Sermon Tone Analysis

*Intro*

This Fall, FOX launched a new series called /Terra Nova /(which means “new earth” or “new land”).

It is probably one of the most expensive series ever with a 20 million dollar budget, but basically the story is set in the year 2149, in “a time when all life on planet Earth is threatened with extinction due to dwindling worldwide air quality and overpopulation.

It has become virtually impossible for humanity to survive, and almost no vegetation exists.”[1]

But scientists find this space~/time rift where humans can travel back into time (in an alternate reality) 85 million years and have a chance to start over and save humanity.

It is sort of like Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg did produce it) and I’m not sure if it will last, but it did remind me that humans have a longing for a new beginning and a fresh start.

We all want a chance to start new again with a clean slate, a new beginning.

You can call it a desire for utopia.

But can man learn from his mistakes?

But even in the first episode, we see that new place with the same heart problem does not change anything.

Some over the years have dreamt of the possibility of killing off the “bad” people and taking only the morally righteous and virtuous people and starting over.

The only problem is who decides who is righteous and who is not?

And how righteous is righteous enough?

And if we go by God’s standards, He says, “there is none righteous, no not one” (Rom.

3:10).

So the problem according to the Bible is not about if we can live in a new world, but how can we have a new heart?

Back in Genesis 8, we saw that God executing justice and in pain, He judged mankind.

As soon as Noah, his family and the animals leave the ark into a Terra Nova of their own, they must have had a lot of questions.

How do we live in this world, which is still fallen?

And I’m sure they knew that they also brought sin on the ark when they entered it.

And now they bring sin with them as they enter the new world.

How does God want us to live?

How can we survive in a fallen world with fallen hearts?

What does God think of life?

Will He flood the world again?

There must have been a lot of fear and hope mixed together there.

But also remember that this book is written to the children of Israel as they are about to enter their own Terra Nova, the Promised Land.

So the truths here speak to them as well as they endeavor to live for Yahweh in a new place.

So God reassured them of a few things:

*I.

**God will never be defeated by sin (Gen.

8:20-22)*

We saw that though there is great sin in man’s heart, there was greater grace and mercy in God’s heart.

What an assurance of God’s grace and love!

Secondly,

*II.

God will always value life (Gen.

9:1-7)*

We also saw that God is a God who celebrates and values life.

Though we can have our stances on death penalty or abortion, do we value life as God?

Is our value on what God values?

We know we love Jesus when Jesus is more valuable to us than our valuables.

God values people over things.

We must put our value in the right place and we looked at three questions that helped us with that.

Thirdly,

*III*.*

God will always keep His promises (Gen.

9:8-17)*

After God gives Noah and his sons the commission, God promises what He will do on His part.

There are three speeches here by God (vv.

8-11, vv.

12-16 and v.17).

This whole section deals with what is called the Noahic covenant.

Seven times (Gen.

9:9,11,12,13,15,16 and 17) the word “covenant” is mentioned in Gen. 9:8-17.

What is a covenant?

Basically, it is “a promise made by God to man.”[2]

From now on in Scripture, we will see that God is a covenant maker in how He will relate to man.

Why a covenant?

It shows God’s commitment to man.

It highlights His character and shows us His faithfulness in that God will always keep His promises.

It is really for our blessing.

As John Macarthur says, it is “for the goodness of life from the goodness of God.”[3]

You might be wondering why the Noahic Covenant here has to be so wordy and repetitious?

The repetition and wordiness emphasizes the thoroughness and seriousness of this covenant.

Noah and his sons are told to “Behold” (Gen.

9:9), i.e. pay attention and get ready to bank on this for the rest of your life.

It should be notes that several covenants (six promises) mentioned in the Old Testament (though some see less, others more): the Noahic (Gen 6:18; 8:20–9:17); Abrahamic (Genesis 15, 17); Mosaic or Sinaitic (Ex.

19:5, 20); Palestinian (Deuteronomy 29–30); Davidic (2 Sam.

7:4–16; 23:5); and New Covenant (Jer.

31:31–34; Ezekiel 36–37 ).[4]

Right before Jesus died at the Last Supper, Jesus said, “This is the new covenant in my blood”(Luke 22:20).

So what are the characteristics of this Noahic covenant?

/a)/ /Unilateral /

This means this is a covenant made by one person.

A bilateral covenant is a covenant made by two people, like marriage.

This is God initiated, God enacted and God completed.

He does not negotiate with Noah.

God is sovereign.

He determines what He will do in accordance with the counsel of His own will.

Macarthur adds, “God is not saying if you do this and do that then I'll do this and I'll do that.

If you don't do this and do that, then I won't do this and do that.

It is not like that.

It is, "I Myself," that's in verse 9. Look at verse 11, "/I/ establish My covenant."

Verse 12, "This is the sign of the covenant which /I am/ making between me and you."

Verse 17, "This is a sign of the covenant which I have established."

Never we, always I. The promise or the covenant here is unilateral.

God determines to make this promise on His own, without consultation with man.”[5]

Notice in v.9 God says, “I establish,” but then in v.17, “I HAVE established.”

God is the one who initiates, enacts and completes the covenant.

This is God’s thing.

Look also at the order of what God asks Noah and his sons to do and not to do and what God says He will do and not do.

In Gen. 8:21-22, we see what God will not do.

We see His extravagant grace despite the sinfulness of man.

Then in Gen. 9:1-7 we see what Noah and his sons are to do and not do.

Following this is what God again says He will do.

So we have a “sandwich” here of God-man-God.

What does that tell you?

Well, it tells you that all covenants between God and man are made in a context of relationship.

All that we are to do flows out of what God will do for us.

And that is exactly how Paul writes his letters.

He spends a few chapters on what Christ has done and then a couple on what we are to do.

That is the heart of the New Covenant.

God will do all the work in securing our salvation and then give us the Holy Spirit to us and it is in that context of relationship where we will be divinely enabled to be and do all the things He asks us to be and do.