In the New Covenant text of the Book of Hebrews, we are reminded of the faith of Noah, who constructed an ark, because he was told by God that he was about to judge the world and destroy all life on the surface of the earth. Thus, although there was no evidence of the coming judgment, Noah obeyed the Lord, and in doing so effectively judged the world as deserving such a fate, and he inherited the judgment of being declared righteous by God (Hebrews 11:7; cp. Genesis 7:1). Similarly, although Noah had determined through experiment that the earth was dry (Genesis 8:7-13), he waited for the Lord’s command to leave the ark (Genesis 8:15-16), trusting in the word of God, rather than his own experiments. This, too, expresses Noah’s faith!
So, Noah waited for a word from the Lord, and he went forth from the ark, he and his family, together with all the beasts, creeping things and birds that were preserved alive from the floodwaters. When the word of God came to him (Genesis 8:15-17), Noah obeyed (Genesis 8:18-19).
Afterward, “Noah built an altar to the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). This was Noah’s first act after leaving the ark and finding suitable living quarters. It was also the first act done in the Gilgamesh Epic, showing the strict parallels between the two records.[1] Building an altar, when one comes to the place where he finds suitable for living, was a common practice among ancient believers, who walked with God (cp. Genesis 12:7-8; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1).
Moreover, the mention of clean animals and birds shows that knowledge of clean and unclean was known even from Eden (cp. Genesis 4:4; 7:2). Whether or not this also applied to food for mankind, isn’t certain, but it is unlikely (cp. Genesis 9:3). Therefore, just as nothing in the animal world is forbidden today, it seems very likely that this was also true prior to the introduction of the Law of Moses.
Therefore, when Noah offered his sacrifice to the Lord (verse-20), the Lord responded, declaring it was a sweet smell or good prayer, and he answered Noah, saying “in his heart” (i.e. Noah’s heart, otherwise how did Noah know?) that he (God) would not curse the ground any more (od – H5750). This, however, doesn’t mean God had taken away the original curse upon the ground, which he did in response to Adam’s rebellion (cp. Genesis 3:17-19). Men still farm the land and reap its fruit with sweat all over their bodies, because the labor is hard. Thorns and thistles still come up out of the ground, and the crops must be weeded, in order to obtain a good crop. Therefore, this curse still applies. What the text at Genesis 8:21means is that God would not add to that curse, vis-à-vis he wouldn’t curse it further (H5750 – cp. 1Samuel 10:22; Esther 9:12).
The Lord implies that, because “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” that this has become true, since he was given a physical body (Genesis 3:21). He was given a physical body in hope of overcoming evil (cp. Romans 8:20). Such a thing could not have been originally so, if everything the Lord created was very good (Genesis 1:31). Animals must behave according to their bodily desires; men must learn to control their urges. Finally, the Lord promised he wouldn’t destroy every living thing again, as he had done to the antediluvian world (Genesis 8:21). Furthermore, he also promised that the seasons of the year and the cycle of day and night wouldn’t cease to be upon the earth (Genesis 8:22).
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[1] See my previous study, Searching for Dry Land, which shows evidence for both records drawing upon more ancient records.
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