Genesis 9:8  And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9  And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10  And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11  And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12  And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15  And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17  And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

As we have noted in a previous devotional, the account of Noah and the flood covered 4 chapters in Genesis. Jesus referred to the days of Noah in warning of future events that are yet beyond our days. Peter was directed to refer to Noah and the events of his day in his writing to the saints. Noah was a man of God. He found grace in God’s sight. He walked with God.
Noah was given detailed and accurate instructions in how to build the ark. There was no ambiguity regarding the design for the building of that ark. We read that Noah sealed the entire ark with pitch. During the 371 days that Noah spent in that ark, he never once had to find a bucket to catch water from a leak, nor did he have to find some way to seal a leak in the lower part of the ark. The ark floated in waters that were turbulent and yet no trees rammed into it to damage it. The ark never ran against any rocks that could damage it.
There is a record of a large ship named the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. At the time, this was the largest ship to sail in the Great Lakes, and she is the largest ship to have sunk in the Great Lakes. For 17 years that ship delivered iron ore to several different ports along the Great Lakes. However, one fateful day during a violent storm, it broke in two and sank. All 29 crew members were lost and no bodies have ever been recovered. According to reports, they do not know exactly what caused this massive ship to sink, but it sank.
The ark was designed by God. The scene outside of the ark was violent and turbulent. However, the scene inside the ark was peaceful. Noah was a man of God who had prepared the ark to the exact instructions given him by God. His wife and his children saw a testimony in Noah that caused them to trust him in the building of that ark. Possibly his sons helped him to build that ark. They would have followed his instructions obediently as well.
When Noah stepped out of that ark, he stepped into a different world. There were no towering trees waving in the wind. There would have been much fresh vegetation, but things were completely different than when he entered that ark. Likely the birds were singing as they flew in the sky above. We do not know if there was a gentle breeze or if the sun was shining brightly. We are not given many details of what was going on outside when Noah stepped out.
God had provided a peaceful environment for Noah and his family inside that ark. He also provided a peaceful environment for Noah and his family when they left the ark. We noted yesterday that God gave Noah instructions with regard to the animal world and how he needed to deal with the animals. We also read of instructions given to Noah with regard to dealing with humanity. God had already warned Noah that the heart of man is evil from his youth. Noah’s heart had been changed by God prior to entering that ark. Noah had much time to mediate on God’s Word during the time he was in that ark. As we mentioned, he did not need to run here and there to try to patch leaks. He and his family needed to tend to the needs of the animals, but there would have been much time for them to consider God’s Word as well.
In our text today, God gave Noah a symbol of His comfort and peace that was there for those who fear Him. The rainbow that God placed in the clouds was put there to comfort Noah and his family. It is still in the clouds under certain conditions to remind us of God’s comfort.
Unless a person knows the true God, he cannot know the comfort of God. We know that the sodomites have taken a corrupted version of the rainbow and used it for a symbol of their wickedness. In Canada, there is a large protest planned for tomorrow, Wednesday, September 20, 2023. Interestingly this protest was organized by a Muslim man. This man sounds like a well educated man who is also very able to articulate his plan. He has been able to lure undiscerning non-Muslims to promise to join him in this Canada wide protest. What is the protest about, you ask? It is a protest against the current wicked plans of our governments to further corrupt our society with an invasive sodomite agenda.
There have been sodomites who have warned that they will set up a counter protest to this one that is planned. The organizer of the original protest has publicly given a clear warning to the counter protestors. As this thing is developing, it is obvious that there will be no peace from either side in this issue.
Islam is not a religion of peace, in spite of what they claim. There is no such a thing as moderate Islam. There are deluded people who have joined Islam without considering what they have done. Islam is an anti God religion that has as its goal the take-over of the world. It will not succeed, but it is making advances.
Canada is a nation under great turmoil at this time. We are being led by a man who is very aware of the turmoil. He has been trained in how to encourage this turmoil. He is a tool of the devil. There will never be peace in the hearts of those outside of God’s “ark”, His salvation.
Those who are truly saved should not be a part of the events planned for tomorrow. Interestingly, this event is scheduled for a Wednesday. Most true churches have their Bible Study set for Wednesday night. That is where true saints need to be tomorrow. Prior to the actual meeting, prayer would certainly be in order.
God’s people need to be grounded in the truth. When we are grounded in the truth, we will make wise decisions. We will be able to be at peace with God in the midst of the storms of life. God’s rainbow is still in the clouds after a rain. It is still a pleasure to walk outside after a nice rain and smell the fresh air and hear the birds singing. God is still able to comfort the hearts of those who know Him. In the midst of the storms of life, God’s child can still be at peace. We do not need to be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. We can know God’s peace. It is a blessing to know the true God.
You cannot manufacture this peace. It is something that only comes from knowing the true God.

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Pastor Bartel