Now it is the moment when the promised covenant was to be fulfilled. “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark — you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you” (Genesis 6:18, NKJV). In contrast to the divine threat to destroy (Genesis 6:17), this covenant is the promise of life.

Read Genesis 8:20. What did Noah do first when he went out of the ark, and why?

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Like Adam and Eve, who surely worshiped God on Sabbath immediately after the six days of Creation, Noah worshiped God immediately after the Flood, another creation event in and of itself. There is a difference, however, between the two acts of worship. Unlike Adam and Eve, who worshiped the Lord directly, Noah had to resort to a sacrifice. This is the first mention in the Scriptures of an altar. The sacrifice is a “burnt offering” (‘olah), the oldest and most frequent sacrifice. For Noah, this sacrifice was a thanksgiving offering (compare with Numbers 15:1-11), given in order to express his gratefulness to the Creator, who had saved him.

Read Genesis 9:2-4. How did the Flood affect the human diet? What is the principle behind God’s restrictions?

Because of the effect of the Flood, plant food was no longer available as it used to be. Therefore, God allowed humans to eat animal flesh. This change of diet generated a change in the relationship between humans and animals, in contrast to what has been between them in the original Creation. In the Creation account, humans and animals, shared the same plant diet and did not threaten each other. In the post-Flood world, the killing of animals for food entailed a relationship of fear and dread (Genesis 9:2). Once they started eating each other, humans and animals had, no doubt, developed a relationship quite different from what they had enjoyed in Eden.

God’s tolerance, however, had two restrictions. First, not all the animals were proper for food. The first restriction was implicit in the distinction between “clean and unclean” animals, which was a part of the Creation order (see Genesis 8:19-20; compare with Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24). The second one, which was explicit and new, was to abstain from the consumption of blood, for life is in the blood (Genesis 9:4).

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark…. Genesis 8:1 NKJV

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A family I had studied with called me late one afternoon, asking me to meet them ASAP at the hospital. Their mother was dying, and they wanted prayer. Now I believe that God can hear your prayers for your sick loved one, just as easily as He can hear an elder’s prayer. Nevertheless, I met the family in ICU. They told me they were praying for a miracle. One son told me they knew God was going to work a miracle for his mother. He explained that God was going to raise her up right now, or He would heal her, like He did Lazarus, by letting her sleep and then waking her up at the resurrection. Either way it would be a miracle.

We admire people who have the faith to heal a loved one, but what about having enough faith to just let them go to sleep? The son had faith in the miracle of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.

A few days later, his mother fell asleep in Jesus, and his family is encouraging each other with the promises of the greatest miracle yet to come.

There are more Bible prophecies about the Second Coming than any other event. While many prophecies have already been fulfilled, we are certain the prophecies pertaining to the second coming are just as sure.

I understand that while we sleep, when we enter the REM (rapid eye movement) stage, we are actually very close to death. Yet each morning when we wake up, we don’t realize the miracle that has just taken place. I understand there are many mysteries about sleep that medical science is still researching. Could it be that sleep is just our “rehearsal” for the resurrection? That God is just getting us used to falling asleep and trusting Him to wake us up when it is time?

I walked into the church lobby after worship service one Sabbath to find a very distraught elderly lady. She has Alzheimer’s disease and had forgotten who had driven her to church. She was afraid she was going to be left. I put my arm around her and assured her that even though she may have forgotten who had taken her to church, whoever they  were, they had not forgotten her. I told her we all loved her and would not leave her alone. She began to cry like a little girl, as she told me “Thank you very much!” Sure enough, her ride found her. She had forgotten them, but they remembered her.

This elderly lady felt like a little child left all alone. When we face the grave of a loved one, or even our own, do we feel like a little child left all alone? We needn’t be afraid. Our Ride to heaven will remember us even if in death we forget Him as we sleep. The same God who wakes you up every morning, the same God who remembered to create you and remembered to redeem you on the cross, is the same God responsible for waking you up when He comes again. Don’t worry, even when in death you forget Him, He won’t forget you!

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Genesis 7:22-24 describe the overwhelming and comprehensive effect of the waters, which “destroyed all living things” (Genesis 7:23, NKJV) and “prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days” (Genesis 7:24, NKJV). It is against this background of total annihilation and hopelessness that “God remembered” (Genesis 8:1). This phrase is situated in the center of the texts covering the Flood, an indication that this idea is the central message of the Flood story.

Read Genesis 8:1. What does it mean that God “remembered” Noah?

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The verb zakhar, “remember,” means that God had not forgotten; it is more than just a mental exercise. In the biblical context the “God who remembers” means the fulfillment of His promise and often refers to salvation (see Genesis 19:29). In the context of the Flood, “God remembered” means that the waters “stopped” (Genesis 8:2) and that Noah will soon be able to leave the ark (Genesis 8:16).

Though no direct command is yet given to leave, Noah takes the initiative and sends first a raven, and then a dove, to test the situation. Finally, when the dove does not come back, he understands “that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked” (Genesis 8:13, NKJV).

Noah’s behavior is rich in practical lessons. On one hand, it teaches us to trust God even though He does not yet directly speak; on the other hand, faith does not deny the value of thinking and testing. Faith does not exclude the duty to think, to seek, and to see if what we learned is true.

And yet, Noah goes out only when God, finally, tells him to do so (Genesis 8:15-19). That is, even when he knows it’s safe to leave, Noah still relies on God and waits for God’s signal before going out of the ark. He waited patiently within the ark. “As he had entered at God’s command, he waited for special directions to depart … At last an angel descended from heaven, opened the massive door, and bade the patriarch and his household go forth upon the earth and take with them every living thing.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 105.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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The verb ‘asah, “make,” which refers to Noah’s actions, is also a keyword in the Genesis Creation account (Genesis 1:7, Genesis 1:16, Genesis 1:25-26, Genesis 1:31; Genesis 2:2). Noah’s acts of obedience to God are like God’s acts of creation. What we can take from this link is that the Flood is not just about God punishing humanity, but about God saving us, as well.

Read Genesis 7:1-24. Why does the description of the Flood remind us of the Creation account? What lessons can we learn from the parallels between the two events?

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An attentive reading of the text covering the Flood reveals the use of many common words and expressions with the Creation story: “seven” (Genesis 7:2-3, , Genesis 7:4, Genesis 7:10; compare with Genesis 2:1-3); “male and female” (Genesis 7:2-3, , Genesis 7:9, Genesis 7:16; compare with Genesis 1:27); “after its kind” (Genesis 7:14, NKJV; compare with Genesis 1:11-12, , Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24-25); “beasts,” “birds,” “creeping things” (see Genesis 7:8, Genesis 7:14, Genesis 7:21, Genesis 7:23; compare with Genesis 1:24-25); and “breath of life” (Genesis 7:15, Genesis 7:22; compare with Genesis 2:7).

The Flood story reads, then, somewhat like the Creation story. These echoes of the Creation accounts help reveal that the God who creates is the same as the God who destroys (Deuteronomy 32:39). But these echoes also convey a message of hope: the Flood is designed to be a new creation, out of the waters, which leads to a new existence.

The movement of waters shows that this event of creation is, in fact, reversing the act of Creation in Genesis Chapter 1. In contrast to Genesis Chapter 1, which describes a separation of the waters above from the waters below (Genesis 1:7), the Flood involves their reunification as they explode beyond their borders (Genesis 7:11).

This process conveys a paradoxical message: God has to destroy what is before in order to allow for a new creation afterward. The creation of the new earth requires the destruction of the old one. The event of the Flood prefigures the future salvation of the world at the end of time: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1, NKJV; compare with Isaiah 65:17).

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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