We live in pretty rough times. Many vile and wicked activities are being
promoted as being a choice of lifestyle: alcoholism, drug abuse, homosexuality,
same sex marriage, abortion, and more. Even so, there are many good people
doing good things for others. While they are not all Christians, many do good
for orphans, widows, the sick, the poor, those who have lost homes and family
in tragedies, and those who suffer from horrible illnesses. Times are tough,
but surely they are better than the days of Noah.
Noah had received a great challenge by God. Noah found grace in the eyes of
the Lord. He was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations (Genesis
6:9,10). Therefore, God chose him to build an ark, fill it with food and
animals, and to preach to those who were around him to save the lost. Noah did
exactly what God told him to do (Genesis 6:22).
During Noah’s 601st year, he opened the roof of the ark to a
whole new world. On New Year’s Day, Noah saw the sky and the earth again. “And
it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the
first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah
removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the
ground was dried” (Genesis 8:13).
When it was all said and done, Noah, his family, and the animals spent over
a year in the ark (one year and 17 days if you count the 7 days in the ark
before the flood began). While we do not know all that occurred inside the ark
during that year, you can imagine that there would have been difficulties. Can
you imagine not seeing the sky for over a year? Can you imagine the work that
must be done to feed the animals and clean up after them? Can you imagine being
stuck in one place with your family for a year? Ok, I am just teasing, as I
love my family but you must admit there would have been some difficulties.
But on that New Year’s Day, when Noah opened the roof of the ark and saw
the sky and the ground, a new excitement must have been racing through his
heart and soul. After leaving the ark, Noah prepared a great offering to the
Lord. He was thankful for sparing his life and the lives of his family. In this
New Year, are we thankful for our families? Are we grateful for all they have
helped us to overcome? Do we praise God for His blessings in providing for our
family (Matt. 6:33; Js. 1:17)?
Then the Lord gave several blessings to Noah and all men. The Lord declared
that man would enjoy the seasons. In Genesis 8:22, the Lord declared, “While
the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Seasons are a blessing for man
today and provide many benefits such as the freeze which kills bugs, helps open
the cotton bowls for harvest, etc. There are many wonderful blessings provided
by God’s design of the seasons. In the New Year, let us be thankful for the
seasons.
Noah also received the promise that the earth would not be destroyed again
by water. The sign to confirm this promise by God was the rainbow in the sky
(Genesis 9:11-16). In 2 Peter 3:5-10, the flood is called to remembrance with a
promise given: the earth will one day be destroyed for a second time, not with
water, but by fire. This being the case, we must live holy and godly lives,
looking for the day of the Lord.
When Noah left the ark, he was to be fruitful and multiply. He was to live
faithfully to God. Surely, when he opened up that door, he was excited about
the future. It was a New Year with new blessings and new possibilities. As we
approach 2014, let us be excited about new opportunities. Let us be thankful
for all God has blessed us with and let us never forget the day when God
destroyed the earth and that there is a day coming when this world will end.
Are you ready for that day?
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