1. Order restored (1-3)

God blessed Noah as he had blessed Adam (1:28a). But creation order had been broken by sin, so people could not rule over the earth without God's help. No one can live in chaos, so God reestablished order. But it was an order based on fear, not on love and respect. Humans became carnivorous. "Survival of the fittest" became the rule. Because of the carnage of the flood, life became cheap. So God had to teach humans the value of life.

2. Human life is precious (4-17)

The value of each person's life is not derived from each one's pragmatic usefulness. A human is valuable because of God's image in a person (6). The fetus in the womb, the disabled and elderly all have God's life in them. God taught the value of human life by making murder a capital offense. The covenant of life and the rainbow remind us that all life belongs to God. God remembered Noah's offering, and set aside blood to use as a sacrifice for sin on the altar (Lev 17:11). It was for atonement and spiritual life.