The following is an edited version of the lecture given on 14th Octover 2006 in the series entitled "In the Beginning."       Thus I Establish My Covenant with You"And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it." 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."  (Genesis 9:7-10) It is very easy for us to judge passages such as we find here in Genesis chapter 9 as it appears to the physical eye. When we teach children about this passage, too, we tend to talk about the rainbow with its seven colors, and explain that this is the sign of the promise that God gave to "Grandfather Noah", saying that He would never again destroy the world with a flood. This is not wrong, but there is a phrase here to which we need to pay particular attention.  In verse 9 it says, "My covenant." A covenant is an agreement between two people, but it is not an agreement in which each party promises something to the other; it is when one party makes a promise to the other. In other words, there is this covenant between God and man, but man is not the initiator of that covenant and neither does man have any say in the terms of the covenant, and so God is the guarantor of the covenant. We need to consider carefully how God gave the rainbow to Noah as a sign of what He expressed as "My covenant," and, at the same time, we need to think deeply about the promises that God gave to the Israelites throughout the Bible and the promises that He has given to the whole of mankind. Let's take a look at Genesis chapter 9 verse 11.   "Thus I establish My covenant with you."   Here, too, it says, "I establish My covenant with you." There were not two parties establishing this covenant.   "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." 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 over 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 waters 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." And 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."  (Genesis 9:11-17)   The rainbow was established as a sign of the covenant. Because we tend to simply think of the rainbow as a refraction of light, we are not able to let our thinking go any further than this scientific phenomenon. We see it as a display of colors in the form of an arch, caused by the refraction of light through a prism. But the rainbow also appears in another place in the Bible. That is in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 1 contains a record of the vision that the prophet Ezekiel saw when he was standing by the River Chebar, during the times when the kingdoms of Israel and Judea were being taken as captives to Babylon. As the prophet Ezekiel was standing by the River Chebar, weeping as he thought about Zion, a huge image appeared before him coming out of the north. He saw this huge image and from the midst of it he heard a voice.   And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. (Ezekiel 1:26-28)   If we are not careful, we may think that the events that appear in Ezekiel chapter 1 seem like fantasies from some nursery story. Some religious-minded people have painted huge pictures of the scenes of God's glory described in this passage in order to reveal this to others. As we read through Ezekiel chapter 1 from verse 1 we come across images of creatures that are difficult for us to understand. There are four creatures, and wheels, and the rims of the wheels were full of eyes. A very strange image is depicted here. Then, above all of this, there was the likeness of a firmament; there was something like what we generally refer to as the sky. Above that, there was the likeness of a throne, and upon the throne there sat a figure whose likeness was as the appearance of a man.There is no need to force an interpretation of this passage, but it says that there was a figure show likeness was as the appearance of a man, and in Genesis it says, "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'" (1:26). These passages arouse a sense of duty on our part to appreciate how precious our physical bodies are-these bodies that have been created in the likeness of God. Whether this person on the throne was Jesus or God the Father is not a matter that I'm planning to discuss in this sermon, but one thing that is certain was that there was a figure upon the throne whose likeness was that of a man. And then it says that from His waist and downward there was the appearance of fire with brightness all around, and that it was like the appearance of a rainbow on a rainy day. If we take a careful look at what it says in the Bible, there is one thing that we can know for certain. The many things that we see and are aware of as we live our lives that belong to this earth - the things we enjoy, our physical bodies, and the ground we walk on, great big trees that we see before our eyes, as well as the oceans or the mountains - are all shadows of the true things that God originally had in mind and created.  The many things that we can see in this world in which we live are shadows. Some day, even the heaven and the earth that we see will melt in fire. The physical constitution of all things will melt down, making way for the new heaven and the new earth. All of this is outlined in the New Testament. (See 2 Peter 3:12-13) This will take place one day. Everything as we now know it will go back to its original form. But the brightness surrounding the figure on the throne here is similar to that of the rainbow God granted to Noah. In other words, God told Noah that He was establishing His covenant with man. "Thus I establish My covenant with You ... I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth." If we think very carefully about what it says in the book of Ezekiel and then consider the rainbow that appears here in Genesis chapter 9, we can see that there is more to it than a mere refraction of light to create a prism of colors. First, it is a shadow of the magnificent light that surrounds the throne of God. Secondly, it is the proof of pledge that God gave in order to give a promise to mankind. As the proof of pledge, God did not give something that belonged to this earth; rather, He showed a phenomenon that is visible from the throne of God to Noah and his descendants. And we, too, are included amongst those descendants. As we consider this matter, we find that we need to think once more about the method that God uses to make His promises to mankind. In the age in which Noah lived, there was no Bible, the scriptures had not been written down, and the law had not been recorded; there was nothing at all like that in those days. Noah simply lived his life respecting God and walking with God. A careful reading of the book of Deuteronomy makes it apparent that the recording of the word of God began through Moses on Mount Sinai. Noah did not have the recorded words as we do, but God showed him the image of the tremendous light, and He gave it as the proof of the covenant.   God's Words of Covenant to IsraelThere are many times when we don't think carefully about the words of the Bible in which we believe, or we forget about how precious and sure the words of God are when they tell us that our sins have been forgiven. As we read the Bible, there are times when we become confused. One example may be found in Isaiah chapter 44. You are all well familiar with this passage, aren't you? "I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." (Verse 22) A person may have a joyless existence, wandering lost in sin as he lives his life, but then when he starts reading the Bible, he sees a reflection of himself in its words, and discovers the wretched fate that awaits him. And he comes to see his sin, and then a change comes over his heart as the words of the Bible are revealed to him. But when the words of promise are planted in our hearts, it is an experience exclusive to each individual and it is something that is not visible to the physical eye, and so it is possible that we will forget all about it from time to time. It does not mean that it has disappeared, but we simply put it all to one side and continue with our lives. But, this verse in Isaiah was not addressed to us individuals. I am most certainly not saying that it is wrong to receive salvation through this verse. Isaiah chapter 44 reveals what is in God's heart concerning the children of Israel. In that case, does it not have anything to do with us? It does have something to do with us. There is a thread that runs throughout the entire Bible. I am not talking about the forgiveness of sin for each individual, but the flow of the entire Bible which God controls, and there is a certain manner in which God's will is fulfilled. And God wants it to be reflected through the history of Israel. This is extremely important. This fact needs to be firmly planted in our minds in order for the words of the Bible, particularly the words of the Old Testament, to become our own. We must clearly understand that there are times when we become confused while reading the Bible.And in the book of Esther we read how General Haman had prepared a gallows on which he intended to hang Mordecai, but it was Haman himself who hung there. When we read about this, we realize tha

정회원으로 가입하시면 전체기사와 사진(동영상)을 보실수 있습니다.