Old Testament - Genesis 8 - February 3, 2022

2/3/2022 – Genesis 8

In chapter 8 the water has finally stopped, but this critical time is not over.  The beautiful thing of this chapter is that the first verses tell us “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing…that was with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.” Noah, and all in the ark, had worked hard to obey the Lord and had made it through the biggest calamity to ever occur on this earth. But now, even with the waters residing, they are nowhere near “normal” and they have much work in front of them. But the important thing was that they had the Lord with them.

They waited TEN months for the waters to receded enough to allow the tops of the mountains were seen. (v 5) They then waited 40 more days in that ark with all those animals who would require care and feeding. They had yet another wait of 2 months and 20 days, until the Lord “spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee” (v’s 15-16) And then they had the commandment to bring out “every living thing that is with thee” (v 17). That is a more difficult move than I could have ever imagined.

The first thing Noah did after getting every animal and every living thing off of the ark, was to build an altar, and give thanks to Heavenly Father. I hope that is the way I will meet my difficult times, and the way I will remember my difficult times. I can do that if I will stay close to the Lord, following His directions as closely as I can.

We learn in v 21 that “the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake…neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”  Our world is going through perilous times now: weather changes, wars, thieving and killing in our towns, massive sickness, and ‘normal’ people so often set against one another. In this time we have a flood of evil to combat.

Fortunately, we can turn to the Lord, even as Noah and his family did, for He has promised: “Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations; and that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes may be for a defense and for a refuge from the storm and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.” 

Russell M Nelson gave a talk in the Oct 2018 General Conference—a talk we should not forget. 

He promised three blessings as we follow through living “conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith.” 1) He promised that our Sabbath days will truly be a delight. In a world that is increasingly distracting, noisy, and, well, ‘worldly’, we need the respite that comes from joyfully observing the Sabbath day, we need the physical and spiritual renewal.  “The fulness of the earth is promised to those who keep the Sabbath day holy.”  2) He promised that our children would be excited to learn and live the Savior’s teachings. Some feel that living according to the teachings of the Savior is restrictive rather than freeing…but it is the opposite. 3) He promised that the influence of the adversary in our lives and homes will decrease. 

There is promised protection in following the Lord. Not that our lives will be easy and free from problems, but that we will be able to grow in strength and faith, and find –and take advantage of--the opportunities for that growth that this earth life makes available to us.