In Jason Dohm's sermon on 'God's Covenant & the Sign - Genesis 9:8-17', the discussion centers on God's covenant with Noah and all living creatures, promising never to destroy the earth again with a flood. The sermon highlights the unique value of human life created in God's image and God's delight in mercy, referencing Micah 7:18. The rainbow serves as a sign of the covenant, reminding both God and humanity of this promise. The sermon emphasizes God's holiness and the necessity of judgment, yet stresses His greater delight in mercy. Dohm underscores the unconditional nature of the Noahic covenant, highlighting God's sovereignty and faithfulness. The sermon also draws parallels between God's promises and the assurance of salvation, encouraging believers to have strong consolation in God's unchangeable promises. Ultimately, it calls believers to live holy and godly lives in light of the coming final judgment, which will be by fire, not flood.

Title of the message this morning is God's covenant and the sign She have a really obvious Division in the text the first part is about the covenant who who it's with and what it is And then it talks about the sign of the covenant, so we'll just divide it that way. For the last two weeks I've hung this banner over those two messages. Life belongs to God and it's precious. So the first one of those sermons had to do with the life of living creatures and the giving of creatures to us as a source of food but even then we aren't allowed to eat the flesh with the lifeblood in the flesh. And that has to do with life belonging to God and it being precious.

And then last week we had to do with the tremendous, unique value of human life. And it's different than the life of all other living creatures because we are made in the image of God and God is so infinitely valuable that those who are made in his image have this tremendous unique value to us. So much so that if you take the life of another person and spill the lifeblood of another image bearer, you forfeit your own life in doing that according to what God says. Today, I want to hang this banner over this week's text, God Delights in Mercy. So if you come away with one thing from this sermon, I hope you get another couple, but if it's only one, let it be this, God Delights in mercy.

Micah chapter 7 verse 18. Micah chapter 7 verse 18. Who is a God like you pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. God making a covenant with mankind never to destroy the earth again by a flood, is a sign that there's no one like him.

That he pardons iniquity and he passes over transgressions, that he does not retain his anger forever. Why not? Because he delights in mercy. That's really what this text is all about, God's delight in mercy. So yes, God is holy.

Never forget that. We should never forget that. We should never stop preaching that. He is holy, so he engages in judgment. He has to.

But he delights in mercy. He engages in judgment, but he delights in mercy. The covenant and the sign of the covenant is declaring that God delights in mercy. Let's pray as we come to our text. Oh God, how sweet it is to our souls that you are a God who delights in mercy.

Yes, you are a holy God. Could never be different than that. Every act of disobedience must come into judgment just because of what you're like, but you delight in mercy. God, we owe today to that. You haven't come and dealt with us as our sins deserve.

Means that we have today, we have more time. Thank you for being the God who delights in mercy. I pray that you would use this time to cause us to delight in you and what you're like in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's take this first section, verses 8 through 11.

Hopefully your thumb is still in Genesis 9. I'll reread verses 8 through 11. Please follow along. Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, And as for me, Behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of All that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth, thus I establish my covenant with you. Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood.

Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." In this section, we have God's covenant with the inhabitants of the earth. So if you're taking notes by filling in blanks, covenant fills in the blank. God's covenant with the inhabitants of the earth. If you go back to the very beginning of the chapter, verse one, who did God bless in verse one? Noah and his three sons get the blessing of God and certainly their wives by extension.

In marriage, a man and a woman to become one so in the blessing of Noah and his three sons certainly these families are blessed Who is God speaking to in verse 8? The same Noah and his three sons so Noah and his three sons are certainly in focus here in chapter 9 God says to them behold I Establish my covenant with you. So behold pay attention to this look on this. I establish my covenant with you. The ESV study Bible has this note.

A covenant formally binds two parties together in a relationship. I think That's a helpful way to think of what a covenant is and what God is doing. A covenant binds, formally binds, it's formal, and it is a binding together of two parties together in a relationship. So God is saying with the inhabitants of the earth, the living creatures, I bind myself in a formal relationship with you. This is actually the second time we've seen this Hebrew word, which is here translated as covenant.

It was in chapter 6, verse 18. That was the first time we saw it, was chapter 6 verse 18. Flip back a page. Let's just see it the first time so we can tie it to what we're seeing in today's text. I'll actually be reading chapter 6 verses 17 through 19.

Genesis chapter six verses 17 through 19. God says this, and behold, I myself am bringing the floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life everything that is on the earth shall die but I will establish my covenant with you and you shall go into the ark, you, your sons, 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." So either that was a covenant to preserve life on the ark or that was God pointing forward to the covenant that we have in our text. I'm not exactly sure which it is, and I don't think that it matters.

Definitely, God was promising to preserve their life by bringing them into the ark, so that might have been a covenant with them. Or he might be, it is in the future tense, I will establish my covenant with you so he could actually be pointing forward to chapter 9. I'm not sure which it is and I'm not sure that it matters. In any case, this is the book of Genesis. This is the book of beginnings.

So in chapter 6 verse 18 and here in our text we are introduced to a core category of scripture, covenants. God entering into a relationship with his creation, formally binding himself, formally meaning this is all in black and white. This is all words given a Formal statement binding these two parties together God with his creatures So here we have the no egg covenant Given to Noah, but certainly extending way beyond just Noah. Then in chapter 17, if we made it that far in Genesis, which we won't. But if we did, we would get the Abrahamic covenant, a covenant given to Abraham.

But again, a covenant that includes way more than just Abraham. Then, as you continue through scripture, you get to the Mosaic Covenant, a covenant given through Moses. But again, to many others beside Moses, this is the law given on Mount Sinai, known as the Mosaic Covenant. Then you get to the Davidic covenant, a covenant made with David. But again, it's that David would always have a son on the throne.

So that one is fulfilled through a lot of names, but ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David. That's really what makes that title of Jesus so meaningful is he is the ultimate recipient of the Davidic covenant and of course now we have the new covenant sealed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So these are covenants, there are more by the way, but those are sort of the major ones in scripture, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and the New Covenant. These define how God has bound himself, formally bound himself to be in relationship with mankind and in this case with the other living creatures of earth too. Who does this covenant, the Noahic covenant, extend to?

To Noah, to his sons, and to their descendants after them. All of them, guess what? That means me, that means you, that means everyone in the room. We are the descendants of Noah and his sons. All of us would be a descendant of one of his sons or another.

He has three sons here. And if, as I said last week, if ancestry.com would allow you to, you could trace yourself back to one of Noah's sons up through Noah up through through Adam and with all the other living creatures birds cattle every beast of the earth all that went out of the ark so it's not just people it is all people including me and you but it's not just people it's all the other living creatures too. God speaks to Noah and his sons but the extent of the covenant is all the living creatures from that time, from the moment these words were uttered until the end of this age when Jesus returns. So it's in effect today just like it was the moment that God uttered it here in Genesis chapter 9. This brings us to an important point about kinds of covenants.

Not all covenants are exactly alike. There are kinds of covenants. A covenant can be conditional. I will do this if you do that. I will do these things if you do those things.

Or a covenant can be unconditional, which is essentially a formal promise which doesn't depend on any preconditions. It doesn't matter what you do, I promise to do this. Whether you do this or that is irrelevant. There are no preconditions. I promise to you I will do this.

You can tell for sure by the extent of this covenant which kind this one is. It includes unborn generations of people. How many unborn generations of people are included in this covenant? Well, they didn't agree to any preconditions. It includes living creatures who can't understand what's being said.

They didn't agree to any preconditions. So it must be an unconditional covenant. God's saying, I'm going to do this, whatever you do, this is what I'm doing. Mr. Rhinoceros, Do you solemnly swear to uphold your end of the bargain?

There is no end of the bargain for the rhinoceri. Is that the plural of rhinoceroses? Okay, maybe. God says, verse 9, and as for me, God says, this is what I'm doing. As for me, I establish my Covenant with you.

This is not our covenant. This is God's covenant. God says as for me, I'm never destroying the earth with a flood again. That's the substance of the covenant. The second part of verse 11.

Look at the second part of verse 11. Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood. Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." That's what's just happened. He cut off all life by the waters of the flood except the lives on the ark. Every other life, if you weren't on the ark, you lost your life.

God says, never again. Never again will I destroy the earth that way in Chapter 8 last chapter When Noah offered the burnt offering and God smelled the soothing aroma, we saw this in chapter 8, the second part of verse 21. Chapter 8 verse 21, the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground for a man's sake Now God Establishes this covenant with all living creatures mankind and otherwise it was in his heart It was already in his heart. He was already saying this in his heart in chapter 8, but now he formally binds himself in mankind with an unconditional promise that as for him, he's never again destroying the earth that way. It is just as true if it is only in the heart of God.

It's enough that it's in his heart. If it's in his heart, it's as good as done, but we don't know it's as good as done. I see it already said, in his heart, when this burnt offering was offered and he smelled this soothing aroma, this was already in his heart, it was as good as done. But we only get the comfort and assurance of it if God formalizes it to us by establishing a covenant. God wanted us actually to have the comfort and assurance of what was in His heart and as good as done, but what good is it to you and me if it's in His heart but we don't know it?

You don't get the comfort or the assurance, and God wanted us to have that. So there have been and are localized floods but we have it on the authority of God that there will never be another global flood. Never, never, never, never. The earth's around another thousand years, another two thousand years, I have no idea that would surprise me a lot, but I won't be here to be surprised. There will never be another flood.

So that is the covenant. God spoke to Noah and his sons, but the covenant itself extends to all living creatures from that time and forward. And it was an unconditional covenant that God would never again destroy the earth by means of a global flood. That's the contents of the covenant. Now let's look at the rest of our text verses 12 through 17.

Genesis 9 verses 12 through 17. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations. I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. It shall be when I bring a cloud of the earth that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will Remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. The water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

The rainbow shall be in the cloud and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth God said to Noah This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth in verses 12 through 17 We're given the sign for remembering the covenant. If you're filling in blanks, remembering fills in the blank. The sign for remembering the covenant. God gave a sign of this covenant and He gave it for perpetual or everlasting generations. So it's actually a sign for me.

All these thousands of years later, the sign still means now what God said it meant then. It's for everlasting generations or perpetual generations. Since that moment, it has been the sign of the covenant, and it continues to be the sign of the covenant. A sign, you know what a sign is. A sign is a distinguishing mark, something that exists to cause a remembrance something you see and then remember what it was intended to bring in mind so you see the sign and it brings to mind what it was intended to bring it to mind.

Is there anything inherent in a stop sign that makes you stop? No. It's actually off to the side and there's nothing about it that makes you stop, but It brings to mind that the law requires you to stop in this spot. It brings the remembrance. The United States has a policy that I have to stop right here in this spot.

There's nothing inherent about it that makes you stop, but it is a distinguishing mark that exists to cause a remembrance. This sign is like that. It's something you see and then remember what it was intended to bring to mind. In this case, the sign is the rainbow in the cloud. Those two things are brought together three times in this text.

The rainbow in the cloud. Not a rainbow no cloud, not a cloud no rainbow, but they're brought together in these three instances. Again, when you see repetition that makes our radar go up to say, something important is being said here. The rainbow in the cloud is the distinguishing mark existing to cause this covenant to be remembered. God has made this association between the source of the global destruction.

Where'd all that water come from? A lot of water in those clouds. We see the clouds. We're seeing the source of this global destruction And the sign that God has promised never to do that again. So you have the rainbow, the sign that God promised.

As for me, I'm never again doing that. So God brings together and marries the source of the destruction with the sign that He's promised never to do that again. I think this is very important actually. When God brings a cloud over the earth, The rainbow will be seen in the cloud. That's actually how it works.

And God will remember his covenant never again to destroy the earth by flood. First, notice that this is a statement of the sovereignty of God. It's subtle, but it's not so subtle. Verse 14 teaches us, look at verse 14, it teaches us that when there is a cloud it is because God brought it over the earth. That is the language used in verse 14.

When I bring a cloud over the earth, this is teaching us that God is the primary cause of even the things we view as routine. So we should actually teach our brains to think that way instead of seeing a cloud and thinking well that is the condensation of water vapor and blah, blah, blah, and think of the scientific explanations. Those are all real but they're not the primary cause. Those are the secondary causes. There's a cloud in the sky today because God brought a cloud to us.

This is actually a statement of the sovereignty of God in verse 4. Second, Of course, God doesn't need this as a memory device. Well, I might forget, so I should put a rainbow in the cloud because if I don't put a rainbow in the cloud, it might just keep raining. I might forget to make it stop raining. Of course, God isn't creating a memory device for himself here As if he only remembers because the rainbow is in the cloud the point isn't that God needs a rainbow to remember.

The point is that we've been giving a sign that He remembers. That we remember the covenant actually has no power at all. Can you make it stop raining? So you're remembering the covenant with God, does it make it stop raining? That we can have full assurance that God remembers the covenant is actually wonderful because He is almighty and He makes it stop raining.

Now it's tornado season. If you've been, If you're a news junkie and you've been following the news, you've seen lots of news recently about tornadoes. It's tornado season. People in many communities across especially the deep south, think Mississippi, and the Midwest, think Kansas and Missouri, have been ripped apart in the past few weeks. Question, what do you think it is like for them right now when they see storm clouds gathering?

In Tornado Alley, there's this area of the country known as Tornado Alley, and it's tornado season. They're getting Lots of tornadoes. If you live in Tornado Alley, what do you think it's like for them right now when they see storm clouds gathering? We say, looks like rain. You think that's what they're saying?

They're saying, please not again. So the sign is for perpetual generations, but you can bet that the sign was never more appreciated than by Noah and his family. How many times have you seen a rainbow and never connected it to the Covenant in your thoughts? That's because you've never been through a global flood. So it is meaningful to us, but think about if you lived in Tornado Alley and the storm clouds were gathering, you would be very appreciative of a promise that it wasn't going to result in the things that you had seen that were catastrophic.

John Calvin says this, that the memory of the deluge, the deluge is the flood, that the memory of the flood might not inspire them with new terrors as often as the sky were covered with clouds, lest the earth should again be drowned, this source of anxiety is taken away. I think that's a helpful way to think of what God is doing, especially for Noah and his family, not just for Noah and his family, but especially for Noah and his family. When the storm clouds gather, they don't need to be inspired with new terrors that the earth was again being drowned. So that is the sign of the covenant. The rainbow and the cloud, these two things brought together the source of the catastrophe and the promise that God's never going to do that again, giving us full assurance that God, who can make the rain stop, remembers His covenant.

Now let me conclude with some final thoughts and give you three. I want to hang the banner again from Micah 7 verse 18, God delights in mercy. That is what this text is about, God delights in mercy. Why would he give you a sign that he's never going to destroy the earth again that way? Because we've reformed.

I promise never to do that again because people are good now. No. Listen to Psalm 145. Here's the real reason. Psalm 145 verses 8 and 9.

This is a Psalm of praise of David. It's the superscription over this song, a praise of David. Psalm 145 verses 8 and 9. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works." what a great summary of our text.

His tender mercies are over all His works. People, yep, people. Rhinoceri, yep, rhinoceri. Insects, yep, insects. Birds, yep, birds.

Fish, yep, fish. Who is this God, the God of Scripture? Well, He's gracious. He's always given what's not deserved, what hasn't been earned. He's full of compassion.

He takes pity. He's slow to anger. He's great in mercy. He doesn't treat sinners like they deserve to be treated. Oh, you mean saved people.

No, I mean all people. He's not treating, today on planet earth, he's not treating any person like they deserve to be treated. Because he's slow to anger. He's great in mercy. He's good to all.

His tender mercies are over all his works. Listen to what Matthew Henry says in the way that only Matthew Henry can say it. God had drowned the world once, and still it was as filthy and provoking as ever. And God foresaw the wickedness of it meaning at that time thousands of years ago. God foresaw what our nation would be like What the nations of the world would be like and yet promised he would never drown it anymore for he deals not with us according to our sins it is owing to God's goodness and faithfulness not to any reformation of the world that it has not often been deluged and that it is not deluged now.

Here's the payoff line. Don't miss the payoff line. As the old world was ruined to be a monument of justice. So think of the global flood. God is setting up a monument of justice.

Here's what sinners deserve, a flood wiping the earth from all that filth. A monument of justice. So this world remains to this day a monument of mercy. Why are you here today? Oh, because God is constructing a monument of mercy in giving sinners time to repent and in Diving into lives full of sin and rebellion and disobedience and saving them just because he is slow to anger and great in mercy.

According to a monument of mercy according to the oath of God. He actually makes promises to be merciful. So that's concluding thought one, hanging the banner again from Micah 7, 18. God delights in mercy. Yeah, he engages in judgment because he's holy but he delights in mercy He loves a mercy number two The salvation of sinners God saving sinners also totally depends on God's faithfulness to his promises.

God saving sinners also, like us not being flooded again, totally depends on God's faithfulness to his promises. If you want, you can turn to Hebrews 6, or you can just listen to me read. Either way, I'll be in Hebrews 6 verses 16 through 20. Listen to Hebrews 6 verses 16 through 20. Listen to Hebrews 6 verses 16 through 20.

For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel or the unchanging nature of his counsel confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things, one he said it, two he gave an oath, by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. We might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, Having become high priest forever according to the old order of Melchizedek What is this saying God wants everyone who has fled for refuge to Jesus to have the strong consolation of knowing that his promises are unchangeable and utterly unfailing. So if you're in this room and you have fled to Jesus for refuge, God has convinced you that you're in terrible danger and so you ran to Jesus to get out of danger.

He wants you to have this strong consolation of knowing that it's impossible that He could tell a lie and He's promised to save you because you fled to Jesus. That His promises are utterly unchangeable and utterly unfailing. God wants the souls of believers to have this anchor. It would be possible for it to be true, but for you to not have the strong consolation. God wants you to have the strong consolation.

He wants your soul to be anchored, not fretting because you know that you're so changeable. Doesn't that make you fret? No, like, oh, I'm such an idiot. And I'm probably going to be an idiot next week too. But the big point is God's not an idiot.

He never has been and He isn't today and He never will be. It's impossible for him to lie and when he promises to do something he always does it. So if you fled to his son for refuge, he's promised to save you and even though you're so changeable, he will never change, he will save you. That anchors your soul. He wants you to have that.

He wants you to have this strong consolation. That's number two. The salvation of sinners also totally depends on God's faithfulness to his promises. So we should have strong consolation. Number three.

There will be one more global judgment. There have been many as in a lot, many as in tiny judgments. Sodom and Gomorrah, one city, gone in a moment. There's been a lot of those, but there's only been one global judgment, the flood. It's going to happen one more time.

You can turn if you want to 2 Peter 3. Unless you have this strong consolation, 2 Peter 3 is totally terrifying. And it's designed to be, it's designed to terrify you unless you have fled to Jesus for refuge. Second Peter 3, verses 10 through 13. Peter writes this.

2nd Peter 3 starting in verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Which night? You don't know. The thief sneaks up on an undisclosed night the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in Which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and? The elements will melt with fervent heat Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness. Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nonetheless, we according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. See, the people who have fled for Jesus are looking for something new and better, and they're not sorry to hear This is all going to burn up at all. Burn up this filthy place and my participation in the filth.

Let it all be dissolved. Let's have the new heavens. Let's have the newer. The first time the earth was judged by water, the global flood, the final time by an unyielding heat that will melt the elements. All the things you're coveting are just going to melt.

Verse 11, Peter says, in light of these things, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? In other words, if you really believe that to be true, what would you live like? If you really believe that to be true, how you would be set apart to God? You would be holy. You would be godly in your conduct If you were if you really believed that was true, how would you view your compromises?

You'd probably wage a war against your compromises If you thought this was happening next week, all that we see, all that we know is just going to melt because of the tremendous unyielding heat. Next week is the end. How would you treat your compromises this week? You would put them to death. How would you talk to your neighbors?

The endless chit chat about nothing would melt away and You would talk to them about you would bite the bullet and talk to them about the things that matter. Peter is saying, you should be convinced of these things. These things are true. You should wage a war against your compromises. You should separate yourself to God and live holy and godly lives.

You should talk to your neighbors about the things that matter. God, thank you for delighting in mercy. Make us people who delight in mercy too. We could be like you in that way. So merciful.

Not because it's a duty though it is, but because we love it, we love it. We've received freely, we give freely, Make us like that. Pray in Jesus' name, Amen.