Genesis 8
Genesis 8
The last couple days we saw Noah’s faithfulness to obey God’s every command. We can only imagine the mocking over the years it took to build the massive life-raft that would save him, his family, and the animals. As the Ark took shape, dominating the horizon, insults must have only gotten louder and meaner. That is, until the day it started raining.
When the Lord initially sealed everyone in the Ark, imagine Noah’s neighbors stopping by, slapping the hull, and mocking those locked inside. However, soon those slaps turned into banging and pleading shouts, “Let me in! Let me in!” As time passed, the sounds stopped and the Ark set afloat. Eventually, the rain ceased and the only sounds were the animals and waves lapping the hull as the rudderless Ark drifted.
Chapter 8 begins, “But God remembered Noah…” One time while working from home I smelled a faint odor of burning stink. I suddenly remembered that I had started a pot of chili cooking on the stove and meant to turn it down to a low simmer. Instead, I forgot and scorched it badly. Did God forget about Noah like I forgot about that chili? No. “Remembering” is a Hebrew way to say that God is acting on His prior commitment—“remembering” precedes the Lord moving.
As we read the first 5 verses, it’s a little confusing, but we should understand that the passengers were on the Ark for over a year. I’m sure there were points when Noah and his family wondered if the Lord had forgotten them. Every day they floated, fed animals, mucked stalls, dealt with family squabbles, all the while probably feeling a little forgotten. However, God moved and eventually the family and animals stepped out onto dry land. In gratitude, Noah made a sacrifice to the Lord. Likewise, their release came with a promise that God would never again flood the Earth.
It's not unfair to say that the Ark was a period of waiting that existed between two realities. God judged a wicked world. That judgment took a long time to recede. Finally, the passengers stepped out into a world that was hard to fathom—for them and for us. They had a hard reset on everything. Nothing but them existed from the reality before the flood.
I don’t want to allegorize the Ark, but perhaps God has you in a season of waiting between two realities. The change in your life probably doesn’t mean the extinction of all life on the planet except for those that traveled with you. However, it may be something personally devastating. You might be asking, “Where are you Lord?”
God has not forgotten you. God didn’t just want to make Noah and his family wait purposelessly. Their waiting ended in a promise still in effect today. Similarly, God calls people into seasons of waiting for various purposes. Unfortunately, we don’t always get to see those purposes until years later if at all. We love the “freedom-from-the-Ark” moments, but we often fail to celebrate God’s movement in the roar of the storm or the lingering silence from the months of “evaporation.” In all three periods God is a work.
By: Tyler Short
The last couple days we saw Noah’s faithfulness to obey God’s every command. We can only imagine the mocking over the years it took to build the massive life-raft that would save him, his family, and the animals. As the Ark took shape, dominating the horizon, insults must have only gotten louder and meaner. That is, until the day it started raining.
When the Lord initially sealed everyone in the Ark, imagine Noah’s neighbors stopping by, slapping the hull, and mocking those locked inside. However, soon those slaps turned into banging and pleading shouts, “Let me in! Let me in!” As time passed, the sounds stopped and the Ark set afloat. Eventually, the rain ceased and the only sounds were the animals and waves lapping the hull as the rudderless Ark drifted.
Chapter 8 begins, “But God remembered Noah…” One time while working from home I smelled a faint odor of burning stink. I suddenly remembered that I had started a pot of chili cooking on the stove and meant to turn it down to a low simmer. Instead, I forgot and scorched it badly. Did God forget about Noah like I forgot about that chili? No. “Remembering” is a Hebrew way to say that God is acting on His prior commitment—“remembering” precedes the Lord moving.
As we read the first 5 verses, it’s a little confusing, but we should understand that the passengers were on the Ark for over a year. I’m sure there were points when Noah and his family wondered if the Lord had forgotten them. Every day they floated, fed animals, mucked stalls, dealt with family squabbles, all the while probably feeling a little forgotten. However, God moved and eventually the family and animals stepped out onto dry land. In gratitude, Noah made a sacrifice to the Lord. Likewise, their release came with a promise that God would never again flood the Earth.
It's not unfair to say that the Ark was a period of waiting that existed between two realities. God judged a wicked world. That judgment took a long time to recede. Finally, the passengers stepped out into a world that was hard to fathom—for them and for us. They had a hard reset on everything. Nothing but them existed from the reality before the flood.
I don’t want to allegorize the Ark, but perhaps God has you in a season of waiting between two realities. The change in your life probably doesn’t mean the extinction of all life on the planet except for those that traveled with you. However, it may be something personally devastating. You might be asking, “Where are you Lord?”
God has not forgotten you. God didn’t just want to make Noah and his family wait purposelessly. Their waiting ended in a promise still in effect today. Similarly, God calls people into seasons of waiting for various purposes. Unfortunately, we don’t always get to see those purposes until years later if at all. We love the “freedom-from-the-Ark” moments, but we often fail to celebrate God’s movement in the roar of the storm or the lingering silence from the months of “evaporation.” In all three periods God is a work.
By: Tyler Short
4 Comments
Tyler, great way to describe what conditions feel like when we are waiting. We must remember that our waiting does not mean God is doing nothing. God is always at work, but sometimes we can't see it. Noah is my favorite Bible character because of the enormity of his trust in God. God is always trustworthy and faithful.
Thanks Nora! It's hard for me to imagine how long the days must have lasted.
That is my takeaway: waiting purposely for God. Also Noah's wait between two realities reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5:17 that all things become new.
Great catch Norma!