F O O T H O L D
READING
18 A NEW START
PRAY Dear God, as I read
this chapter, please build in my life, faith
and faithfulness, patience
and hope, peace and joy.
READ Genesis 8:122.
THINK What does this passage
teach about God's character and his
attitude to the world?
FOCUS 'GOD HAD NOT
FORGOTTEN' (1). Those opening words are the key to
verses 119. God is FAITHFUL that is something else you will
meet again and again in the
Bible. It means that he is always true
to himself and to what he
has said. He will not let us down.
Sometimes we may feel
depressed or bewildered, afraid or anxious.
At such times we must trust,
not in how we feel, but in what God
has promised.
Remember, Noah was in the
Ark for over a year; God had not
forgotten him and he won't
forget you.
NOAH DID NOT FORGET (20).
Noah's first thought is for God. He
shows his thankfulness in
this act of worship. It is not the
animal sacrifice itself
which pleases God it's the obedience and
love behind it (see 1 Samuel
15:22; Micah 6:68). Has God been
especially good to you
recently? How have you shown your
thankfulness?
Noah offered sacrifices to
God (20,21). What may a Christian offer
to him?
'NEVER AGAIN' (21). We have
seen that God cannot overlook sin. We
can now see God's purpose in
judgement. It is rather like a
surgeon taking away a
diseased organ so that the whole body can be
healthy. Now there is a new
start (16,17). Life must go on. And
God gives us a stable,
ordered world in which to live and work.
Disasters and famines still
occur (they're part of a sinful world)
but not until the end of the
world will there be judgement on this
scale again.
PRAY Ask that you may be
aware of God's presence and help whatever your
circumstances.
