My dad was in the military before he was a pastor.

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Periodically, we’d hear stories of being given commands.  When my dad was ordered to do something, he was expected to follow.  In the military, he didn’t get to debate it.  He didn’t get to question it.  He was commanded, and he followed it.

There’s a parallel between that and following the Lord.  Do we see it?

We ended last time with the Raven and the Dove viewing the earth and realizing that Creation had been made new and ready to support the life outside the Ark.  Today we read in Genesis 8:15-19:

15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 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 on it.”

18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.  

Genesis 8:15-19, New International Version

It was God’s command that brought them out of the Ark.  Just as it was God’s command for them to go into the Ark, the King of all Creation (notice the use of “God” instead of “Lord”) now commands them to come out.

God specifies that the Ark was now to be emptied to repopulate the earth.  This echoes the command of the Creator in Genesis 1:22, “…Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”  The future of humanity (and all of creation) now rests in the hands of those survivors.  What must have felt like a tomb for that long year inside was now the greatest testimony of God’s faithful provision.

Verses 18-19 may seem like needless repetitions, but like the other parts of Noah’s life we have seen so far, they serve as a reminder of Noah’s faithful obedience to God’s commands.  The Lord commanded and Noah responded.

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Still today, it’s critical that our faith walks in step with God.  He leads, and we follow.  If someone were to narrate your life, would they see that?  Would they see “God commanded them to do, and they did it”?

God was faithful to Noah to fulfill His promise of protection through the Flood.  The Lord is faithful to us to fulfill His promises.  He has not forgotten us either.  The words of Jesus are still the same today, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NIV).

I will be taking a Sabbatical in June and July. I’m looking forward to this season of rest and am already looking forward to being back. 🙂 We’ll see you right here on Life Meets Theology in August!