Read: Genesis 8:15 - 9:17⤒🔗

In the previous study we heard Solomon's call to consider God's providence (Eccl. 7:13-14). If we were left to consider it with our fallen minds, however, we would scarcely understand the significance of providence, or observe the mercy in providence. That is why it is so wonderful that God instructs us in providence. The first time in the Bible that God took elaborate time to explain providence was to Noah. Why at that time? Why not before or later? The doctrine of providence appears most beautifully against the backdrop of the deserved judgments of God. This was true for Noah after the flood. This is true of the Christian on the other side of Calvary. It was a privilege for Noah and his family to have been in the memory of God (Gen. 8:1). It was an added privilege for Noah and his family to learn something of the heart of God (Gen. 8:21). This included the doctrine of providence. In our passage we see how God graciously instructed Noah in the doctrine of providence. He taught him how providence relates to sin, society, and salvation.

How Providence Relates to Sin←↰⤒🔗

God's providence had continued even after the fall into sin. God did not abandon His creation, but continued to preserve and govern it. The world continued its rotations. The sun continued to shine, now upon both the just and the unjust. The fall did not undo providence, though it did bring in the curse. There was now also death, suffering, and wickedness. God's providence now presided not only over blessing, but also over the curse. God's providence executed God's judgment over the breach of the covenant of works, namely, death. Nevertheless, God also ensured that all life was not immediately destroyed. Instead, life continued under His distinct control, guidance, and direction.

What happened to God's providence at the time of the flood? Did He withdraw His preserving hand from His creation? We know that God sent the flood as a punishment for sin (Gen. 6:6-7). When the foun­tains of the deep were broken up and the windows of heaven opened, God's judg­ment over sin appeared very starkly. His longsuffering and patience, which had waited in the days of Noah (1 Pet. 3:20), came to an end. With the exception of Noah and his family, and the animals on the ark, all mankind and animals were destroyed. It is true, not all of creation was destroyed. The sun, moon, and stars con­tinued, as well as the earth itself. However, in the words of Peter, "the world that then was ... perished" (2 Pet. 3:6). Like never before, and never since, God's preserving hand seemed to retreat into the back­ground. Nevertheless, it still continued, especially with Noah and his family. God had them in His divine memory and favour (Gen. 8:1), and His providence preserved them in the midst of judgment.

It is no wonder that after the flood, God chose to give assurances to Noah and his family that providence would continue to uphold and govern all things: "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake" (Gen. 8:21). In fact, while the earth would remain, God would never again obscure His providence from His creation. This is not because man was now cured from sin. No, not at all. Man remained and remains the sinner he has become through his fall. Nevertheless, God's judgment alone would not be the ultimate answer to man's sin. Man could not be restored simply through the means of judgment. Restoration would have to be through God's grace. By His providence God would sustain the world, so that His grace could do its grand work redeeming sinners from the curse and saving them from sin.

How Providence Relates to Society←↰⤒🔗

God went on to instruct Noah about certain means He uses in His providence. The exercise of God's providence does not exclude the use of means. God gave Noah insight into the means He has ordained to preserve human life in the world. For exam­ple, through the cycle of the seasons, God makes grain to grow so that mankind has food to eat. Through the procreation of animals, man can have a steady supply of meat to eat (Gen. 9:3), as well as animals to cultivate the earth.

God also instructed Noah concerning two specific institutions through which His providence would operate: the family and the state.

1. The Family. Marriage and family were gifts given to man in creation. God had stipulated that man was to multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). After the fall, the institutions of marriage and the family were stained by sin and affected by the curse (Gen. 3:16); nevertheless, they were not disannulled. God even used them for His gracious purposes. Think of how God worked through the family of the Sethites (Gen. 4:25-26). Or how God saved both Noah and his house. God showed the high status He gives to the family. After the flood, God repeated His commandment to be fruitful and fill the earth (Gen. 8:17; 9:1). The family would still be a means in the Lord's hand to pre­serve the earth and His creatures on it.
2. The State. Whereas the ordinance of the family predates the flood, that of the state comes into existence after the flood. Prior the flood, there was widespread violence and lawlessness (Gen. 6:11). Lamech epitomized this lawless spirit in his bloodthirsty chant (Gen. 4:23-24). After the flood, the Lord ordained the sword of punishment (Gen. 9:5), and with it the wielder of the sword (Rom. 13:3-4). Though the text does not make clear what the state would look like, the idea that human government would maintain law and order is clear (see Calvin in his commentary on Gen. 9:5). This does not mean that a government or governors cannot become corrupt and even assault the work of God. Think of Nimrod (Gen. 10:8; 11:2-4), Pharoah, Sihon, Herod, etc. Nevertheless, God ordained human government as His minister to promote stability and viability within the world (Rom. 13:3-4). As such, the state is a means of God's providence.

The Providence Relates to Salvation←↰⤒🔗

Finally, God instructed Noah in the relationship between providence and salvation. If providence simply kept the world and mankind reserved for destruction at the end, it would be no more than a delay in judgment. Instead, God revealed that providence would serve His purposes of grace.

God had already bestowed His grace on Noah (Gen. 6:8). He had imputed to Noah righteousness, and consecrated him to Himself. We are told that Noah "walked with God" (Gen. 6:9-10). This was the effect of God's grace in Noah's life. This purpose of God's grace did, however, not end with Noah. It was to continue throughout time until God's purposes of salvation are complete. The Seed of the woman still had to be born and bruise the head of the serpent. The elect had all to be brought in. God's glory had to be magnified. Therefore, God's providence continued after the flood.

God instructed Noah in this through the covenant He made with him and every living creature. Though God did not reveal everything relating to His covenant all at once, He showed Noah that He had a covenant. He called it "my covenant" (Gen. 9:9). He devised this covenant and He affixed His name to it. The idea of covenant is further clarified and expanded later in Scripture, in connection with Abraham, Moses, David, and Christ. Yet, in the context of His teaching on providence, God introduced His covenant. Here it has a broad and general reference, including all of creation. Later in Scripture, we see how it has a more direct relevance to believers and their seed. It was ultimately fulfilled in Christ, in whom all God's promises are "Yea and Amen" (2 Cor. 1:20). This includes the promises made to Noah. God maintains the earth and the cycle of the seasons for Christ's sake. Providence serves the salvation by Christ of all His seed.

The rainbow is a visible representation of this. It functions as a sign to us and, in a mysterious way, also to God, that His everlasting covenant will stand. From Revelation 4:6 we know of a rainbow around God's throne. God's reign takes place under the banner of the rainbow. The rainbow proclaims a peace between God and man. This is not a generic and empty peace. It is not simply good will for everyone. Instead, it pictures and guarantees a peace and reconciliation that was to be accomplished through the dark billows of judgment that came down upon Christ. It announces and seals the peace that His sacrifice procured and that believers enjoy and will enjoy throughout all eternity (Isa. 54:9-10; Rom. 4:25-5:1).

Questions:←↰⤒🔗

1. Read Genesis 8:22. How does this verse relate to providence?
2. Reflect on God's providence in our lives. Specify three forms in which God's providence came to us today.
3. Imagine if God had not come with this lesson to Noah on providence. What encouragement and comfort does this lesson give to us?
4. If the family and the state are means God uses in His providence, what should our attitude be to them?
5. What is the message of the rainbow? What is the message of the cycle of the seasons? What should our response be to this instruction in prov­idence? Read Revelation 4:8-11.
6. One day God's providence as we now see and experience it will come to an end. How and with what consequence?