6-24-22

A friend recently posted this thought: Noah built the ark to God’s specifications. Ordered him to place 2 of each animal inside, male & female. Then his family and himself. THEN GOD SHUT the door. God SEALED the door. It became the “Ark of Protection”.
At this time, Noah & his family found favor with the Lord as they loved and followed Him, so God saved ONLY them. Noah was obedient in building the ark and rounding up all the animals. First, can you imagine how the towns people acted when Noah was building this HUGE boat like structure? Especially because these people do not fear the Lord? Second, God must have directed all those animals TO Noah so that he could get them loaded. It would have taken him years to wrangle that many animals. Third, they were Male & Female! I heard a joke once that the reason there are no dinosaurs or unicorns is because Noah mistakenly put 2 males of each on the ark, instead of a male & female of each dinosaur & unicorn.
Now the ark was huge, but can you even imagine what it was like with all those animals (& all those smells) for a long period of time? The ark had to remain shut up to keep them safe. The noises, those elephants are pretty loud! God must have arranged for Noah to have enough food for them all and his family for an extended period.
But in God’s time, the waters receded, and they were able to find dry land. I imagine that they were more than ready to be out of that ark and be on dry land. Then and only then did God open the door to the Ark.
God then gave them a promise that He would never destroy the earth again with a flood. He put HIS rainbow in the sky. Genesis 9:13. I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
Let there be no mistake, it is HIS rainbow, just as pastor spoke of in his sermon recently, a symbol of HIS promise, not a symbol of anything else.
Noah’s story is rich with lessons for us. Obedience, Faith that God will protect us, God’s timing is best, and when God makes a promise, it is beautiful, and you can trust it! I am praying today that when you see His rainbow, you remember how much He loves you, and protects you.
Thank you, Lord, for ALL that you supply us EVERY day! AMEN!

Shirlene Peterson