FRESH WORD OF INSTRUCTION

“...GO OUT of the ARK, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you” – Genesis 8:16

After the Flood that destroyed the then world, GOD gave Noah a New Beginning with a FRESH WORD of INSTRUCTION: “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: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth” (Gen.8: 15-17). God sends His instructions to meet precise purposes and fulfil definite functions in our lives. There were Instructions to build the Ark and to enter and reside therein for the duration of the Flood of Judgement on the earth. Now, there was a fresh Word of Instruction preceding the New Beginning that the Lord was privileging Noah and his family to partake of.

This chapter gives an account of the ebbing of the waters from the earth, and of the rescue of Noah, and those with him in the ark, from the flood, when all the rest were destroyed. After one hundred and fifty days, a wind was sent over the earth, the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, the waters went off gradually, and the ark rested on Mount Ararat (Gen.8: 1-4). Two months and thirteen days after, the tops of the mountains were seen, 

Noah obeyed God’s Instruction explicitly (vv.18-19). Thereafter, he immediately built an altar to the Lord and offered sacrifice by way of thankfulness for the great deliverance. This was accepted by the Lord, who promised him not to curse the earth any more, nor to drown it, but that it should remain, and as long as it did there would be the constant revolutions of the seasons of the year, and of day and night: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (vv.21-22).

Noah had been described earlier as righteous, blameless, and walking with God (Gen.6:9). He was not perfect, but his responses following the flood were exemplary and worthy of emulation. Noah’s two righteous responses were: (1) he obeyed God; (2) he worshipped God. The scriptures take the time to note that Noah did everything that God commanded him. When God gave him instructions to build the ark: “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did” (Gen.6:22). Here, we are given exact parallels between God’s commands and Noah’s response: God called Noah to go out of the ark, and he did promptly; same with the command relating to the animals (vv.16-19)

Beloved, let’s ask ourselves: “How often is my response identical to God’s command?” Do we do exactly what He calls us to do, exactly when He calls us to do it? Or are we slow to obey. God is God and we are not. We are no longer the lord of our own life. We are God’s ambassador on earth. He is the Master; we are the servants. He is the Father; we are the children. He is the High Priest; we are part of His holy priesthood. Our main response to His command is to do what He says, when He says to do it, just like Noah. And also, to worship Him!