The Lost Year - Pt. 2

 

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-16 ESV).

 

The story of Noah's ark is one filled with faith, perseverance, and promise. Noah was a man who found great favor in God's eyes. The entire population of mankind had become evil and wicked and God decided to bring a flood to the earth to destroy everyone but Noah and his family. God told Noah to prepare an ark big enough to hold a minimum of one male and one female from every kind of animal and creature (seven of all the sacrificial animals were also a part of the total). This is why many pictures depicting Noah's ark show animals coming two by two.

 

When it started raining, Noah brought his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives onto the ark. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. However, that was not to be the end of the storm. They continued to float across the water for nearly a year following the storms. After coming to rest on a mountain, Noah sent out a dove to find dry land but it returned. Seven days later he sent out another dove and it returned with an olive leaf, signaling that it was now safe to go onto land.

 

I’ve never spent an extended time at sea. I have friends who have served in the Navy. One was stationed on a submarine. I cannot imagine the sheer boredom that accompanied such confinement and restriction. In Noah’s case he didn’t know when he would be able to disembark. In many ways we have experienced some of that during the past twelve months. The key is in the “rainbow.” God always delivers peace and contentment to His children at the end of their journey. The “bow” set in the sky is His reminder to all of us. We haven’t really lost a year; we have gained a renewed hope!