Genesis 7:17-24

Good morning, dear friends!

I am so blessed by today's reading, which may surprise you since it's all about the world drowning in judgment! However, there are several things about this reading that encouraged me.

First, God does what He says He's going to do! He faithfully keeps His promises - all of them - even those that promise destruction. As a teacher, it drives me crazy to see inconsistent discipline - because it is NOT discipline at all. If a teacher, principal, or parent sets a standard with a consequence, then does not follow through with the consequence, the children learn that this adult can't be trusted. A just God must keep His Word - and ours does. He told Noah to build the ark, because He was about to judge the earth with a flood. And He did what He said He would do! Verses 11 and 12 tell us:

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. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

So the flood came not just from above with the rains, but from the depths of the earth, springs burst forth! After forty days and nights, we read in verses 19 and 20 that the water rose to such heights that it covered the highest mountains to a depth of more than 20 feet! This was a global flood - a cataclysmic event. Had it merely been a local flood, as some want to suggest, God would have just told Noah to move! Cultures all over the world have stories about a flood. It was so monumental that Noah's family never forget it and told and retold this story. I was thinking this morning how, even though less than 100 years have passed since WWII, there are people committed to denying the Holocaust. So a worldwide story that persists about the flood surely lends credence to it. Now, of course, I KNOW it's true, because God's Word says it - I don't need eyewitness accounts. There is plenty of geological, paleontological, and cultural evidence. But I just need to know that God said so!

Verse 23 sums it all up: Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. 

Now, here is the VERY cool part. The word for "wiped out" used here, is the same word used in Isaiah 43:25 for "blot out": I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Just as God wiped out every living thing on the face of the earth, until they were no more, He has wiped out our sin on the cross!!! It is GONE! How encouraging is that?

Two last encouraging things for today: Noah, his family, and all of the creatures in the ark were left. They had been shut in, sealed in salvation, just as we have been. And don't forget verse 24: The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. The earth was flooded for a total of five months! However, note that it had an ending! No matter what trial you are in the midst of right now, it will have an ending. We know, because we've read the end of the Book, that our ending is a happy one. I read a devotional this morning that spoke to this very thing. The writer had just completed reading a long novel about the Middle Ages (I'm guessing one of Ken Follett's from her description), and she talked about how hard it was to read the book (lots of graphic stuff, very evil antagonists), but that she was glad she did not put the book down, because in with the bad there was some good, and the ending had a just and happy resolution. It reminded her that our life stories have many pages - and if we just look at one we might get discouraged. But God is still writing our stories. Hang on until the glorious ending! Our faithful God keeps His promises!

Have a great morning!

Genesis 7:1-16

Good morning, all!

This morning's verses tell us about the gathering of the animals and the entrance into the ark. Note that God told Noah to bring "seven of every kind of clean animal." Why was this? Well, Noah would need them so he could offer sacrifices and for food after the flood. Up until this time, it seems that people were vegetarian, but after the flood, God tells Noah, Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. (Gen 9:3)

Noah and his family are given seven days advance notice that the flood is on its way (verse 4). What if we were given seven days advance notice that the LORD's was returning? How would you prepare? Whom would you call? What would you do differently? How much TV would you watch? Would you change your choice of reading material? I'm trying to imagine what Noah and his family actually did during that time. What about Noah's neighbors? Did he make last-ditch efforts to try to persuade them to believe? Or was he just way too busy getting his family and the animals in and settled? The Bible does not give us specifics on these details; it just tells us in verse 5 that Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. Of course he did!

We know that, on their own, all of the animals came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded. At least they had the good sense to obey God's call. It is amazing how the animal kingdom always obeys God and does what they are supposed to do. Courson gives the example of the arctic terns who fly off to Hawaii for the winter, leaving their young behind, because the young birds aren't ready to fly yet. Somehow, several months later, after these young birds have gained enough strength to fly, they head straight to Hawaii, without a map to guide them, to meet up with the folks! The animal kingdom obeys its Maker!

One thing the Bible is very specific about here is the date that Noah and his family entered the ark, which was also the day the rains came: In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month... 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. Now, you have to wonder how Noah was able to convince his entire family to enter the ark. Courson has a topical study on this entitled "Get on Board... Your Family Will Follow." We know that salvation is an individual choice - we cannot believe for anyone else. However, we can trust God with our family, and be the best leader we can be. Noah began preparing this ark even before his first son was born. His children grew up watching their dad pound nails into that big ship in the backyard. They SAW that Noah trusted and obeyed God every single day of his life. Who we ARE in front of our own children, whether they are toddlers or grown children with their own families, speaks volumes to them. Do they see that God's Word is a priority for us? Do they see us trusting God through the really hard times? Do they hear us praising Him and telling others about His goodness in our lives? Do they see us humbly repenting when we fail? Then confidently moving on in grace? Do we then extend that same grace to them when they fail? We may not live to see our children and grandchildren following us into the ark, but we must walk every day as if they will fall in line and trust God with that result.

Finally, the very best six words of the day are in verse 16: Then the LORD shut him in. It is GOD who saves us and seals us in His family. We do not close the door ourselves - He does it! Don't you just love that? Do I hear any "Amens?" :)

Have a great day! Let us lead in a way that others will follow us today!