Hello My Friend/Guest,
It is a chilly Thursday, Janurary 3, 2008 and today we are contiuing our studies on the book of Genesis. Please read Genesis 7-9. Today we will read and learn about Noah and his family, the seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean of every living creature to enter the ark as God, the great flood, and the Rainbow Covenant.
Today's chapters emphasize the importance of reading for ourselves exactly what God has provided in the Bible rather than depending on any other book. It will correct any misconceptions such as "What promise did the rainbow hold?" and "Was Noah given the same command Adam received?".
Noah was able to save his family and preserve mankind because his faith in the spoken Word of God led him to obediently build the ark. During the many years spent in constructing the ark, he was also known as a preacher of righteousness in an ungodly world. "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him." (Genesis 7:1-5).
The ark was a secure refuge from certain death; it was also a type of Christ, Who provides spiritual refuge and provision for believers. This ark had but one door; likewise there is only one way to salvation. Noah was a striking contrast to Adam and Eve. Noah was surrounded by a generation defiled by sin, yet he obeyed all that the Lord commanded him. Adam and Eve were in a perfect environment filled with the blessings of God but chose to ignore God's Word. Noah's obedience brought blessing to the entire world, while Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in unending sorrow and suffering to the entire world. Noah stood as a testimony that man cannot use environment or circumstances as an excuse for choosing to sin.
For Noah and his family, there came a day, prior to any indication of the flood, when they were told to enter the ark. "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in."(Genesis 7:12-16). The waters of the flood illustrate the separation from a world defiled by sin. To reject the one ark that God directed Noah to build meant certain death in the water of unbelief. The ark carried Noah from the sinful old world to the new world of God's promises.
This is a reminder that now is the day of salvation and All who wait for a more convenient time to be saved need to realize that it is an insult to God Who said now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. No one knows on what day his opportunity to be saved will end forever. Just as Noah was able to rest within the ark, secure from the waters of death, so we can be assured of spiritual rest, for our lives are hidden with Christ.
Even though God created a storm He gave us a new covenant to let us know that no matter what storm we face there is always a rainbow of hope on the other side. "And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (9:11-16)
In this lesson Jesus Christ is revealed as the ark, Christ is our ark of safety.
Today's Psalm:
"He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." (107:29)
Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Help me to remain faithful to You and your calling upon my life. Strengthen and grow my faith as I daily search Your Scriptures and apply their truths to my spiritual walk. As I go through the trials and experiences of my earthly journey would You fix my eyes and my ever-wandering heart upon You, Jesus. When the howling winds and forceful storms of this life attempt to shipwreck my faith may they instead prove my faith to be more than sufficient to withstand the continual assaults from the enemy. Because I take refuge in You, Jesus my spiritual foundation is firm, always dependable, and leads me to glorious victory. In Your Mighty name, Jesus' I pray....Amen.
Have a wonderful day/night and God Bless.....Christina
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