Were there parts of today’s reading that surprised you or spoke to you? Feel free to share in the comments. I always the love the rainbow promise and remember as a child always rushing outside after a storm to see if there was a rainbow. Even as an adult, seeing a rainbow brings a certain amount of peace.
Can you imagine finally getting off the boat? Walking on dry land. Looking around and seeing nothing familiar and realizing you were charged with starting everything over! I’m not sure I can really fathom the enormity of that task and responsibility. I have moved to a new place many times and have had to start over. It takes a while to get your bearings, to find the right connections: church, doctors, shopping, etc. Noah had none of that. He had God to watch out for him and a loving family to help him. Continue reading “Genesis 9:1-17 – God’s Promise”
As I read through this account today, I imagined how a small group of people on a boat with tons of animals could survive for a year! It had to be God. The logistics of this whole adventure seem a bit grueling, and I don’t want to spend much time speculating on all of the “details.”
When all was ready, when Noah had followed all of God’s instructions down to the letter, God closed the door of the boat. The rain began to fall. The cleansing of the world had begun. What an endeavor Noah had undertaken. Success with the help of God. We hear of no fight or questioning. Noah did as God instructed.
The world was corrupt. All but one man. Noah walked “in close fellowship” with God. Have you ever wondered how that came to be? Was Noah an outcast because he didn’t fit in with the crowd? God sure trusted him. I’m guessing Noah didn’t care about fitting in. He knew what was right.
It’s a big “oops” and I’m sure the people didn’t even realize how the way they were living was frustrating their creator. Have you ever been in a hurry in a store only to come upon someone who is clueless, standing right in the middle of the aisle or walkway? They have no concept of time or space and your impatience makes it seem all the more like they left their brain at home. Well, that’s the kind of ignorance I feel these people had. They were going through the motions of life, more focused on the pleasures they could get rather than their creator and how they could serve him.
