Daily Thought for Monday 11th May 2026
“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.’”
Genesis 9:8-10 (NRSV)
Covenant
Murdo Macdonald
A covenant is a solemn promise where one party makes commitments to perform (or refrain from) certain actions. I don’t think we have them any more, but church members used to have the opportunity to make a “deed of covenant”, where you signed a form, promising to give a certain amount of money each year to the church.
“Covenant” is a word that crops up a number of times in this passage. God makes it clear that he is establishing a covenant not only with Abraham and his family (the last remnants of the human race, following the devastating flood described in the preceding chapters), but importantly the covenant that God makes here is also noted as being “with every living creature that is with you”. This is a reminder that, even though our focus may largely be on the people in the ark, God doesn’t only care about humanity – he remembers the rest of his Creation, too.
However, covenant is not a word that we use very often in day-to-day life. In the church, we are probably most familiar with it when we celebrate Communion, when we remember the words of Jesus at the last supper: “And [Jesus] did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20).
In the same way that the rainbow was given to Noah and his family as a reminder, a visible reminder of the covenant is given by Jesus. God knows that we’re not always very good at remembering the covenants he makes with us, so gives us tangible reminders.
Shall we pray?
Loving God, we thank you for the promises you have made – especially the new covenant through the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Amen.
Murdo Macdonald, a scientist by training, is now an adult social carer with CrossReach. Murdo is married to Rachel, and they have 3 children; he is an elder in Tranent Parish church.