"But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided."
-Genesis 8:1
On Tuesday I discussed the seriousness of sin and how devastating it is. God does not treat sin lightly, and neither should we. In today's passage I want to talk about Noah and how he recognized how merciful God was to him. As Noah sits in this ark that he has built, everyone and everything outside of the ark is being destroyed. After awhile, nothing remains on the Earth except for the ark. Noah waited as the flood filled the earth for about one year. Finally, the flood subsides and Noah and his family can walk on the earth once again, which is now completely lifeless.
Noah must have been absolutely stunned and terrified at the damage that the flood has caused, but the first thing Noah does is worship God. Noah is a great example to how we should respond to God's mercy. Noah saw the flood wipe out everyone, and must have realized how much God cannot tolerate sin and evilness. Noah also realizes that God has spared him from death, and immediately gives thanks to God. We too should give thanks to God, because He has shown mercy to us all.
So why does Noah thank God? Wasn't Noah a righteous man who deserved to live? Noah did not do the evil things the people around him did, and Noah did his best to live a righteous life. However, later in this passage we see that Noah sinned as well. He drank to much wine and became drunk. I believe that Noah was not a perfect man, but because he had faith in God, God credited it to him as righteousness. Noah knew that he was not sinless, and that he did not deserve God's love and grace to him, so he praised God with thankfulness.
Noah also realized that God was with him throughout his whole life. Noah walked with God, living faithfully and doing his best to go against the sinful nature of his people. Noah probably prayed to God often, and we see that God talks to Noah when He warns him of the flood. When Noah is building the ark, God gives him the instructions to build it. God closes the door of the ark after Noah and his family enter into it. As the flood begins to recede, "God remembered Noah." God does not forget anything, but this shows us that God cared about Noah.
Noah recognized that he could do nothing about his situation. There was a huge flood, and even though he had built an ark, Noah could do nothing to lessen the waters of the flood. Also, Noah had been in the ark for a year. Even if the ark was huge, I wonder how Noah could have possibly stored enough food for all the animals and people for one year. I believe God was with him the whole time, providing for him. When God finally decides to end the flood, Noah thanks God because he knew that it was only because of God that he was saved.
We should give thanks to God as well. God has not saved us from a flood, but God has saved us from something just as serious, if not more serious. Like Noah, we have to realize that we are sinful people and do not deserve God's help. We also must recognize that there is nothing we can do about our situation. We are trapped in the flood of our sins, but God gave us an ark to survive on- Jesus. Our sins are not something that we can stop, just as Noah could do nothing to stop the flood. Only God can save us from our sins, and He has given us Jesus. We must learn to be grateful to God and thank Him everyday for the grace He has given us.
-Smart
No comments:
Post a Comment