Commentary - Genesis 8:20-22

Bird's-eye view

Genesis 8:20-22 marks a pivotal moment in redemptive history. Having just stepped out of the ark onto a washed and barren world, Noah's first act is not to build a house, but an altar. This is an act of worship, an acknowledgment of the God who judges and saves. God's response to this sacrifice is profoundly covenantal. He smells the soothing aroma, a type and shadow of the ultimate sacrifice to come, and makes a promise rooted in a starkly realistic assessment of the human condition. He pledges to never again curse the ground in such a way, not because man is now good, but precisely because he is not. This passage establishes the basis for what is often called the Noahic covenant, or the covenant of common grace, ensuring the stability of the natural order so that God's plan of redemption can unfold within history. It is a foundational text for understanding how God graciously preserves the world, despite its unceasing sinfulness, for the sake of His ultimate purpose in Christ.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 20 Then Noah built an altar to Yahweh and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

The first thing to notice here is the first thing Noah did. Before he built a shelter for himself, before he planted a vineyard, he built an altar for God. This establishes a fundamental principle for all righteous living: worship precedes work. Acknowledgment of God is the foundation for all human culture. Noah understood that the world had not been saved by his shipbuilding skills, but by the grace and mercy of God. The flood was a massive de-creation, a return to the watery chaos of the beginning, and this is the moment of new creation. And just as the first creation was for the glory of God, so this new beginning is consecrated to Him through worship. Noah's first act is a liturgical act. He is the priest-king of this new world, and he leads his family, the remnant of humanity, in right worship. He takes from what God has provided, the clean animals preserved on the ark, and offers them back to God. This is not a bribe or an attempt to appease an angry deity. It is a heartfelt expression of gratitude and dependence, an acknowledgment that all they have is from God's hand. The distinction between clean and unclean animals, established here before the giving of the Mosaic law, shows us that God has always instructed His people on how to approach Him. Worship is never a man-made invention; it is always a response to divine revelation.

v. 21 And Yahweh smelled the soothing aroma; and Yahweh said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man...

This is a profound anthropomorphism, God smelling an aroma. Of course, God does not have a physical nose. This is biblical language describing God's good pleasure. The sacrifice was acceptable to Him. But why? Was it the smell of roasting meat? No, it was what the sacrifice represented. It was an act of faith, pointing forward to the one true sacrifice that would one day truly appease the wrath of God. Every Old Testament sacrifice was a gospel sermon in miniature. It preached that sin leads to death, and that substitutionary atonement is the only way back to God. The aroma was soothing not because it covered up the stench of sin in the world, but because it was a fragrant whiff of the coming sacrifice of Christ, who is the ultimate pleasing aroma to the Father (Eph. 5:2). And notice God's response. He makes a promise, a covenant commitment, "to Himself." This is crucial. The foundation of this promise is not the future goodness of man, but the unchanging character and purpose of God. He binds Himself, ensuring the stability of the world. He will never again hit the reset button in this way. The judgment of the flood was total, but it was also unique. From this point on, God will deal with sin in a different way, preserving the world as the stage upon which the drama of redemption will be played out to its conclusion.

v. 21 ...for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.

Here we have the bedrock of Reformed anthropology, and it is the stated reason for God's grace, not His wrath. This is gloriously upside down from how we naturally think. God says He will preserve the world not because man has learned his lesson and is going to behave now. He will preserve the world because He knows man has not learned his lesson and is just as rotten as he was before the flood. The water washed away a generation of sinners, but it could not wash the sin out of Noah's heart, or the hearts of his children. The "intent of man's heart," the very inclination and disposition of his inner being, is evil from his youth. This is the doctrine of total depravity, not that man is as evil as he could possibly be, but that every part of him is affected by sin. The flood demonstrated that executing judgment on this basis would require an endless series of floods. If God were to deal with mankind solely on the basis of justice, He would have to wipe us out continually. So, in an act of staggering grace, God limits His own judicial response. He promises not to strike down every living thing again, precisely because man's sinfulness is so deep and pervasive. This is not God lowering His standards; it is God establishing a covenant of preservation, what theologians call common grace, so that His plan of special, saving grace could come to fruition.

v. 22 While all the days of the earth remain, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”

This is the charter for the rest of human history this side of the final judgment. God promises a stable, predictable world. He underwrites the laws of nature. This is the foundation for all science, all agriculture, all civilization. A farmer can plant a seed in the ground with the confidence that the seasons will turn, the sun will shine, the rain will fall, and a harvest will come. This is not because "mother nature" is reliable, but because a covenant-keeping God is faithful. He has promised to uphold the regularities of the created order. The rhythm of seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, is a perpetual sermon on the faithfulness of God. These things are not ultimate, of course. They will remain "while all the days of the earth remain." There is an end point. But until that final day, God graciously provides a stable platform for human life to continue. He does this for the unbeliever as well as the believer. The sun shines on the just and the unjust. This common grace is what prevents society from completely disintegrating into the chaos that our sinful hearts would otherwise create. And it provides the time and space for the gospel to go forth, for the elect to be gathered in, before the final harvest at the end of the age.

Application

The first application is simple: worship comes first. Noah got off the boat and his first instinct was to build an altar. Before we check our email, before we build our careers, before we pursue our hobbies, we must build an altar. Our lives must be oriented around the worship of the true and living God. Everything else flows from this. If your life feels chaotic and disordered, the first question to ask is about the state of your altar.

Second, we must have a right view of man. This passage demolishes all utopian fantasies. The human heart is the problem, and it is evil from its youth. No flood, no government program, no educational reform can fix it. Only the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit can change the human heart. This should make us humble about our own righteousness and realistic about the prospects for a godless society. It should also make us profoundly grateful for the grace of God, which does not depend on our goodness.

Finally, we should live in gratitude for God's common grace. Every sunrise, every harvest, every predictable season is a gift from a faithful God. He is holding this world together by the word of His power so that we can live and work and raise our families and preach the gospel. We should not take this stability for granted. The regularities of nature are not autonomous; they are the direct result of God's covenant promise. This should lead us to live with a confident trust in God's providence, knowing that the same God who keeps the seasons in their course is the God who is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, and for the glory of His Son.