DAY 208- BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR - THE LAND
Reading: Genesis 8:1-22; 1 Peter 3: 20-22
I remember the day of my baptism in water very well. Do you? Or perhaps you haven’t yet been baptised into Christ, using water as the symbol. Today’s devotional study makes a connection between your baptism and the things that happened during the period of the flood.
During the flood, all land disappeared under a continuous ocean of water. The ark was arguably the only ‘land’ left on the entire planet! God’s place, people and rule could be easily defined here. God’s people consisted of eight persons; Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. God’s place was the ark. God’s rule was for Noah and his family to serve the LORD, to look after the animals on the ark and wait for the flood waters to subside before continuing to fill the Earth, rule over it, work the ground and take care of it.
After Noah left the ark, he offered sacrifices to God. When the LORD smelled the aroma of Noah’s sacrifice, then He made a covenant that He would never again curse the ground, nor destroy again every living thing. This event looks forward to the sacrifice of Christ, which marks a turning point in the fortunes of the world. It is the death of Christ and His resurrection that brings a reversal of the curse on the land.
In our 1 Peter reading, he makes a connection between the flood and our baptism. It is interesting that the Earth was ‘baptised’ during the flood – judgment and salvation happened in one act of God – judgment for those who didn’t get into the ark, and salvation for those who came through the waters of baptism because of being in the ark. Baptism too is a double-edged sword – it symbolises both death to sin and resurrection to new life by faith in God’s word and promises.
Prayer:
Dear Father, thank You for the mercy shown to our ancestors and for Your promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood. Thank You Lord for Your sacrifice and the regenerated universe it bought. Help us to continue to die to sin and live in faith in Your word as did Noah in the ark. Amen
For the family
Explain
Watch the video below together.
Also, below is a link to a super-easy, super-cute craft that kids can do with you while you explain this study to them.
https://meaningfulmama.com/noahs-ark-craft-teaches-submissiveness.html