April 2, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Genesis? Here’s today’s reading:
Genesis 7 (NIV)
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 pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,……Continue Reading
Never in human history has mankind been summarily judged and eradicated, almost to the man. Four families entered the ark in a world quite literally gone mad, God sealed them in. Later, when the seal was removed, they emerged into a new earth, swept clean from the former things, a new slate. That was a new earth to them, but still sin- cursed as it is today.
Comes the day, says the Lord Jesus, through his servant John in latter years and the prophet Isaiah in former times, for a New Heaven and a New Earth. This shall be free from sin, suffering, toil, worry, sickness, pain, and death. We embrace that day to see it!
God will plant only the tree of life there, as there will be no need for a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because man’s love for God needs no more challenge. Peace to your home, -gy
“And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.”
Genesis 7
Genesis 7 and 8
From one of my study notes…”If ‘the mountains of Ararat’ refers to the range that includes present-day Mount Ararat in Turkey, the amount of water necessary to cover it would be at least 16,854 ft above sea level.
That is definitely a lot of water…but for reference, the current day deepest part of the earth is the Marianas Trench, which has a bottom depth of 36, 037 ft below sea level.
Still…can you imagine what that would have looked like? To see “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.”
I mean…I’m dealing with some flooding in my back yard these days. Think I pumped out about 14 inches or so over the weekend…seemed like a lot. Until I read this chapter 🙂
“And the Lord shut him in.” God’s sovereign hand…protecting those whom He had determined to protect and sustain…protecting the path back to Himself, the plan He had devised since before the foundation of time, to rejoin and reunite His creation, us, back to Himself, through the perfect atoning sacrifice of Jesus. No Noah and his family? No Jesus. Thank you God for saving Noah and his family, and in so doing, saved those who would come to believe in your Son…saved me.
And thank you for saving the animals as well. We just adopted a new puppy on Monday after saying goodbye to our oldest dog last month. She is gorgeous…a little Treeing Tennessee Brindle. I’ve never seen this breed before. But her coat is a mixture of caramel, blacks, and browns, and her mask is a deep black, and her temperament is as sweet as can be. The creativity of our Creator displayed in this little puppy is wonderful. He didn’t have to make dogs. But He did. He made everything…and in His creation, we see elements of Him. Romans 1:20 “For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
Thank you, Father, for your creation, and thank you for saving your creation, even through the flood.
Independent readings:
“Our Daily Bread” – Psalms 72.
Matthew: Chapter 6. Jesus says a lot in this and there’s so much to be taken from it. I feel a lot of comfort in not worrying about the troubles of tomorrow or adding another hour onto the day in the worries of worldly stuff. 6.33 Seek first his kingdom and righteousness and all things will be added unto you.
Genesis 7; John 14-21
Noah and his family were ready for the flood for they listened to God; even going into the ark seven days before the flood came. God shut the door of the ark after they went in. Gen. 7: 16. This was probably for their own interest so they wouldn`t get harmed by others that didn`t believe when the waters started to come forth with great force. When the waters started to come forth the people left out of the ark probably started to try to get in the ark but it was too late for them. They had already made their decision earlier by rejecting God and walking in their sins. Now they were doomed. I don`t know if they called out to God in their dire need because they were drowning whether God saved them. Maybe some did but probably most cursed God. This is the attitude of people when Jesus Christ comes back in the Second Coming. In the New Testament people are to call upon the name of Jesus to be saved. Romans 10: 9,10,13. I am sure that it must had been hard for Noah and his family to know and perhaps hear that people and all living land creatures outside of the ark were dying. But at the same time they must had been grateful for God cradling them in His protective arms as a mother would cradle her little baby in her arms. He was their salvation for they { Noah`s family} trusted in Him. Now they were to start a new life. May we be eternally grateful for saving us from the wrath to come. But instead will be with Him forever.
Just a side note. When the Bible speaks of kind it is the family term. In other words ; dogs always become dogs; cats always become cats; fish always become fish; humans always become humans; birds always become birds. And so forth. In other words one kind can`t become another kind. This is a scientific fact. God is always right and science keeps confirming the Bible. Just like the fossil record confirms a world wide flood. Those that don`t believe this { those that believe in evolution{ come up with a false assumption that nothing made everything and the fossils happened over millions of years. Anything so they can`t acknowledge their sins before God. May the Lord continue to bless us as we walk in His truth for He is truth.
Washing away as only God can! Imagine the waters rising so high as to erradicate every living thing on earth except what God decided to protect in the ark. Even in that choice He was maticulous and careful being sure to allow his creations to grow again. He gave us all a chance to know Him and follow and yes, unfortunately, disobey again but still our Heavenly Father loves and cares for His creation even in His correction of us and this was certainly an intense correction.
In a way consistent with His character and His action throughout history, God shows Himself to be a God of judgement and a God of salvation. Knowing how He must act to address the abundance of evil in the world that would ultimately have lead to man’s destruction anyways, God offers salvation to all those who would accept it. Noah is identified as righteous amongst his generation and therefore is offered salvation and entrusted to build the means of his and his family’s salvation as well. Representatives of the animal kingdom will also be saved to preserve what God had intended for the world from the beginning: beings reproducing according to their kind with the ones sharing the image of God reflecting His character and nature as opposed to giving into the evil that was crouching at the door. And God never brings judgment without telling people about it first. Although not mentioned specifically while Noah was building the Ark for a hundred years, you can imagine it made people wonder and ask…”Hey Noah, what are you doing?” Building an Ark. What’s an Ark? It’s a big huge boat. Well why are you doing that? Well God spoke to me and said He is going to destroy all living things with a flood and this boat is the means of salvation for all who will enter.” And although that is not mentioned here in terms of this judgement, every other form of judgement God has done or will do is preceded by numerous warnings and of course…a means of being saved from it. Thank God that Jesus did the work of our salvation and our participation is to believe and then accept the life changing power that accompanies it.
Genesis 7
The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” If we are right with God, we call on Jesus and accept his gift of salvation, we will be saved. God has made a way for us from the beginning of time to the present. And his love endures forever!