In previous messages we have seen many of the riches that are found in the book of Genesis. In this message we shall see another item of these riches—the kingdom. The kingdom is one of the many truths that is sown as a seed in the book of Genesis, developed throughout the Bible, and reaped as a harvest in Revelation. We have already seen that, after the flood, Noah and his family lived a life in resurrection and that such a life was a shadow of the church. Now we shall see that this life in resurrection was also a shadow of the kingdom. The kingdom is a very great subject in the Bible. It is a most significant matter.
The kingdom is implied in Genesis 9:1-7. Verse 6 says, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." This is a crucial verse in the book of Genesis. All Bible teachers agree that in this verse, a verse which indicates that God has given man authority over other men, we can see here the beginning of human government. Before that time, God had never given man authority over others. All men were directly under God. But, due to the fall, there is a rebellious nature in mankind. For this reason, God established a certain authority on earth to be His deputy to rule over man. From the beginning of the book of Genesis until the time of 9:6, there was no indication that, apart from the husband being the head over his wife (3:16), God had given man authority over others. However, after the flood, when in resurrection man lived on the earth in a new way, God established a deputy authority on earth.
Noah was God's deputy authority after the flood. As the head of a new race, he was the deputy authority under God. Adam was not God's deputy authority over man. He was appointed to have authority over the creatures, not over man. If you read Genesis 1 carefully, you will see that Adam had authority over the fish, the fowl, the cattle, the creeping things, and "over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (vv. 26, 28). But there is not one word to indicate that Adam was given authority over other men. But after Noah became the head of a new race, God gave him authority not only over creatures other than man, but also over man.