Analysis of the Noahic Covenant

 

The first main historical covenant is the Noahic covenant, made in Genesis 6 and 9. It is sometimes also referred to as "the covenant of preservation" or "the covenant of common grace". Thus, it is more directed towards creation than redemption, but provides the obvious prerequisite for the progress of redemptive history, namely the continuance of the created world, which was an act of God's common grace towards humanity and the animal kingdom.

Biblical Exposition

Noah's birth is recorded in Genesis 5:28-29:

"When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands."

The language of verse 29 points back to Genesis 3:17, which says "And to Adam he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life". 

The Hebrew words for "cursed", "ground", and "pain" are found in both verses. One interesting observation is that the order of the words in Gen. 3:17 is "pain", "ground", "cursed"; while the word order in Gen. 5:29 is "cursed", "ground", "pain"; this might reflect Lamech's hope that his son Noah will be the means God uses to reverse the curse of the fall. 

Genesis 6 gives us the background to the world in which the global flood and Noah's ark took place. It was filled with wickedness and all manner of immorality (6:4-5). This is set in contrast to Noah, "who found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:8)

After commanding Noah to build the ark, we receive the foundational verse in the study of the Noahic covenant:

"But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Genesis 6:18)

Two questions arise: is this a completely distinct covenant from the one in Genesis 9, and is this a brand new covenant or one establishing a prior covenantal commitment and promise? 

For the first question, the following chart presents a comparison of these two covenants, showing while they are intimately related, there are distinct aspects to each covenant:

As to whether or not the Noahic covenant is a completely separate and distinct covenant with no relationship to former ones, we should take another look at Genesis 6:18 for the answer to this question, in particular the verb used for the making of the covenant, namely the Hiphil form of קוּם. Usually, when a new covenant is made, the verb כָּרַת is used ("to cut a covenant"; cf. Gen. 15:7-18). However, the Hiphil form of קוּם generally means "to confirm" or "to establish". For example, God "cut" a covenant with Abraham in Gen. 15, but in Genesis 17:7, God "confirms" (קוּם) this covenant, thus alluding back to Genesis 15. 

"And so, then, to what previous covenantal arrangement does the covenant of Genesis 6:18 refer? The best answer locates its antecedent in the redemptive judgment of Genesis 3:14–19, the historical inauguration of the covenant of grace and the institution of common grace. Recall that the naming of Noah back in Genesis 5:29 connects him to the redemptive curse of 3:17 with the mention of the cursed ground and the subsequent pain caused by working it. The explanation of Noah’s name suggests that God intends to move his plan of redemption forward through Noah, who is located genealogically in the line of Seth. Additionally, the covenant of 6:18 guarantees the survival of Noah and his offspring during the flood, when all other human life will be extinguished. This is significant in light of the promise of 3:15, that the offspring of the woman (a human) will in fact crush the serpent. With 6:18, God confirms that the covenantal arrangement of 3:15 still stands and will endure into the postflood world." (Miles D. Van Pelt, "The Noahic Covenant of the Covenant of Grace", in Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives, pg. 120)

The Restoration of Common Grace

In Genesis 8:21, God promises two things which constitute his act of common grace in the Noahic covenant: 1) God will never fully curse the ground again, and 2) God will never again strike down every thing.