I love the first verse of today’s segment of reading. “But God remembered Noah…” This reminds me how merciful our creator is. There was justice to be served and when it was done he remembered his faithful servant Noah. When I think of this story I imagine what it would be like to be shut in the ark for 150 days or more. Noah knew the flood was coming but he wasn’t told how long it would last. I wonder if his family complained or if they were grateful all along for being saved. I relate this to my own life. I know I have complained about some things being difficult when the very task was a direct blessing of the Lord. Do you know what I mean?
Then the day came when the waters had receded and the land was dry. How exciting to be on land again! Noah built an altar and sacrificed burnt offerings to God. What a faithful man of God. This is when God made His promise to never again flood the earth. He made His convenant with Noah and gave a great sign, the “RAINBOW!” Can you imagine what that rainbow looked like? Also, did you notice the change in diet now that the world was different? God told them that from this point on you can eat meat. I wonder what Noah and his family thought about that after only eating fruits and vegetables their whole life?
I noticed that God did not expect mankind to be sinless at this point. He even said in chapter 8 verse 21 “…every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood…” And sure enough, not long after leaving the ark I read another act of sinfulness. I want to be honest in my writing here and say that in reading verses 20 - 21 of chapter 9 I couldn’t tell if Noah was being sinful or not, but regardless, the result of his drunkeness was nothing good. My question is, did Noah know that the grapes would ferment and cause such behavior as to end up laying naked in his tent? From this his son Ham dishonored Noah and Noah cursed Ham’s son Canaan. Shem and Japheth received blessings because of their act of honor for their father. They covered their father’s shame.
Chapter 10 gives us the beginning of nations on the earth after the flood. God had commanded that Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply on the earth. He wanted them to spread out over all the earth. Well, in chapter 11 we find that again mankind is doing things his own way. People began to all gather into one place. They decided to build a great city and they wanted to exalt themselves. So, the Lord decided He needed to go down there and straighten this out. From this we have all the different languages of the world. By confusing their language, they were unable to continue their plans.
Now, we come to Abram who is a descendent of Shem, one of the blessed sons of Noah. We are given the background of the faithful Abram and his family. And the beginning of the journey to the land of Canaan. Please share your thoughts on today’s reading. Thank you Lord for your living Word.
Growing up, I was always confused about the part "God remembered..." ....does this mean God can forget things?? How can I bring things before His throne when they are brought to my mind, if HE forgets things?? I was assured that God's mind doesn't work the same way as ours, in fact He tells us that very thing, "My thoughts are not your thoughts." When God forgets, it means He actually CHOOSES not to act.....when He remembers, it means He takes action. David said, "Remember me, O Lord!" Praise His name, that He takes action in your life!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those stories that you heard a LOT growing up. Most people who don't read the Bible on a regular basis- or maybe not at all- are familiar with the story of Noah and the flood. It's one that kind of bothered me a lot growing up too Jaybrena- but because I couldn't believe God would kill all those people! Why did He have to?? The great thing about God is when you come to Him with questions, he always answers. Can you imagine what our world would be like today if God had allowed that evil to continue? I mean, we are far from a world that follows God, but what if it was even WORSE? I shudder at the thought. And, as Amy pointed out, even in His judgement God wasn't without mercy. He protected Noah and his family. And, he formed the first Covenant here. Can you imagine what fear Noah and his family would have had every time it rained and there was no ark after this experience? God promised them and gave them a sign of His promise for THEM. Our God is a god of protection.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting to compare the life spans in this genealogy. Life spans get considerably shorter after the flood. Some have speculated that after the flood the atmosphere was thinner and no longer protected people from UV radiation and other things that shortened their lives.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think God just realized that if we live too long we get into too much trouble.
I love the comedian Tim Hawkins and his take on Noah's Ark. Click or copy and paste the link below to watch.
http://bit.ly/gSp5rS
You can see more of his videos on www.timhawkins.net
"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind." ...I have often seen a rainbow and remarked of its beauty but few times have I truly looked at this glorious symbol as a covenant sign from God Almighty to ME. As I was reading this passage today, it occured to me that the rainbow is quite unique in that God uses it as a tool to whisper his promise from generation to generation to each of us on an almost individual basis. I know that the next time I see a rainbow, I will smile and view it with much greater reverence.
ReplyDeleteWOW! You all are just blowing me away! What absolutely fantastic insights and thoughts on our reading for today! I just wanted to add that having many animals that I have to take care of several times a day EVERYDAY, I have a small taste of the energy, patience, and perseverance it would take to care for the animals entrusted to Noah's keeping on the ark. This was NOT an easy, "no big deal" task! Also, I have had the opportunity in the recent past to take some classes and do some reading on the science of the creation and the flood and it absolutely astounds me at the way science points DIRECTLY to a Creator and clearly confirms the accounts of the Bible lending itself to further confirmation of the things we know to be true. You actually have to work REALLY HARD at denying a Creator and the truth of the Bible!
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