Genesis 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Noah had just come through a catastrophic event. Never before or since that time, was there such an event on earth. We have faced some interesting weather patterns this summer. There have been tornadoes in areas that never had one before or for a long time. We have had heavy rainfall that has caused rivers to swell and houses to flood.
The ungodly have looked at what is happening and they are at a loss to understand it. Of course they have continued to develop their lame-brained idea that this is all part of man-made climate change. Society has allowed ungodly scientists to brainwash them into believing lies.
A major hoax was popularized in the 1800’s by a man name Charles Darwin. He built upon the wrong ideas of his father and grandfather. Charles Darwin’s family was well educated in secularism, but they rejected the Truth. You cannot build your life in a vacuum and expect to come out with a good life. Goodness is not determined by wealth and prestige. It is determined by the knowledge of God.
In our text, Noah chose to glorify God when he was able to leave the ark. He had already trusted in God prior to the flood. He had never experienced anything like the flood before. He knew the world around him was wicked, but he chose not to give in to that pressure. He chose to believe in God. God rewarded him by having him build the ark and then he and his family along with the animals that God chose entered that ark and rode out the flood that God sent to judge the world.
Noah and his family saw the effects of that flood first hand. God recorded that flood for the benefit of all of society. Man needs to be warned of the danger of rejecting the true God. Those who choose to believe in God need to be reminded of the blessing of doing so. Those who choose to believe in God will be in the minority.
Noah showed his family what was important. Before he chose to build a house or anything else, he chose to build an altar unto the LORD. He offered of the clean beasts that God had brought into the ark.
In verse 21 we read that God was pleased with Noah’s actions. He assured Noah that He would never again send such a worldwide flood upon the earth. God still uses the weather and the climates to speak to people. The weather patterns are directed by God. Verse 22 reminds us of that fact. Sometimes God sends what we call “adverse” weather to get man’s attention. Most of the time, people do not see God’s hand in the weather. Some will curse God for it. Others will talk about ‘mother nature’ and others just ignore it. We know there are foolish men and women who study the weather patterns and they try to figure out how they can alter the weather patterns for what they think would be better for the world. God knows what we need, and He has given us suitable weather and climate to be able to grow food since He created the world. He has brought famines at times and He has brought floods at times in various places.
Back in verse 21 God reminded Noah that the experience of the flood was not guaranteed to change the heart of man. He also reminds us that the warning of His judgment upon sin would not necessarily cause man to repent.
God knows that we are all born as lost sinners in need of a Saviour. God stated that the imagination of man’s heart, from his youth, is evil. Why do children do bad things. The answer is simple. It is because they are lost sinners and as lost sinners they commit sin. Many children grow up to be adults who are still lost. The imagination of the lost person just continues to develop evil thoughts and actions.
The only hope of man is to come to see his need to repent toward God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. True Biblical salvation is a miracle. It is a work that only God can do. There are many who profess to be saved, but their core being has not been changed. They have made a mental choice to change some things in their life. Some people have stronger minds than others. Age also ‘matures’ some people and they are not as wild as they once were. That too does not equate with salvation.
True Biblical salvation changes the heart of the individual. From that moment the person needs to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That growth will depend on the level of submission the true child of God has toward the authority of the true God and Saviour.
Sound, Biblical teaching is essential to helping people to grow properly in the Lord. Even saved people have an imagination. They can allow that imagination to develop wrong understanding of God’s Word. The true local church is essential to growing a healthy, true, Biblical perspective on life.
God does raise up certain men to be leaders in His churches. It is important to follow God’s leading to one of such churches and be faithful there. The flesh will not appreciate the Truth, but the spirit of the saved person will appreciate the Truth.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Pastor Bartel