Monday
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood. . . . I am going to bring floodwaters to the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark – you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them. . . .
The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth and the waters. . . .
Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you – the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground – so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it.”
(Genesis 6:11-14a, 17-21; 7:24; 8:1, 15-17, NIV)
Chapters 3-6 of the Book of Genesis record the destructive impact of evil on the world because of the sin of Adam and Eve. The first recorded murder in the Bible occurs because of envy between brothers in Adam and Eve’s family. It was not long before “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence” (6:11). Yet, despite God’s anger, his righteous judgment included arrangements with Noah for preserving all forms of animal life.
Although we normally focus our attention on the preservation of humanity through God’s gracious provision for Noah’s family, the special concern of God for “all living creatures” offers us a remarkable insight into God’s heart. The Lord instructs Noah to bring into the ark a male and female “of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground,” and God brings these creatures to Noah for their protection. Noah is also told to store food not only for his family but for the animals as well.
It is fascinating to note that Moses – the author of Genesis – records that God remembers Noah and all the wild animals and livestock that are with him in the ark. When the floodwaters recede, God repeats the original mandate given in the Garden of Eden that the animals should be fruitful and multiply on the earth. The Bible provides us with a beautiful testimony of God’s special love for his creation – for birds, for fish, for land animals. The Lord of creation, the one who designed a world of nature that experienced shalom in the Garden of Eden, continues to care even about the sparrows (Matthew 10:29).
Prayer
God of Creation, designer of plants and trees, birds and fish, wild animals and insects, we praise you. Thank you for the beauty and diversity of our natural surroundings. May we, like Noah, be preservers of life. Amen.