Genesis 6:8; Noah found favor in God’s sight.

Psalm 3:34; the Lord is David’s shield, and the one who lifts his head.

Matthew 3:17; after Jesus was baptized the Lord said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”

Take Away: Because I am in Jesus I found favor in God’s eyes, and now he is my shield and the lifter of my face. He is well pleased in me.

Noah was a man that simply listened and obeyed God, and therefore he walked with God.

In Genesis 8:13-14 we see that Noah removed the covering from the Ark and saw that the ground was dry, but he didn’t leave the Ark until almost 2 months later. He patiently waited for the word of the Lord to come.

There are many times when I move ahead of Jesus instead of waiting to hear His guiding voice. I make decisions prematurely based on my own observations instead of listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Teach me your ways, Lord.

Interesting thought from Genesis 6. We usually think about the flood being because humanity had become corrupt and violent, but the language seems broader than just people.

God says He will wipe out “man and animals and creeping things and birds” and then says, “for I regret that I have made them” (Gen. 6:7). A few verses later it says the earth was “filled with violence” and that “all flesh had corrupted their way” (Gen. 6:11–12).

Makes me wonder how much the fall and sin actually affected and corrupted the animal world and creation itself. Genesis 1 says everything God made was “very good” (Gen. 1:31), but Romans 8 says creation was later “subjected to futility” and is now “groaning” waiting to be set free (Rom. 8:20–22).

Maybe some of the violence, predators in nature, and even strange parts of the animal world we see today aren’t exactly what creation originally looked like.
Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly how much changed, but it definitely seems like sin didn’t just affect people. It affected creation itself.

There is also an interesting biblical theme concerning animal violence and its restoration. One example is Isaiah’s picture of God’s restored kingdom including:

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb…
the lion shall eat straw like the ox…
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

I love seeing how Noah is a symbol of Jesus, through a righteous man humanity was saved. He was considered righteous and without fault in God’s eyes so because of him humanity wasn’t wiped out, just like Jesus. Because Jesus died for us we can live and not perish like the rest of the world did in that day. And because of His sacrifice we are a pleasing aroma to the Lord, just like Noah’s sacrifices.