The spirit we had in the Storm

Genesis 9:1-7

How important is a blessing?  Anyone who studies the Old Testament has seen the evidence of a fathers blessing on his son, and yet it seems that our generation has many sons and daughters who search endlessly for what only their father’s can bestow on them.  That was not truth with Noah and his sons, Genesis 9:1-4, “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.  The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea.  Into your hands they are delivered.  Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.  And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.  But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

Often I miss the important, looking for deeper truth when studying the Scriptures, I believe that I missed this part of Noah and his sons blessing.  The blessing is you’re in charge of the whole show, I’m putting you in charge over the earth; you will operate as my agents with my authority.  For over a year Noah and his sons have been caregivers for the birds, the animals and the reptiles, and as dependent as those were on Noah and his sons, much more so was Noah and his sons dependent on Creator God, who told Noah to build the ark and shut them in it. 

When you’re in the middle of a storm, and your not sure of the magnitude or the duration of the storm, it is easy to relate to Noah and his sons.  They were not in charge, God had locked them in the ark, and God had given them a task, to feed and care for the cargo He had entrusted to them.  But now God had blessed them, they were out of the storm, they were on dry land and the land was to be cultivated, grapes were to be grown and they were ordered to be fruitful and multiply, both man and animal, birds and reptiles.

But God gave them the authority to kill and eat whatever animal they found good for food; I understand that PETA “People for the Ethical treatment of Animals” have never looked beyond their feelings, but Creator God said it is ok to kill and eat any and all the animals.  So when PETA made the statement, “Animals are not ours to eat,” it’s based on their opinion and not on the Bible; Genesis 9:3, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I give the green plants, I give you everything.”

The problem with being put in charge is that, at best we are only managers of whatever scope God has entrusted to us.  But being out of the storm, and out of the boat with our feet on dry land is always dangerous.  Our flesh seems to get an independent spirit about it, and soon forgets the Creator who blessed us and gave us the authority to be the rulers of His world.  It is so important for each of us to keep the same spirit we had in the boat, in the middle of the storm, total dependence on our Creator.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice