Genesis 8:18-22
Verse 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
For Noah, life had changed in many ways. When they stepped off the boat after around 280 days of being in the boat, things wouldn’t have looked the same as before the flood. It wasn’t like they stepped off and said, that’s where the house used to stand. In fact, it is possible they may not have recognized anything. The topography may have changed a great deal and so not only were they starting a new life, they were starting it in a place that was new to them.
The only things which were the same were their being with family and the God who had saved them. It may have seemed quiet too. They had spent the last few months shut up with many animals and so as they animals headed off to find new homes, the din of their calls and cries drifted away with them. It may also have seemed strange not to hear other voices they had known prior to the flood. Voices of loved ones never to be heard again.
No matter how much they felt like they had lost, God had remained forever faithful. The time in the boat God had designed, must have given them time to think about God’s hate of all things evil. They were living a daily reminder of God’s great wrath and yet they couldn’t miss His great grace for their family and all of the animals. He had proved Himself in so many ways over the last 100 years.
With such awe of the Lord filling their hearts, Noah built an altar. A father leading his family in praise was something which pleased the Lord. The world had been so full of evil, to have Noah and his family offering sacrifices to Him was a welcome change. The aroma of the offering would have been reminiscent of the first sacrifice for sin in the Garden of Eden.
The scent of the sacrifice caused God to decide never to punish the earth and creation again because of the sins of the humans. He had purged the earth for the time, remaking it for the time going forward. He had designed a world where He would someday come to pay the ultimate sacrifice for sins so the relationship He has with His chosen people would be preserved for eternity. Until then, the earth would faithfully continue in its patterns of days and seasons, creation pointing to its faithful Creator.
Making It Personal
How has God proven Himself faithful in your life? How have you praised Him for that? Do you have a faithful character which points to the Lord?
Making It Personal Kids
What does it mean to be faithful? How does God show He is faithful in your life? Are you faithful because He is?
Closing Prayer
Father, we praise You for Your faithfulness. Give us hearts and lives which reflect Your faithfulness so we can point others to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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