GENESIS 9

I know, I know. Stalker has such a negative connotation these days, but if you read the book of Genesis, you might see it in a different light by the end! If you want to try something interesting, read it for yourself, as much as you can in one sitting. There's one thing that keeps happening over and over—God, running around, making covenants with people. By the time you get to the end, God sort of looks like a stalker, but a good stalker—one who's just interested in blessing people.

The Bible term used for these promises of blessing is "covenant." We find the first of these in chapter 9. God says, "I am going to make my covenant with you and your descendants..." And He goes on to explain how the rainbow in the clouds is the sign of His promise that the whole earth will never again be overcome by a flood.

Isn’t it interesting that God is the one who comes to us and, out of the blue, starts making promises? When we stand back and look at the big picture, we see that we are the ones who have done the wrong things. We are the ones who have "offended," and as such, we might think that we should be the ones figuring out how to make amends.

But, even though God is the "offended" party, we see that He doesn’t wait around for us to approach Him. He comes right to us and establishes a new covenant. We have demonstrated time and again that we're very willing to break every promise we have made to Him, but that doesn't seem to faze Him. He comes right back to us and says, "Okay, let’s strike a new bargain. I’m willing to make a new deal." And as many times as we need a new covenant, He will provide it.

The only thing that can possibly limit the effectiveness of this approach is if we get to the place where we're no longer willing to listen to a word He has to say. But as long as we have not shut the door completely to God, He will continue to come back again and again, offering us a new deal, giving us a new bargain, establishing a new covenant. And He will always give us signs to remember Him by, just as He remembers us. In verse 16, God says, "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember..."

It seems a bit odd, but when you think about it, the only thing we have to do in our relationship to God is...respond. When we think we are seeking God, we find that He has sought us first. When we think we are loving God, we find that He has loved us first. When we think we are pursuing a relationship with God, we find that He was pursuing us first. He really is a stalker!