Beloved, I am pleased to share with you today the above theme from Gen. 8:1 onwards. Indeed, without means of propulsion and without rudder, the ark that God leads with a sure hand has landed on the mountains of Ararat; it seems that Noah could go out. But he waits, and many days are still passing. Entering the ark at God’s command, he will only come out on another divine command. The dove that cannot land anywhere and returns to the ark is an image of the Spirit of God that has no place in a judged world. But when Jesus appears, the Spirit can finally rest upon Him in this pure form of a dove (Mat 3:13-17). And so it is today with the believer, possessing the Holy Spirit: he finds in this world no food, nothing to satisfy his heart. On the contrary, the natural man is comfortable there, like the raven, an unclean bird according to Lev 11:9-19 that feeds on corrupt flesh.
Noah finally comes out of the ark at the command of the Lord. The first thing he does is offer a sacrifice. God has the first rights to this land washed of its filth, and there rises to him a pleasant smell. Have we not also often experienced small or great deliverances in our lives? Let’s never fail to give thanks! And in the first place for “such a great salvation” (Heb 2:1-4). The old man is as if buried under the waters – he has no place in the new nature: the flesh, with all that depends on it, its sins, its iniquities, its responsibilities, is as if buried in the tomb of Christ, and it can never again appear in the eyes of God. But as Christ rose from the dead, in the power of a new life, having entirely taken away our sins, baptized man also rose from the water, thus proclaiming, as it were, that by the grace of God and by the death of Christ, he was put into full possession of a new life, to which the righteousness of God is inseparably united. “We were buried with him, by baptism, for death, that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so that we too may walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6 and Col. 2;1 Peter 3:18-22).
All this contains a very simple but very practical teaching: As soon as the heart abandons the reality of God himself, there is no limit to man’s decadence: he is on the path that leads to the grossest idolatry. For faith, an ordinance has value only as long as it is the means by which God communicates himself to the soul, in living power, that is, as long as faith can enjoy Christ in the ordinance according to the institution of God himself. Apart from that, an order has no value; and if it creeps in any small measure between the heart of the worshipper and the glorious work and person of Christ, it ceases to be an ordinance of God and becomes an instrument of the devil. For superstition, the ordinance is everything, and God is excluded; the name of God serves only to exalt the ordinance, and to give it a hold on the heart and a powerful influence on the mind of man. Thus the children of Israel worshipped the brass serpent. What for a time was in God’s hands a means of blessing to them, became, as soon as their hearts had withdrawn from the Lord, an object of superstitious veneration; and Hezekiah had to tear it to pieces like a “piece of brass.”
Thus the sinner is stripped of Christ, entirely; for it will be seen that Christ and the ordinances will ultimately be the ordinances without Christ. “If you are circumcised, Christ will not benefit you from anything!” (Gal. 5:2). One can only have Christ as a whole, or no Christ at all. The devil persuades men that they honor Christ by advocating His ordinances, and making much of them aware; though he knows very well that in doing so they are actually setting Christ aside entirely, and deifying the ordinance. It cannot be repeated enough that superstition makes ordinance everything; that unbelief and mysticism do not do so; and that faith uses it according to the divine institution. For bychance will not prevent the means put in place for the safety of the Church from perfecting it : The mixing of the waters will not endanger the ark as long as God directs it. God guarantees partial rest to his Church from below, as a pledge of fullness. The time and place are fixed by God to show mercy to His Church. The waters must come and fall for the comfort of the Church, under God’s command. Thanks are measured in months and days. God has mercy on His Church, and to see it.
The assertions of Scripture are so broad and strong, that I do not see how to escape their force. And then the language is repeated: “removed from above the earth”. – “The waters have reigned over the earth.” Now, let every honest and impartial reader of this chapter say what the impression would be on his mind; And I am sure it would be, that the flood described here was universal. And, as I said before, if the flood was not universal, if it was topical, why did Noah take creatures found in every climate of the earth into the ark? For example, the raven, I believe, exists almost everywhere; The Dove is certainly found in the east, west, north and south latitudes. What’s the point of keeping a bird that has had to live everywhere? And, when the dove came out of the ark, why did it return? If you let a dove out between this and Boulogne, you will see that it will fly to the nearest mainland, probably to its own loft, as carrier pigeons do, it is well known.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped for your better understanding.
Noah comes out of the ark:
- Ark
Gen. 6:14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall arrange this ark in cells, and you shall smear it with pitch inside and out. Gen 7:1 The Lord said to Noah, Enter into the ark and you and all your house; for I have seen you right before me among this generation. Matthew 24:38 For in the days before the flood men ate and drank, married and married their children, until the day Noah entered the ark; Heb 11:7 It was by faith that Noah, divinely warned of things not yet seen, and seized with a reverent fear, built an ark to save his family; it was through it that he condemned the world, and became heir to the righteousness which is obtained by faith.
- Divine memory, general references
Gen. 8:1 God remembered Noah, all the animals and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God brought a wind over the earth, and the waters subsided. Psalm 98:3 He remembered His goodness and faithfulness to the house of Israel, All ends of the earth saw the salvation of our God. Psalm 136:23 He who remembered us when we were humbled, for his mercy endures forever! Isaiah 49:14-16 Zion said, The Lord forsake me, the Lord forgets me! – 15 Does a woman forget the child she is breastfeeding? Doesn’t she pity the fruit of her womb? When she forgets it, I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved thee on my hands; Your walls are always before my eyes.
- Obedience, examples
-Noah Gen. 6:22 This is what Noah did: he carried out all that God had commanded him.
-Abraham Gen 22:2-3 God said: Take your son, your only son, the one you love, Isaac; go to the land of Moriah, and there offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you. 3 Abraham arose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two servants and his son Isaac. He split wood for the holocaust, and left to go to the place God had told him.
-Betsaleel Ex 36:1 Betsaleel, Oholiab, and all the skillful men, in whom the Lord had put wisdom and intelligence in knowing and doing, performed the works intended for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.
-Joshua 11:15 Joshua carried out Jehovah’s commands to Moses, his servant, and from Moses to Joshua; he neglected none of all that Jehovah had commanded Moses.
-Hezekiah 2 Kings 18:6 He was attached to the Lord, he did not turn away from him, and he kept the commandments that Jehovah had commanded Moses.
-Joseph and Mary Luke 2:39 When they had fulfilled all that the Lord’s law commanded, Joseph and Mary returned to Galilee, to Nazareth, their city.
-Paul Acts 26:19 Therefore, King Agrippa, I have not resisted the heavenly vision:
-Christ Heb 5:7 It is he who, in the days of his flesh, having presented with great cries and tears prayers and supplications to him who could save him from death, and having been answered because of his piety,
- Divine promises, characteristics
-Always fulfilled 1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the Lord, who gave rest to his people of Israel, according to all his promises! Of all the good words he had spoken by Moses, his servant, none remained without effect.
-Are guaranteed by the power of God Rom 4:21 and having the full conviction that what he promises he can also accomplish.
-Are founded in Christ 2 Cor 1:20 because, as far as all the promises of God are concerned, it is in him that the yes is; this is why again the Amen by him is pronounced by us to the glory of God.
-Have infinite value 2 Pet 1.4 which assure us on his part the greatest and most precious promises, so that by them you become partakers of the divine nature, fleeing the corruption that exists in the world by covetousness,
-Culminate in eternal life 1 John 2:25 And the promise He has made to us is eternal life.
From all the above, we note thatyears ago, one of our fleets was terribly broken by a violent gust of wind. It was found that one of the ships had not been affected by the fierce tumult and agitation. What for? For it was in what sailors so forcefully refer to as the “eye of the storm.” Noah was so located: While everything was desolation, he was safe. The storm of wind, rain and water flooding could stir, roar and leap; Noah’s ark was at rest, safe in the “eye of the storm.” And just as the compass of the ship is so adjusted as to maintain its level in the midst of all the uplifts of the sea; Thus the celestial structure was calm in the midst of the encircling waves: In the midst of the fluctuations of the sea of life, the Christian soul remains tranquil – calm in the midst of a tumultuous movement – in the “eye of the storm”. As Abel came with the lamb appointed, and was accepted; so Noah came with his sacrifice, and his service was a grateful incense. Both offerings teach that there is a virtue in Christ’s death so precious and powerful that it has unresilient power over God. To use the expressive language of the Law, “the curtains of God’s pavilion are here rejected, and every attribute seems to rejoice in redemption.” The Spirit says that the Lord smelled a sweet smell, that clouds of prevailing odors pierced the heavens. Its flame was a light for pious pilgrims in patriarchal times, and after the passage of centuries, it brings us this diamond radiance; when as in the past – “The smoke of sacrifice rose, and God smelled a sweet smell of obedient faith.” Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in truth to pray with me:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my personal Lord and Savior. I acknowledge that you died at the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and my faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom by walking according to your ways.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to be baptized by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power and glory, now and for ever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “God blesses Noah and his sons” (Gen 9)
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.