Well, good morning, one and all. Let's go ahead and get started. We're going to continue our look at covenant theology. And in particular, we're going to move on to what's known as the Noahic covenant, Noah, God's covenant with Noah. and we're probably going to spend some time hovering over this covenant for a couple of reasons. One, there's a lot there for us to unpack, but also it has, in much more recent years, become a focal point of what's known as modern Two Kingdoms theology that is predominantly coming out of Westminster Seminary, California. Not from all of them, That's what's there. And it is a, call it a half-brother to what's known as the modern version of republication that was popularized by Meredith Klein, who was an OPC minister. I know, Meredith, it sounds like, but it's like Lorraine Bettner, you know? They're guys, they actually were. So it gets a little bit tricky because this Two Kingdoms is really an outflow out of Klein's republication. And when we get to the Mosaic Covenant, that's where we're going to be focusing on the discussion about Klein and republication. So it gets a little tricky, because in one sense, because of the redemptive history, I've got to deal with the outflow of one thing before I get to the thing itself. So it'll get a little bit tricky when we get to it. But let's start by looking at Genesis chapter 6. I'm going to read just the first eight verses. It really helps provide for us the basis of where all this goes. Genesis 6, right there at the beginning. When man began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive, and they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh. His days shall be 120 years. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterward when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made man. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Okay. We're all familiar with the story of Noah and the ark. Sometime back, it became a popular theme for newborn nurseries. Like people would, you know, do it on their baby's room, the nursery as they set up the crib and, you know, the whole pottery barn look and things like that. And you had this, these scenes of Noah and the Ark. And anybody know what's fun about those pictures all the time? You always had this cute little boat, and out of the windows you had these cute little animals, and they're all happy, and it just looks so cute and fuzzy and warm, and it's just inviting. When the reality is, yes, you had animals, you certainly did, but it was in the context of judgment against man. So, meanwhile, outside, when the rain is coming down and the waters burst forth from the earth, you had people, no doubt, scratching and clawing at the ark that were about to drown. So, you know, we didn't go with the no ark theme when our kids were born, so. This is one of those instances where we see, even as we saw with the covenant being in seed form with Adam in Genesis 3, how judgment is connected to the salvation of God's people. Now in a certain sense you won't see that in each administration of the covenant as we go. You don't really see it expressly set, but you do see it promised when the covenant is established with Abraham. You don't see a moment of judgment that takes place at that time, but it is promised, and you'll see when God says to him, the full measure of sin has not reached its point. But of course, with the Mosaic Covenant, that's in the context of the Exodus. And of course, with Christ himself, sin and death is conquered. But a couple of things, and when we think about the Noahic covenant, there are really three key passages here in Genesis that we tend to look at. We really tend to focus on Genesis 6, part of which we read, but really verses 17 through 22 describe the covenant more specifically, you'll also see it mentioned again in Genesis 8, 20 through 22, and then Genesis 9, 1 through 17, I think. I've got a typo on my note. Imagine that. Be that as it may, What I'm going to do is, as we go through the Noahic Covenant, is kind of use as a guide the chapter from O. Palmer Robertson's book, The Christ and the Covenants. Not that I'm going to copy word for word, but I liked his breakdown of key points of the Noahic Covenant, and then we'll also use other sources, go to scripture, and unpack some of these things. Basically, what Robertson indicated is that what we see in the Noahic Covenant are six characteristics, and I'm going to tell you all of them. We're probably only going to look at the first two today. We'll see. If we even get to the second, we know how that goes. So, let me just tell you what they are, and these are practically verbatim out of Robertson's book. The covenant with Noah emphasizes close interrelation of the creative and redemptive covenants. That's his first major point, and he unpacks that. So, the interrelation of the creative and redemptive covenants. A second distinctive of the covenant with Noah relates to the particularity of God's redemptive grace. You could just simply say the doctrine of limited atonement is kind of spelled out there. We'll look to that. A third principle Inherent in the establishment of the covenant with Noah relates to God's intention to deal with families in his covenant relationships. We'll unpack that too, but not today. Fourthly, the covenant with Noah primarily may be characterized as a covenant of preservation. That's going to be important. especially when we start discussing that modern two kingdoms thing that's coming out of Westminster, California. It's not exclusive to there, but they're the major proponents of it. Fifthly, the covenant with Noah possesses a distinctively universalistic aspect. Now, that might sound like it's contradicting the second thing I said, but it actually isn't. And then sixthly, the seal of the covenant with Noah emphasizes the gracious character of this covenant. So we'll get to all of those. So really what I want to try to mostly focus on today is this discussion of the close interrelation of the creative and redemptive covenants. When we say the creative covenant, we're talking about the covenant that God made with Adam in the garden before the fall. Now, think back. What were some of the things that were given to Adam in terms of God's relationship with Adam pre-fall? And you see this in Genesis 1 and 2. Okay, every seed bearing plant for fruit, yeah. So he had some blessings. What else? What's that? Rule over the creatures, okay. He had a job, a vocation. Care for the garden, keep the garden. Other things? What's that? Uninterrupted communion with God. Unfettered access, you could say. So we see some of this, right? He had subdued the earth with the rule over the creatures. He had the benefits of the garden. He could eat of anything except the one tree. He was blessed with a wife. A lot of us in this room were at the wedding yesterday, so. What else? Okay, covenant. He had to subdue the earth. He also had to be fruitful and multiply, right? So you think about all these things. Now let's look at what we see in the various covenantal expressions given with Noah in 6, 8, and also 9. So first of all, chapter 6, I'll jump down to verse 17. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die, but I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, and you, your sons, your wives, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female, of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing on the ground according to its kind. Two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is clean and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them. And Noah did this. He did all that God had commanded him. Some of this is somewhat subtle. It's probably a bit more overt. It's not that hidden. But as you read that passage, that portion there in verses 17 through 22, do you see some similarities with what you see in Genesis 1 and 2? And if so, what do you see? Okay, so there's some dominion over the animals. Okay, they have the breath of life. Okay, you see male and female. There's kind of an expression there that kind of is repeated. Yeah, well, they will. Well, see, the fundamental reason for that, and this is their twisted way of thinking, is that they will differentiate between sex and gender. So, biology is one thing, gender is another. That's how they get around it. Correct. According to their kind. That's a creational phrase. Remember that. When you look, particularly when you see with a creation, even of a plant, but especially the animals, each according to their kind. Which kind of is also an argument in a somewhat roundabout way against any sort of evolution. like macro evolution as it's called. So you see that each according to its kind and so there's a connection there between the language and understand, remember that when God is saying this, and I didn't read the verses before, but God is not just speaking to open air. Who's he speaking to? Noah, and it sure seems that Noah would have understood the language. That's without written scripture. But it is also quite possible, you know, you follow the generations that Noah was really not that far removed from Adam in one sense. Yeah, Jonathan? depends what you mean by that. Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, that expression, each according to their kind, there's a kind, and everything that is like that. So I think and I realize that this part is somewhat speculative. You know, when we talk about the animals being brought onto the ark, each according to their kind, I don't think what you see there is, to use an example of dogs, you have a pair of German shepherds, you have a pair of beagles, you have a pair of huskies, you have dogs. That's what you have. Well, it has to be based on the Word of God. That's the only proper lens through which we can interpret all of creation. So, yeah. All right. So, those are the things, those are some of the hints that we see there with respect to the connection with creation. Now, as we go a little bit further, let's just jump to chapter eight, verse 20 to 22. This is after the flood subsides, and we'll talk about some of these other details, of course, but just kind of laying the groundwork of the use of various things here. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered bird offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease." Now, just as a little aside, that last expression there, that's why I'm really not all that worried about asteroids that get close to earth. So that's the bottom line, right? Those things will continue. But notice now in these verses, the word covenant is not exactly mentioned, but this is the substance of what the promise is and chapter nine unpacks this a bit more. But notice that what we're seeing here is language that is redemptive. What are some indications that give you a clue that this is language that is redemptive? How does this little portion start with? Building of an altar and? Sacrifices, which gives you part of the reason why you had clean animals and why you had seven of each clean animal instead of just two. So that sacrifice God provided. So you see even there, the redemptive historical connection, God made sure Adam, or excuse me, Noah had what he needed to perform his acts of worship. Roy. that assertion is to the pagan. What you're saying is that in faith you believe God's promises, and that means there's a whole bunch of enterprise that you're not going to pursue because you trust God. I'm thinking about driving across New Mexico and seeing a vast array of radio telescopes You don't need to do that. Yeah, beyond entertainment and fun and imaginative, it's not going to scare me. That's not to say, like, meteor fragments may not hit Earth ever. I'm sure they will, but it's not going to. I'm not worried about summer, winter, springtime harvest disappearing. So just like what we see, we may not see. We do see flooding, don't we? We see flooding, but we don't see worldwide cataclysmic flooding. That's the point. And same thing with respect to, oh, this asteroid, if it gets close, it could wipe out every living thing on earth. Yeah, it could, but I'm really not all that concerned about it. I have the promise of God. Trish? Yeah, just live in fear of God and obey his commandments, Barry. Of course, right. All right. Let's move on to certain aspects of Genesis 9. You notice in verse one, and God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground, fish of the sea, into your hand they are delivered. What's that language remind you of? Not totally, but. Adam, be fruitful and multiply. It is a repeat of the dominion mandate, which shows that grace does not remove the responsibility to what man is supposed to do as created. We're connecting the two. The two are unquestionably connected. There are still the responsibilities of the covenant of works, even in the covenant of grace. But the difference is, we don't earn our way to salvation through those responsibilities. But we still have to do them. That's correct. Yeah, and hold that thought about not eliminating the previous covenant, because there's an aspect of this, even though we're talking, that we still have an address, so we'll get to that. Trish? And I'll go one further. I'll disagree with the way you expressed it. They say that animals have equality with man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You have people that call themselves furries. You know what a furry is? An individual who identifies as an animal. So, yeah. Anyway, I don't want to get into that topic because it's ridiculous. It is. Now, let me jump down to verse 8. We will come back and discuss some of these other matters with respect to what we see there concerning capital punishment, but I want to just deal with the covenantal side of it for now. Verse eight, then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, behold, I established my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. It is for every beast of the earth. I established my covenant with you, and never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. And then in verse 12 and following, you get the sign of the covenant given. So there's the covenantal language of preservation. And we'll talk more about how that aspect deals with all creatures, not just man. But you can even see in the expression there from verse eight and following, I establish it with you and with every living thing. So we will come back to that though. Jonathan? No, those are the animals that came out of the ark that he sacrificed. Not the entire, that's why he had seven. so that some of them can be sacrificed. The unclean animals, there are only two. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It has to be an act of faith. You've only got this number of animals, and I'm being told to sacrifice. You know, there are lots of examples that are subtle like that, that demonstrate an act of faith even though it's not expressed as being an act of faith. I think the one that really comes to mind is when the Israelites are about to cross into and take the promised land in the book of Joshua, they cross the Jordan, the natural boundary at that point, they cross the Jordan and then all the males are circumcised in enemy territory. That had to be an act of faith. especially when they remember their history. So that right there. So you will find in scripture examples like that. You don't see the expression in that case in Joshua after crossing the Jordan and they circumcise all the males. You don't see any expression of the words or something like that. They had faith, therefore they did this. The fact that they did it demonstrates their faith. Think about their circumstance. Think about their position just like here with Noah. He's only got seven of every clean animal. These are the special ones. Sacrifice them. Some of them. Right. Trust God now. And if only Aitken would have understood that. Because the very next city they conquered, he gave them the stuff. He gave Israel the things. Barry? Yes, faith and obedience go hand in hand. There are still responsibilities. All of this you can see is gracious. I keep speaking to this aspect of the connection. We see the language to the creative covenant in that there's language that's similar, each after its kind, be fruitful and multiply. Those were commands that were given pre-fall. But how does this connect with the covenant that was, and we talked about this, how the covenant was established with Adam graciously, where the word covenant does not occur and here we've got the first mention of the word covenant in the Bible occurring in Genesis 6. Go back to Genesis 6. And it's here that we see the first use of the word covenant. Verse 18 in particular, I will establish my covenant with you. Now, this unfortunately is where, I don't wanna say English gets in our way, but what helps here is a understanding of the language that is being used by Moses here. Establish, that word is a legitimate translation. but we miss some of the nuance of it because the word itself has, and the form in which it is used, carries the idea of not something being set up brand new, never seen before, but being re-established, re-continuing, if you will, a continuation of that which already existed. And frequently you have probably heard from other sources about covenants being cut. And you see that particularly when you look at Genesis 17. and the relationship between, well, you see it in Genesis 15 and in Genesis 17, really, because of the cutting of the animals, the cutting of the foreskin of the flesh for circumcision. But interestingly enough, what you see in Genesis 15 and 17 is the use of both expressions, establish and cut. It's both. And so the language here that is used, and off the top of my head, I don't remember if Robertson brings this out, but Ligon Duncan does in his series of lectures, which are transcribed and you can find free just about anywhere. Even though he's alive, imagine that. He talks about that somewhat more extensively, and another lexicon that I was reading about this word is that when we use the expression establish, we tend to mean we're going to start right here and now. But in the form that it is used in the Hebrew, it can very often carry a connotation of continuance. so that it already existed. And the usage of that, like when I establish your kingdom, well, the guy already had a kingdom. So the idea is continuing it. Jake? That could be an aspect of why we don't. You know, we certainly see it referred to in Hosea 6-7, covenant made with Adam, but that's the aspect of it there. But all of this points to, and again, notice to the language here that's being used. I will establish my covenant. You see the use of the pronouns there. Whose covenant? God's. Who's establishing it? God. Remember that definition of covenant that we looked at? I know it was a long time ago. What was the description that we used of what a covenant is? A covenant between God and man. a gracious bond in blood, sovereignly administered. God establishes it, it is God's covenant. It was not, let's sit at the bargaining table. God said to Noah, this, and to every living thing, but really to Noah, this is what I'm going to do. And so that's the understanding that we have. To this point, any questions, comments, things related to that aspect of the connection, really this is the connecting of the Noahic covenant with the creation covenant and really the redemptive covenant. Correct. We'll get to that. Yep. Yep. Yeah. When we, you know, that list of six things, and how many of you have the book, Christ and the Covenants? A lot of you do. So if you go into this, it's the chapter called Covenant of Preservation. You can skim through it and find the six things that I listed. And that's kind of the basic outline that I'm using to go through it. But I do plan to unpack some of these things a bit more. He can only squeeze so much in a book. He's probably told to only squeeze so much in a book. The man can write, so. And he could back then when he wrote this. Barry? Between God and man, it is always God who establishes it, forms it, he sets the terms, that's it. And he keeps the terms. There is no negotiation. You don't see with Adam after the fall, even before the fall with the covenant of works, there was no negotiation. With Noah, there's no negotiation that's taking place. With Abraham, nothing. With Moses, no. With David, no. Trish? Well, that's where we'll get to, yeah. Yeah, we will. Really, when we focus on the side of the preservation aspect of this, that's where we'll definitely get to. Jonathan? Negotiation. Wouldn't that kind of mess with God, not changing his mind or things being agreed already for a time? Yeah, but of course, you get into the accommodating language that scripture... I mean, you see that accommodating language even in the first portion of Genesis 6. I'm sorry that I made man. Well, that's language that's accommodated for us. This was all part of his eternal decree. So, that's the short answer. So, all right. I was hoping we might get into And I wasn't gonna spend a whole lot of time on the second point with respect to the distinctive of the covenant that it's particularly of God's redemptive grace. Yeah, we'll certainly get there. We'll talk about that to some degree, but also the reality that it's particular grace as well, not just general grace. Those words are chosen on purpose. So, all right, well, let's close. We've got, look at that, I finished early for once, but that's only because we talked about this one for a little longer, so that's okay. Let's close in prayer. Our Father in God and heaven, how we thank you and praise you as we look to the Bible to unpack and understand the gracious character of your covenantal dealings with your people. Father, there is a lot to chew on, a lot to reflect on. Help us for one thing, even as we study some of the intricate details that we see in scripture, not to get lost in the details and remember the overarching principle of your grace. Father, as we come into your presence soon to worship and adore you, may we reflect on the sovereign character of your covenantal dealings. but also the gracious character of those covenantal dealings. Lord, how we rejoice that you are a God who is faithful and that your promises are true. We pray all this in Christ's name, amen.