The covenant with Noah and his sons continued.
The covenant with Noah and his descendants is God’s unilateral action on behalf of His enemies, the rebellious humankind. God did not place a condition for his promise. Instead, God assured the rebellious humankind that He would watch over them whether they loved him or not. For Noah, and only for him, the covenant was a reward for Noah being faithful to Go. It was a reward for Noah’s devotion to God and the effort to preserve life on the earth. However, for Noah’s descendants, God’s selfless promise was a grant to the whole of humankind. God did not require anything from Noah and his descendants in return for His grant or a promise. God’s selfless grant remained valid for the whole of humankind whether they chose to be loyal to God or not.
The flood was not God’s punishment for the rebellion in the garden of Eden. Humankind before the flood became so violent that humankind’s survival was in danger. Because He loves humankind, God prevented the destruction of humankind until its redemption at just the right time. The covenant with Noah and his sons ensured the whole of humankind that God will preserve them until He re-creates humankind in Jesus Christ. God fulfilled His promise through the body of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha.
The covenant with Noah and his sons is the only time God promised not to do something. God promised humankind that He would never again destroy the earth and humankind by the waters of the flood. God gave His grant or a promise to preserve humankind even though He knew that humankind would not remain loyal to Him. The flood was the only means by which God ensured the preservation of humankind until the coming of the Messiah, at just the right time. God knows the future; therefore, He acts at just the right time. By His selfless act, God preserved humankind until He justified and restored it to Himself through the body of Jesus on the cross at Golgotha.