Genesis 8:1-19

Hey, good afternoon. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. I just want to make sure that we stay on track here with getting from Genesis to Leviticus. And so this is an afternoon evening special edition of Coffee and Devotions. It's so good to be with you this afternoon. This is where every day you and I, we get together. We get into God's Word. and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2023, Lord willing, we'll make it from Genesis to Leviticus. It's so good to be with you today. Why don't we pray and we'll get into the Lord's word. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you. For the work that you are doing in our hearts We thank you for teaching us and we pray now that as we read your word that you might instruct us Let us believe it. Let us see who you are know who you are and walk in your ways in Jesus's name Amen. All right, so we are at Genesis chapter 8 Genesis chapter 8 let me grab my glasses here. I And let's see, we are going to go through verse 19. So Genesis chapter 8 to verse 19. Here we go.
Then God remembered Noah. Why did God have to remember Noah? He was in the ark, right? God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made the wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained, and the waters receded continually from the earth.
At the end of one hundred and fifty days the waters decreased, Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen. So it came to pass at the end of 40 days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.
Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark. to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and drew her into the ark to himself. And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth, and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove which did not return again to him anymore.
And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year in the first month the first day of the month that the waters were dried up from the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.
Then God spoke to Noah, saying, Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. So Noah went out and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. Well, we need to ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do in response to this? So, A, what's this about?
God has saved Noah by his grace. Noah found favor in the sight of God, even though the wickedness of man was great upon the earth. He saved creation with two of every unclean animal and seven of every clean animal. He brings them into the ark. He seals them up. He protects them as the floodwaters rage for 40 days and 40 nights.
But then here we find out It wasn t actually just 40 days and 40 nights, but this is a long period of time. According to the dates here, this is Now Noah is 601 years old. So he has been on this ark now for over or almost a year or so. This was a long period of time. Noah has been on this ark for a long, long time.
If you remember back to our conversation this morning, how much damage could happen and geological change could happen over a year period if there's hydrological change like that going on. There's the Creation Research Institute down, I think they're down in Texas now, talks about the catastrophic plate tectonics that might have been happening at this time. Everything is changing. What does NOAA do?
He starts testing the waters, or maybe better, testing the land. He's seeing what's going on and is it safe to go out? And so the Lord is the one who keeps them in the ark. Noah's testing, he's sending out some birds, not able to find any rest. They come back, send another bird, and it's able to come back with an olive leaf. Okay, things are drying out, and sends another bird, doesn't return. Okay, this is wonderful, right?
And so he knows that the Lord is drying the land, but yet it's not until the Lord commands him. It's not until verse 15, then God spoke to Noah saying, go out of the ark, you and your wife and your son's wives with you. And he tells them to go out. And this is almost like the reduplication of the dominion mandate, right? Go and fill the earth. Right, go and have children, go and fill the earth because the Lord had remembered Noah. That's how verse one started.
The Lord remembered Noah. So what is this section about? This is God receding the waters. God remembering Noah and his family. God remembering all the creatures that he had saved in the ark and him drying the land out and letting them go. Back out, what's the best verse to summarize this?
In my Bible, I have underlined verse one, then God remembered Noah. And so I have that underlined in my Bible. Then I also have underlined in my Bible, Verses 15 through 17. So I know that that's more than you might underline. What would you underline in your Bible? What verses do you think highlight this will last see calling? What are we called to do?
As Noah is a man of faith, he's resting in the Lord and he knows that God has saved him. It's not as if God brought the floodwaters and put Noah in the ark and said, okay, I'm done with you. I'm just going to let you die in the ark. Noah believes that someday the Lord is going to receive the waters, that he's going to actually save him.
He and his family someday will once again walk upon the land. They don't know what that's going to look like. They don't know how that's going to go, but they know it's going to happen. And so they trust in the Lord. And so he's sending out those birds, not because he's impatient in the ark, although I can't imagine being cooped up in the ark. Well, actually I can.
But not for this long. I've been on a ship, and I've been on a ship where I hadn't seen land for over a month. And I lived in the belly of that ship. But I can't imagine what it would be for month after month after month after month after month. I don't know if the top of the ship had a nice little big deck and Noah and his family were able to take strolls, you know, I I don't know But he trusts God and so he sends out the birds he sends them out trusting that someday God was going to bring them back onto dry land that they might thrive again and And the Lord remembers and the Lord does his work.
It's not just 40 days and 40 nights. That's the children's story. It's months and months on the ship. Months and months waiting in the ark for God to bring about his promise. And he finally does it. What are we called to do? I think we are called to live by faith. That God hasn't forgotten us. That God is not slow to his promises. He works in his own timing. He's doing his thing. He's bringing about his kingdom. And we are called to walk by faith.
So will you hold the Jesus Christ? Will you walk by faith? Will you cling to the promises of God? I think that's what we're called today. to know that his kingdom is coming, that Jesus Christ will return, and that we're called to be patient, knowing that he hasn't forgotten about you or me.
Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the promises that we have in Jesus Christ. Thank you for your love and your care, your covenant mercies. Lord, I pray that you would please help us, Lord. Sometimes our disbelief is palpable. Father, please help us in our disbelief. Care for us, Lord. Let us remember you, knowing that you always remember us. In Jesus's name. Amen. Well, may the Lord bless you. May you take rest in his peace. And I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue. Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.