Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 9:1-17. 

 

 

We will focus on the following verses 9-17.

 

“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.”  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.”  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.”  Genesis 9:9-17.

 

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There are some good Reformed articles on the doctrine of the covenant at these links –  

The Covenant: God’s Tabernacle with Men *				Rev. H. Hoeksema
The Covenant of God and the Children of Believers *				Prof. D. Engelsma
The Forgotten Pink  (pdf)				Rev. Ronald Hanko
Justification: The Heart of the Gospel (3 lectures)				Rev. R. Van OverloopProf. David Engelsma Rev. W. Langerak
The Unconditional Covenant in Contemporary Debate *				Prof. David J. Engelsma
Keeping God’s Covenant (six lectures)				Hanko & Engelsma
The Covenant of God				Rev. Herman Veldman Intro. By Rev. T. Miersma
Evangelism and the Reformed Faith *				Prof. D. Engelsma
The Gospel *				Rev. H. Hoeksema
The Latest Attack on Grace in the Reformed Churches: Justification by Works – A Covenant Heresy and Questions  (Order CD) (Federal Vision)				Prof. David J. Engelsma

 

 

With the short format of this devotion, I can only point to a few things, besides the above-stated importance of this subject and the references above.  I have chosen to focus first on the role of God in the covenant from today’s Scripture, to focus second on a general description of the covenant by Professor Engelsma from his above-stated book, and to focus third on a specific description of one of the categories of beneficiaries of this specific Covenant of the Rainbow (which is the covenant described by today’s Scripture), namely how creation benefits from this specific covenant, also from Professor Engelsma from his above-stated book. 

 

First, when we read the verses which I have copied below with bold italic for emphasis, notice how God pounds the table that it is He Himself who is establishes the covenant.  This is not a contract or agreement which essentially is:  “I will do my part only if you do your part.”  These are unconditional promises and actions by God.