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 the level of the water slowly started to go down. God stopped the springs from gushing with 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.

Why doesn’t God punish people now like in Noah’s time?

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 though there is still sin in the world, God is making everything new. He does not use floods to wash away sin. Instead, the blood of Jesus washes away the sin from our hearts. 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. He is holding back his judgment of evil for as long as possible so that many people will 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