Noah

January 14

Genesis 8:1-5, 15-19

Blue skies!

While Noah and his family and all the animals were floating around in the ark, God kept His eye on them. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and level of the water slowly started going down. God stopped the springs from gushing out water and He stopped the rain.

After many months the water had gone down so much that the boat came to rest on a mountain. After some time, God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark and bring all the creatures out with you.”

So Noah, his family and all the animals stepped out onto dry ground.

If the world is as bad now as it was in Noah’s time, why doesn’t God punish the wicked now?

God used the flood to make everything new. For a while, the evil that had brought such misery to the world was gone. It seemed as though the flood had washed the earth clean of sin. Yet, there was a problem: the hearts of people were still sinful, and soon evil started to spread again.

Even with all the sin in the world today, God is still making things new. He is not using floods to get rid of sin from the earth, but the blood of Jesus to get rid of sin from the hearts of those who believe. God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:26).

God is merciful and patient—He does not want anyone to die in sin. God is holding back his judgment of evil for as long as possible so that many people can be saved (2 Peter 3:9).

Verse for today

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:37