God Remembered
Writings of James Chilton
“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded” (Genesis 8:1, NIV). “God remembered.” Yahweh is a covenant Name for God which means He is faithful to His promises! It took 40 days to cover the earth with water, 150 days for the waters to remain to complete the destruction, and 150 days for the waters to recede. “wind.” Moses witnessed the might of God’s wind to induce and chase away a locust plague (Exodus 10:13,19), and deliver his people from Egyptian armies at the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 14:21; 15:10). The same wind brought in quail for those who murmured (Number 11:31). Over and again God used wind to deliver His people. Psalm 104:3-4 says God is celebrated as the One who “rides on the wings of the wind.” God baptized the world for the removal of sin! II Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” Noah’s family experience the passing of the old and the reality of the new. I Peter 3:20-22 – “who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Just as Noah and his family were sheltered from the wrath of God via the ark, we are sheltered in the new ark (church). Why did the flood last so long? It would not have had the impact on Noah and his family if it were a weekend storm. Principle: Renewal takes time. What God is doing inside you and me doesn’t happened over a weekend. It takes time to restore and redeem what sin has destroyed. We destroy thing and people with our sins – our bodies – our relationships – our finances. Destruction comes quickly, but restoration takes much longer.
