Love That Never Fails

6. A Lasting Promise

We only need to listen to the news of the day to realise that we live in a world which is tainted by sin. This is nothing new as evil was quickly ingrained in the growing population of earth in the days after Adam and Eve lived. Satan was working in the hearts of men and women, just as he does today. As people gave into temptation, the outcome while bringing them some sort of momentary pleasure, instead brought dire consequences in their lives. The contrast between good and evil was extremely evident by the days when Noah lived.

"This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 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; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:9-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This seemed like a drastic measure but we must remember that our Heavenly Father is a just judge. He is holy and so sin in any form is offensive. In contrast to the wickedness all around him, Noah definitely stood out —blameless, righteous and faithful! As a result, God had a plan to save him in the midst of a devastating flood!

"I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the 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." Noah did everything just as God commanded him."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:17-22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God kept Noah and his family safe and lovingly establishes a covenant, a promise or agreement with Noah —one that extends to all living things, all the way through history to this day:

"Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.""
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭9:8-16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let's pray:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the Bible and for the marvellous recount of Your relationship with Your creation over time. Thank You that even these very early events in history are relevant, speaking to us today of who You are.

Lord, You are clearly One who is holy and just. You are the God who saves and lovingly makes promises and agreements with Your people. It is so special to have the rainbow as a reminder of the promise You made so long ago.  Thank You for keeping Your promises and for ultimately making a way that we might be saved for all eternity!

Amen.