FEB 8
Genesis 8:15-9:7
Memorise Genesis 9:7
“Seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter…”

After spending a total of 371 days on the ark, the flood waters were finally gone, and Noah and his family stepped out onto dry land. The shoreless ocean was gone, and in its place were new landforms, mountains, valleys, rivers and seas. Creation scientist Henry Morris describes it this way: “The lands that once had teemed with animals and people and lush vegetation had been replaced by a desolate wilderness. The air which formerly was warm and gentle now moved in stiff and sometimes violent winds, and there was a chill on the mountain slope where the ark rested. Dark clouds rolling about the sky, which had once been perpetually and pleasantly bright, seemed to threaten more rains and a recurrence of flood conditions. At the same time, however, the earth had been purged of the wicked hordes that had made its physical beauty only a mockery, and God had granted a gracious opportunity for a new beginning for the children of Adam.”

With a mixture of trepidation, excitement, relief, but probably also of sadness, Noah and his family entered into a completely new world. All that they remembered about the past was now gone. The earth had undergone a drastic transformation. Genesis 8:22 tells us that there would now be variations in the seasons, whereby there was no longer a uniform climate throughout the world. Instead there would be cold and heat, summer and winter. Likely what had happened was that the cataclysmic processes that resulted in the flood had also caused the earth to tilt on its axis, such that there would be seasons caused by the varying distance from the sun throughout the year. Furthermore, the vapour canopy overhead was now gone, replaced by clouds that would vary based on the hydrological cycle, resulting in new weather patterns that they had never experienced before. Genesis 9:2 also tells us that there was also now a change in the manner which animals would regard humans. There was now a dread or terror, in that animals would now fear man, and flee from his presence. Man’s diet also changed as animals were for the first time authorised as food. In so doing, God also established a penalty of death upon anyone who takes the life of a man. Through this, God made a strong distinction between man and animals, whereby man, made in God’s image, is entirely different from beast. Yet his duty remains the same – to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth, and function as God’s steward, having dominion over the world.

Thought: New world, but same God, with a same purpose for man.

Prayer: Lord, help me to appreciate the world that You have made.