Came to Rest

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

CAME TO REST

Gen 8:1-5

8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

NIV

Interestingly, the word remembered seems to indicate that God had forgotten Noah and all the animals and livestock that were with him in the ark. That just cannot be, for how could God forget Noah? Was God's pain too much to think about Noah? Did he enact his revenge or judgement so severely on all mankind that he gave up on thinking he had Noah, who found favor in his eyes? That is not how the scripture reads, because the 'but' comes after the floodwaters had covered the whole earth, but God did not forget about Noah and all those who were with him in the ark, so he sent a wind to begin the process of drying up the water to expose the dry land. This gives us great encouragement because no matter where we are in life, God does not forget us. He always remembers us whether we are floundering in the water, being tossed to and fro by the storms of life, or we are resting in the ark, the cross of safety, secured on the top of the mountain of God. As the waters receded, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. It was just the bottom of the hull, so the ark was no longer floating around, but stood still while God caused the water to go down. This reminds us of when Jesus was sleeping on the boat, and the disciples, although at least four of them were fishermen, thought they were going to drown and woke him up. He calmed the storm, and they were safe. It does not matter what is going on in our lives, whether we are in a storm or resting in the cross, God always remembers us, always looks over us. Just as he caused the ark with Noah and his family to come to rest on the mountains of Ararat, he can cause us to come to rest, in a sense, on his mountain. This could be seen as the hills of Golgotha, the place where the cross of Jesus stood. From a certain angle, the hill takes on the appearance of a skull, so it is called the place of the skull. However, the point is that it is where we find rest for our souls, in Christ Jesus. All the storms of life, the waters, are caused to recede by the voice of God. There is where we came to rest. 

Saved From Perishing

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SAVED FROM PERISHING

Gen 7:17-24

17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet.     21 Every living thing that moved on the earth perished — birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. 24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

NIV

That is a whole lot of water, when we consider the highest mountain was twenty feet under the water. We are told in Genesis 8 that the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat,  which is in present-day Turkey. Where it was built remains a complete mystery. However, the story is about rain and the flood gates of the deep covering the whole earth so that nothing on the land that had the breath of life in it could survive; everything perished. There are many theories about how everything came to be and how various layers of sediment formed; mostly, those theories come from people who refuse to accept creation by God and use dates of millions of years. But the story of creation holds water, and floodwaters are part of many cultures. We do not know what actually went on within the ark, as the storm raged outside. At some point, as the floodwaters began to rise, the ark started to shift and lift upwards on the surface of the water. We wonder what happened just outside the ark when the rain began- something no one had ever seen before. When it kept raining day after day, and the waters started to rise, could some of the people have screamed at Noah and banged on the ark, wanting him to open the door and let them in? However, God had shut him in; the door was sealed by God. Even if Noah wanted to let them in, he could not open the door. Did he experience pain in his heart, knowing his relatives were going to perish? Was there excitement in the ark, knowing they were safe by the instruction of God? Did they have any fear about the ark holding together in what must have been rough seas? Did the hundred and fifty days of the flood include the forty days and forty nights of rain, or were they counted after the rain stopped? Either way, that was a long time to be within the ark with all the animals. They must have kept busy feeding all the living things in the ark. However, everything was going just as God had planned it; everything was according to the divine will of God. We should take our clue from that singular fact. God is sovereign, and his will is always accomplished. Are we in the safety of the cross because God ordained that we would accept Jesus? Did we have the choice to reject Jesus? Perhaps God caused a rain or floodwaters, metaphorically, in our lives so that we would get into the ark, the cross of Jesus, which he built for us, so that we would not perish. However, we came to be in the ark of safety, the cross; we will be eternally grateful to God for his great mercy, compassion, and love for us, for just like Noah and his family, we have been saved from perishing. 

Shut In

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SHUT IN

Gen 7:6-16

6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month — on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. 14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

NIV

The flood came at the specific appointed time God determined. He waited until Noah had finished the ark. We do not know the exact amount of time it took him. However, we know he was 500 years old when he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japhet and that it was in his 600th year when he entered the ark. His sons had grown old enough to marry, but we do not know whether he had already started construction before or after their marriages. We are not told for a reason, because that is not the important issue; still, an estimate is somewhere between 50 and 75 years. The 100-year theory does not meet the time frame of Noah's life. Nevertheless, the important issue is God's almighty power and ability, combined with his sovereignty. First, God commanded Noah to use cypress wood, which God would have made in abundance, so Noah would have enough to build such a large ship. Second, God inspired and commanded pairs of each living thing to come to where Noah was building the ark. This was no small feat, but then nothing is impossible for God. Once all the animal kingdom was in place, Noah and his family got in, again, just as God had commanded Noah. Then this incredible statement: Then the LORD shut him in. We cannot be sure, but we can only imagine that as Noah and his wife stood and looked out, they may well have seen a crowd, because this was a sight to behold. Noah might have made eye contact with a brother or sister, aunt or uncle, niece, or nephew. He could have felt pain in his heart, knowing they would perish in the floodwaters, and maybe wanted to invite them to join him one more time, but the LORD shut him in. However big the door was, large enough for elephants, giraffes, and maybe even dinosaurs, with a ramp leading up to it, the LORD shut the door, not Noah. This was a supernatural shutting and sealing of the door so that it would be waterproof, as well as shutting Noah and his family off from all the evil and violence of the world. Could we dare say that in some metaphorical sense the LORD has shut us in, protecting us from the evil and the violence in this world? Surely the 12 Apostles experienced death at the hands of the wicked. Certainly, we know in some parts of the world believers are being murdered by the thousands. We know the Jews were persecuted by Hitler unmercifully. Yet, although man may kill the body, the LORD has shut and sealed our souls, our spirits, in safety in Christ Jesus. 

There's Room

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THERE'S ROOM

Gen 7:1-5

7:1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

NIV

This is the second time we are told that Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. The point is well made about doing that which the LORD commands. Again, we wonder how well we do when it comes to doing everything, all, following completely that which we are commanded to do. Noah did have an incentive to do all the LORD commanded him to do because all mankind was going to perish except him, his wife, their three sons and their wives, 8 people that would be safe in the ark while the whole earth would be covered with water and everyone and everything would drown. It is only through our imagination that we can visualize the scene. This ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, just sitting on dry land, nowhere near any body of water big enough to float it. Then God tells Noah to get in the ark, for water is going to come from the sky, something that had never happened up to then; at least that is what we are told when the whole earth was watered with a mist, or dew-like wetness, for the LORD had not sent rain on the earth. Noah would not have known about rain other than through this divine revelation God gave him. But our story is about the ark of safety. Today, there is no ark like the one Noah made, but the cross of Jesus stands as our ark of safety. God promised he would never flood the earth again, and he put the rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise. Sinful man has hijacked God's sign, a holy sign, a holy commitment to his creation. They use that sign for the purpose of evil, of contempt against God. But it is the ark of safety, the cross of safety; for this wicked-filled earth will see the wrath of God poured out upon it, this time with fire, hail, water will be turned to blood, and all sorts of disasters will be upon the earth: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, violent events that will shake the core of the wicked. It is not that God wants them all to perish, but all that will happen is to bring them to repentance and come to the safety of the cross of Jesus. This should give us enough reason to make some attempt to invite them into the cross of safety before the pending disaster. What are we doing about inviting them? Are we just satisfied to be in the cross and not be concerned about anyone else? Although we are not told, we would think that Noah warned people, especially his brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews, even his grandfather, Methuselah. We wonder if any of them had repented, if God would have told Noah to bring them into the ark. But no one did; the whole earth was full of violence and wickedness, and everyone perished except those in the ark. The ark only had so much room, but there is always room at the cross. 

Just as He Commands

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

JUST AS HE COMMANDS

Gen 6:11-22

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.   16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark — you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

NIV

God instructed Noah, as we know from previous verses, because Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. God knew Noah was not like all the rest of mankind who had corrupted their ways and lived as violent people. We cannot imagine how horrible it must have been to live during that time. Since the flood and the refilling of the earth with people, there have been times and places where violence was, and still is, the way of life for some people. People still corrupt their ways, yet at the time of Noah, it must have been so corrupt that it caused pain in God's heart, and he decided to wipe out all mankind. We have thought about that before, but now we have Noah, whom God looked upon with favor. We can recreate what the ark looked like; in fact, one man has done that, at least what it was like on the outside, and possibly what it could have been on the inside. Some think they have located the site where the ark came to rest, finding the overall dimensions, or a reasonable facsimile. Interestingly, God caused all the animals, birds, and whatever moves along the ground to come to the place where Noah was building the ark. All the food for Noah, his family, and all living creatures would still have been made up of some type of plants, as everything that grows was food for them; they had not yet been given meat to eat. However, as interesting as all the building of the ark and God sending all living things in pairs to Noah is, there is this one basic truth that applies to those of us who have put our faith in Jesus and decided to follow him. We are told that Noah did everything just as God commanded him. We wonder how successful we have been and are at doing everything God commands us to do. We believe the first part of being obedient to his command is being willing to listen. It seems all too often when we pray, we do more talking than listening. How are we supposed to know what God wants us to do unless we hear from him? There may be times we may not actually hear his voice, but he still wants to show us what we are to do. Maybe it is just an open door, a sign, a prophecy, or some other way he gets our attention. What we can know for sure is that because we have decided to follow Jesus, we are not alone in this life. God wants to be involved and use us for his divine purpose, as he did with Noah. The choice we have is whether we are going to ignore him and do our own religious thing, or we are going to do everything he commands us to do. Have we decided what we want to do for the kingdom, or have we decided to do everything he wants us to do? We simply cannot do both. In reality, our ways are still corrupt, no matter how good we think we are. When we follow what we think is the best, it is not the best. Let us be willing to listen and then do everything just as he commands us to do. 

Finding Favor

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

FINDING FAVOR

Gen 6:5-10

5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

9 This is the account of Noah.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

NIV

Man's wickedness is horrible to consider, regarding just how far their wickedness had gone that it caused pain in the heart of God, and that he grieved, or he was sorry that he had ever made man on earth. To think that God's heart was filled with pain. Then to think the inclination of man's heart was only evil all the time. That would mean there was never, ever, a moment in time when man's thoughts were about God. Man never gave any thought whatsoever about doing anything good, or seeking God, but only put his imagination to work finding more ways to do wicked things. Here is the proof of what will happen someday when he sits in judgment upon all those who continue to live in wicked ways. God wiped out all those whose hearts were inclined to evil all the time. Once again, a time is coming when God will wipe out all those whose hearts are bent toward evil all the time, those who refuse his salvation through Jesus. It will be different than causing a worldwide flood so that all the wicked would drown. This time the wicked will be sent into the lake of burning sulfur. We cannot even imagine how horrible that is going to be: to drown in burning sulfur, or to burn up and simply just perish, to be no more, to be completely destroyed. Why would someone choose that end for themselves? We know that kind of thinking, as once we were among those whose hearts were bent toward evil all the time, not even considering God, or that there was a God. However, somehow in a miraculous way the Lord broke through into our hearts and caused us to change the way we think about him. Here is where Noah comes onto the scene of history. He was a righteous man. There are two Hebrew words to define Noah: just and complete. He walked with God. This is where we come into this story. When we walk with God, we are then just and complete, or as we use the word, righteous; however, our righteousness is in Jesus. If we had not accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and responded to his call to follow him, we would not have any righteousness whatsoever. However, because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, are in Christ, and walk with God, we have found favor in his eyes. Being in Jesus is the only way to find favor. 

People of Renown

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

PEOPLE OF RENOWN

Gen 6:1-4

6:1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days — and also afterward — when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

NIV

This may be one of the most misunderstood passages in Genesis. Some think these sons of God were fallen angels, immoral beings who took human wives, and their offspring were these giants of men, the heroes of old. However, the original language does not support that interpretation. At this point in human history, we have women who are descendants of Cain and Seth. We also know that at that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD. What the Hebrew words tell us is that there were men who were great men of God, called sons of God. We who follow Jesus, who take our faith to the fullest, living for God, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, are told we have the right to be called children of God, or sons of God, holy and righteous because of Jesus. This is the meaning of the Hebrew word "ben," children, or son. Men who called on the name of the LORD, however, that does not mean they were all that righteous, for they intermarried with any women they chose, without discrimination of their birthright, or from what line or whose descendant they were, and of what spiritual qualities they possessed.  They chose wives for their outward beauty. The offspring of the giants, in the land, or tyrants, they produced are called heroes of old, men of renown. What we learn from this narrative is that this world has become obsessed with outward beauty. This seems to be the reason we are drawn to someone at the start. Our culture has created one of the largest businesses, all based on products to enhance the outward beauty, which God looks at the heart. We are told not to choose a mate based on their outward appearance alone, and that believers should not intermarry with unbelievers, that we should not be unequally yoked. As men of God, we should have wives who are women of God; it is that simple, although that may not be as it always is. There is also this truth that, as men and women of God, we should be known as heroes of people of renown, people of faith, who believe and trust God, whose lives reflect his glory. Let us live as heroes, people of renown.