God's confirmation of, and commitment to maintain, his relationship with the natural order- implicit in the act of creation- whereby he promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood. This divine pledge, given unconditionally to Noah and to every living creature on earth, was accompanied by the sign of the rainbow.
The occasion of the covenant
The flood as divine judgment
Genesis 6:17 See also Genesis 6:5–7, Genesis 6:11–13; 2 Peter 2:5
And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.
God's promise of salvation to Noah and his family
Genesis 6:18 See also Genesis 7:23, Genesis 8:1, Genesis 8:15–17; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20
But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark — you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
God's promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood
Genesis 9:11 See also Genesis 8:21; Isaiah 54:9
And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
The sign of the covenant
Genesis 9:13 See also Genesis 9:14–17
I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
A universal covenant
God's relationship with every living creature
Genesis 9:8–10 See also Genesis 7:1–3; Ezekiel 34:25; Hosea 2:18; Zechariah 11:10
Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you — the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth— every living thing that came out of the ark.
God's relationship with the natural order
Genesis 8:22; Jeremiah 33:25–26 God's relationship with the created order is here expressed as a covenant. It is probable that this is a reference to the Noahic covenant through which the implicit relationship between Creator and creation was confirmed. See also Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:31, Genesis 2:1; Psalm 74:16–17; Jeremiah 5:24, Jeremiah 33:20–21
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
This is what the LORD says: If I have not established My covenant with the day and the night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I would also reject the descendants of Jacob and of My servant David, so as not to take from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore them from captivity and will have compassion on them.”
An everlasting covenant
Genesis 9:16 See also Genesis 9:12Isaiah 24:5 The reference here is to the Noahic covenant. Though this covenant was unconditional, the prohibition of bloodshed--often described as bringing pollution to the land--was associated with it. There may be, also, a wider reference to the effects of mankind's disregard for the norms laid down at creation. See also Genesis 9:6; Numbers 35:33; Isaiah 26:21
And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.”
The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.