Dread and Harmony

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

DREAD AND HARMONY

Gen 9:1-7

9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. 6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. 7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."

NIV

This blessing upon Noah gives us the clue as to how God intended his creation to live in harmony with one another. Here, God tells Noah that from now on fear and dread of man will fall upon all the beasts of the earth, the birds, and every creature that moves along the ground, and all the fish. Once, as it was before the flood, man lived in harmony with all the animal kingdom, as well as it lived in harmony with man and each other. It would seem, although we are not specifically told, that all creatures, including man, were vegetarians, eating green plants, which, in our opinion, meant that the prey-and-predator system did not exist; the lion would have lain down next to the lamb. However, now God gives everything; that means the meat of animals for food. This would also have meant that the wild kingdom would become what it is today; the lamb would be prey for the lion. God also established his law concerning murder, and the justice for such an offense. All of us are made in the image of God; therefore, we do not have the right to kill someone who has been made in the image of God. The world has gone so far from the law of God; killing has become commonplace, for whatever reason man can fathom. Whole people groups have been subject to genocide, while one individual murders because of racism or some emotionally revengeful state. We, believers, have been given a stronger admonishment by Jesus. He correlated hatred with murder. If we were to get so upset and become angry with another believer that we refuse to love them, or refuse to forgive them for any offense, then we could be guilty of the same thing as murder. Jesus tells us that if we have any contempt toward another believer, we are subject to judgment. We wonder when we gossip if that is a form of contempt, or at least killing someone's reputation, thus killing them. It all goes back to the two commands of Jesus: that we are to love the Lord with our whole being and to love others as we love ourselves. We would never gossip about ourselves, nor would we do anything that would harm ourselves in any way. We want the best in our lives; we want the blessing of God in our lives, so that would mean we want the same for others. Although we may no longer be able to live in harmony with the animal kingdom, for they fear and dread us, we should be able to live in harmony with God and each other. 

A Pleasing Aroma

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

A PLEASING AROMA

Gen 8:15-22

15 Then God said to Noah, 16 "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you — the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground — so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." 18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds — everything that moves on the earth — came out of the ark, one kind after another. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

22 "As long as the earth endures,   seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

NIV

The ordeal of the flood and the time of Noah and his family being within the ark had come to its conclusion. God told Noah it was time to come out of the ark. We can imagine how grateful Noah was that he and his family had survived, that he had found favor in the eyes of the LORD, and that he had been instructed exactly how to build that ark of safety. Noah saw, firsthand, the mighty power and salvation of the LORD. Was it any wonder that Noah built an altar and made a thanksgiving offering to the LORD? We are told the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, then made that promise of never cursing the ground again because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. This is where we must come to grips with our imperfection as mankind. From birth, we are born with our hearts bent toward evil. We cannot simply evolve into righteousness, for we never had it and will never have it unless we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior; then he becomes our righteousness. That must come at some point in our lives. For some, it may not happen until later in life, as a full-grown adult, while some can choose early in life, as a child, maybe one living with believing parents. Either way, we each must take that step, first into the ark of safety, the cross of Jesus; then we must follow Jesus through the path he has laid out for us, as Noah did. Although Noah sacrificed some of the clean animals, we must be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the LORD.  Our lives should be a sweet-smelling aroma, pleasing to God. What does that look like in the practical sense? Although the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become pleasing to God, we must then proceed with our daily lives, doing all that life requires. It is how that plays out that matters: how we follow the Lord's instructions, his guidance, influence on our hearts, walking the path he has laid out for us, all the while doing what is needed to live, to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, all the while being a sweet aroma to the LORD. The other truth is in his promise: as long as the earth endures, which is the key truth, for he is the one who sustains the earth until his designated time for the end and the beginning of all things. In the meantime, let us live as a pleasing aroma to God.  

Let Us See

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

LET US SEE

Gen 8:6-14

6 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

13 By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

NIV

By our calculations, which could be right or wrong, from the time the rain began in the 600^th year, 2^nd month and 17^th day, until the 601st year, 2nd month, 27th day, when the earth was completely dry, is 1 year and 10 days that Noah was in the ark. Although that is not the story for us today, it is interesting that God wanted us to know the exact times this event took place. Next, we will see that God told Noah to come out of the ark. Although Noah had a window so that he could send out the raven and then the dove, it was doubtful that he could see much of what was out there, as he had not yet removed the covering over the ark. However, on the day recorded, Noah removed the covering from the ark and was able to see that the ground was dry. We do not know what this covering was made of, but it could have been some kind of canvas-type cloth or boards of cypress wood that were able to come apart. Whatever it was, Noah was able to remove it and see that the surface of the ground was dry. This is where we get the clue for our lives. We wonder if it is possible that we had a covering or, for that matter, still have a covering over our hearts that keeps us from seeing the truth of God. When we remove that covering from our hearts, we can see the truth of what God has done, is doing for us and in us, and what he wants to accomplish through us. Noah removed the covering over the ark, so it would seem that we are the ones who should remove the covering over our hearts and minds. Yet, at the same time, the Father sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, so that he could uncover our hearts and minds, opening them and exposing them to his divine presence and influence. However, because God never forces himself upon us but gently persuades, we can refuse and keep that covering in place, so we can do what we want to do, when and how we want to. That brings us to the question of whose influence we listen to: ours or His. Lord, if there is any covering left, remove that cover, and let us see. 

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.