Daily Devotions
Genesis
"I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.' Psalm 9:1
Text: Genesis 8:1-22
THE SIGN OF THE DOVE
Noah waited patiently for the return of the raven and the dove each day. He knew how to interpret their return, or for that matter their non-return. If the raven did not return, it would only mean that it had found food and thus there was no need to return to the ark. One day, Noah noticed something different.
“The dove came to him in the evening, and behold,
a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth;
and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.
So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove,
which did not return again to him anymore.”GENESIS 8:11-12
If the dove did not return, it would mean that it had not only found food, but also a place to roost. The dove did not return to him that evening!
GETTING OUT OF THE ARK
The Flood occurred when Noah was 600 years old (Genesis 7:11). The Flood did not recede and dry up fully till a whole year later (Genesis 8:13-14). God personally welcomed Noah back to the clean and refreshed earth.
“Then God spoke to Noah, saying,
‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons
and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every
living thing of all flesh that is with you… so that they may
abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.'”
GENESIS 8:15-17
THE VERY FIRST THING NOAH DID
If you have been cooped up in an ark for a whole year, what would be the first thing you do when you step on firm land again? Bear in mind that a terrible judgment had been passed on the wicked inhabitants of the earth. All the wicked had perished!
Noah led his family and all the animals out of the ark (Genesis 8:18-19). He must have heaved a sigh of relief that his work as zoo-keeper in the ark was over! Without God’s special grace, it would have been impossible to look after all the animals cooped up in the ark! The most natural thing that Noah felt he must do was to give special worship to the Lord.
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord,
and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird,
and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”GENESIS 8:20
Noah must have offered heartfelt worship! He offered the clean animals God had given him for food (Cf. Genesis 6:21)! He had probably prepared for this worship the whole year through! Worship IS the most natural response from a faithful heart!