(Genesis 6:8-22) But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
In these verses, we can see the value and benefits of having God in our lives. Considering how loving and caring He is, these are the things we can apply to our relationships with each other...
As a loving heavenly Father, God told Noah His plan to destroy everything but put Noah's mind at ease by explaining and promising that He would spare and protect him. In the Lord's gracious consideration, Noah's family would be included so that Noah would not be alone. In the same way, we should show our love and consideration to those close to us so that they can feel secure in their relationship with us.
As a loving heavenly Father, God taught Noah how to build the ark. So here is the start of the ship building industry! Right from the beginning, the Lord was very interactive with His children, teaching them how to survive, like how to make durable clothing (not from leaves but from leather). In the same way, we should be teaching our children God's wisdom and life skills in order to survive as equipped adults in a world that is not perfect.
As a loving heavenly Father, God told Noah that they were going to be taking aboard very specific creatures, but He didn't expect Noah to do such an impossible task. God would bring the animals to him. God thought of every detail, and gave them other tasks to do, like gathering food. God even had tasks for them to do while in the ark (for what would be quite a long time). They were to keep the animals alive.
In the same way, we need to be teaching our children chores and skills that they can manage given their age and ability. It's not just about physical survival, it encourages a healthy mental development, as well as an emotional stability. Let's consider what we all just went through at a global level.
In quarantine, many people struggled with depression and anxiety as they sat at home doing nothing. And now as the world is trying to get back to normal, people are struggling emotionally and mentally with the thought of having to go back to work. We were created to work, and with the help and strength of the Lord, we should and can embrace that. And we will be blessed in this. It can feel like it is the wrong thing to do, but even after an operation or going through trauma or depression... the best thing to do is ease back into life.
We can learn a lot from this chapter, as a spouse, a parent, a friend... In God strength, we can be communicative, reasonable, considerate, gracious, helpful, supportive, protective, involved, loving, obedient to the Lord... and most importantly, we should encourage each other to seek a closer relationship with the Lord - our heavenly Father! He is the key and answer to everything!
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