Today's Reading:

Genesis 6
Genesis 7

 

 

Noah did not earn his selection from God to build the Ark. Noah was chosen by grace (unmerited favor). He found grace in the eyes of the Lord. By faith, Noah prepared the ark. Noah’s wife and 3 sons along with their wives were saved through Noah. They did not walk onto the Ark because they were better than their neighbors, but because God sovereignly extended Noah’s grace to include them. In the New Testament grace is extended to us and we receive salvation by grace. The Ark is a picture of pure grace; Noah finds favor and his entire family is carried safely through judgement because they are with him. So, we are saved by being united to Jesus Christ belonging to Him. The Ark and the Rainbow are beautiful signs of God’s covenant promise. The next time you see a rainbow, remember Noah and that the storm has passed, the weapons of wrath are laid down, and the “bow” was placed in the sky as a colorful reminder of God’s love letter to us.

 

 

The Nephilim were fallen angels, sinners that would be judged by God. The Nephilim were humanlike figures who were considered giants, and they were the offspring of the Sons of God (angelic/divine beings) that procreated with human women producing a hybrid child. The Nephilim contributed to the pre-Flood corruption and violence in the Bible. When the Lord stated the He regretted making humans (Genesis 6:6), this was not sorrow or sadness for our creation, but God regretted what His children were doing, that humans now had a broken relationship with Him. God knew prior to this event that Jesus would have to come to save His children, God doesn’t not want us. It appears that Noah’s family were the only ones not infiltrated by the fallen angels. This is why Noah and his family were saved in the Flood.

If you have ever been on a cruise ship before, you may understand the urge to get off after a week. Noah was on the Ark for a year minus 1 day. Surrounded by water with no land in sight. The door was shut by God himself. Finality. The rain started, and Noah would have seen his friends and neighbors outside. Every single day there would have been chores and animals to tend to in the dark. Time passed; would Noah have had survivors’ guilt? Months pass with no land in sight. God spoke to Noah in the Ark- he heard the same voice as 120 years prior to building the Ark (Genesis 8:15-16). Finally, as waters receded and Noah could step on land- he heard God again, this time, declare “never again...” This moment must have been bittersweet, Noah a changed man, immediately built an altar. Gratitude came before all else. When God brings you through a storm- job loss, illness, divorce, financial issues, depression, grief- the first move should be to worship, not to complain. Gratitude resets the heart before the rebuilding of life.

Today's discussion question: 
There was a vivid picture of Noah’s year on the ark—door shut by God, surrounded by water, daily chores in the dark, possibly hearing cries from outside. Have you ever gone through a season where you felt “shut in” by God—cut off from the old life, waiting in isolation—and how did His voice sustain you during that time?

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