verses 22-23 we see a reminder of Genesis 3 built around shame and nakedness despite everything this family has been through. They’ve seen God’s judgment, rescue, promises, so that on some level everything has changed and on other levels, nothing has changed. Right? That’s what I love about God’s Word. We get to see humans being humans, and the Lord being faithful.
In a similar way, in our walk with Jesus there are going to be stories of rescue, stories of waiting, stories of answered prayers, stories where we tell ourselves, “I am never going back into darkness again!” But, let’s be honest, sometimes it’s the next day, or even the next hour, therefore, we need to see the faithfulness of the Lord.
When we are in Christ, those moments of darkness have already been taken at the cross. They’ve already been conquered in the resurrection, so that we don’t need to wallow in shame, but instead we can stand confidently in Christ and we can confess, we can repent, we can receive His forgiveness and walk with Him because we belong to Him. Too many times I see people say, “I will turn back to Jesus when I get this area or that area of my life back together.” You need to know that’s shame talking! Really, that’s a false gospel saying, “We have to clean ourselves up to be in His presence” but the Spirit of God says, “Look to Jesus. Let at the cleaning He brings. Look at the work He’s done. Trust in Him!” Look at verses 24-29:
Genesis 9:24-29, “24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. 27 “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.” 28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.”
Obviously, people have used this passage to justify American slavery and obviously that is horrible misuse of God’s Word, and this misuse of God’s Word is still happening today. This is why it’s important to study God’s Word on your own. It’s important to not just listen to what someone on a stage has to say, but to understand how to read God’s Word, study God’s Word and teach God’s Word.
I will tell you, this reference to Canaan is complicated, but in short, eventually Israel will be established in Genesis 12 with Abraham and in Genesis 15, the Canaanite people, who are known to be a people layered in death and darkness, are invited to repent for 400 years, and then eventually the Lord raises up Israel in books like Joshua and Judges to bring judgment, because just like in Genesis 7, the Lord can’t let violence and corruption go on forever.
But that’s not the focus of our passage…
The Lord knew what was in the human heart when he made His promise. Noah’s failure didn’t surprise Him, and yours doesn’t surprise Him either.
North Village Church
This article was written by Pastor Michael Dennis, Lead Pastor at North Village Church. North Village Church is a non-denominational church in North Austin, TX, near the Domain and serving the 78757 community. Established in 2009, we are built around Jesus and Bible teaching. If you are looking for a church in North Austin, we would love to meet you. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30 a.m., encourage Christ-centered fellowship through groups, and offer opportunities such as Theological Training so that we can be rooted in God’s Word. North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who want to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. Families can connect through our Kids Ministry and Youth Village.
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