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Daily Devotions

Genesis

Genesis 
Day 
Day 35

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." Psalm 32:8

Text: Genesis 9:1-28

A NEW LIFE THAT INCLUDES GOD

Noah was 601 years old when he was given “a new life”. How carefully, he must have listened to God as he began his new life. When man fails to include God in his life, he will end up heeding the corrupt voice of sin and Satan. Yes, we cannot exclude his involvement, even though there is no direct mention of his name in the corruption of the world. It was enough to introduce the devil at the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. His work would always be insidious and “behind the scenes”.


A NEW LIFE THAT INCLUDES GOD’S WORD

We must assume that God taught Adam and Eve many rich and valuable lessons of faith and life. How else would Cain and Abel know how to offer worship to God? How could Abel have possessed that faith and worship that God readily accepted?

In the case of Noah, we have clear evidence that God gave him specific instructions besides His blessing. Let us take time to ponder the following text.

“So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them:
‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast
of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth,
and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given
you all things, even as the green herbs.”

GENESIS 9:1-3

The blessings of God may be categorized along the following lines:-

1. Re-population of the Earth (“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”)

Noah and his family were given the task of contributing to the re-population of the earth. (Of course it would take many generations to re-populate the earth, and so this blessing must be read carefully within its natural context). This word of blessing was essentially a re-iteration of the blessing that God gave to Adam and Eve (Cf. Genesis 1:28).

2. The Dread of Man

In order to assist Noah and his family in their life and work, God created a special sense of fear or dread in the instincts of all living creatures.

3. Both Vegetable and Animals

May man eat animals for food? Would we be more “Biblical” if we were to be vegetarians? The above text settles once and for all that man may eat both vegetables and animals for sustenance. These words were given to Noah and his family (and that applies to us today) as part of the Lord’s overall blessings!

How loving God is, to give not only His blessing, but also His word!