19 January 2010
Psalm 26, 28; Gen. 9:1-17; Heb. 5:7-14; John 3:16-21

The blessing of God is necessary for fruitfulness and the command given to Noah and his family is the same as at creation but it is followed by further acknowledgment that things are different. Fear and dread of mankind is now on the animal kingdom and we have now been given animals for food. Before the relationship with the ground was cursed and now our relationship to other animals is cursed. There is a distinction, however, among species. The blood of man is not to be spilled because we are image bearers, to kill a man is to destroy the image of God in a way that is not true of other creatures. The first covenant is established here with creation. Never again will a flood come to destroy all life, we know that when it rains it will stop, we need not fear that judgment.

We are still in hiding over our sins. We don’t bring them into the light because we know the truth whether we admit it or not. I will say, however, that we are becoming more brazen than ever before about what we do in the light. We need to recall that Jesus wasn’t sent into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through Him. That salvation requires bringing our lives into the light, dealing with the sin in our lives and living differently. The enmity between God and man is due to sin and Jesus breaks down the wall and invites us to fellowship with God and friendship with God. The new covenant is about life not being destroyed but saved from destruction and the initiative is all God’s.

The writer says our faculties are trained by practice to distinguish good and evil. The Holy Spirit is our guide but we have to exercise our spiritual gift in order to hone it for proper and reliable use. The expectation is that we will grow up into maturity in Jesus but it requires effort on our part in order to do that. Spiritual growth and development must be intentional on our part, we don’t get there simply through the passage of time. God wants to be known by us, He sent His Son to make Himself known. Do we want to know Him as much as He wants to be known?

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.