Genesis 8:13-22 “In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the water had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.
Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives. Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”
So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird—everything that moves upon the earth—came out of the ark, kind by kind.
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
“In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the water had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.
Talk about having cabin fever! Evidently, although there were some windows in the ark, there was some kind of covering over much of the deck that protected anyone out there from the weather. One of the untold miracles of the ark experience is the fact that Noah and his family managed to remain on good terms with one another throughout this entire ordeal.
Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives. Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it. So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird—everything that moves upon the earth—came out of the ark, kind by kind.” By now everybody is blinking at the brightness of the sunshine, enjoying a breeze that is not bringing more rain, and generally feeling relieved and free. Everything is great, right? That’s when God gives His next set of instructions.
“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.” We must assume that Noah is making these offerings to the Lord according to the Lord’s command. It scarcely seems fair! These clean animals and clean birds have survived several months in the ark and have probably multiplied while there. Now some of them are to be killed and offered as burnt offerings-why? These clean animals and birds represent a kind of first fruits offering. Noah is offering the Lord the best he has as an act of trust that God is going to use the rest of the animals and the birds to repopulate the earth. The animals are also being sacrificed as blood offerings to atone for any sins Noah and his family might have committed while on the ark. (How long would you be sweet-tempered if you were shut up on a small boat for months on end?)
“When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.” We think about the smell of burning flesh and it seems anything but pleasing! But this aroma is pleasing because of Noah’s willing obedience. Notice God has no illusions about human nature; however, he promises not to curse the ground nor to destroy all living creatures. In one of the loveliest passages in these verses, God promises, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
Later, when God is giving Moses His Law, God institutes regular peace offerings, special celebrations when men are to offer perfect animals to atone for sins and to make peace with God. Noah’s offerings might be viewed as the first peace offerings recorded.
The Bible tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” (Hebrews 9:22) But God has sent His Son Jesus Christ to die as a blood sacrifice for our sins so that we no longer have to sacrifice sheep and goats and bullocks. When we accept what Jesus has done for us and believe in him, we are justified by faith. Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”
All of us have a sin problem; nothing any of us can do will make up for our sins. Noah and his family sacrificed the best animals and birds they possessed to achieve peace with God. But Jesus has done what we cannot do. If we believe in Jesus and accept His sacrifice, we are freed from our sins and we can live in God’s peace.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are facing horrible problems and have no peace. Please heal these situations and give those of us who are struggling Your perfect peace that passes all understanding. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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