Category: Daily Devotionals

When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”  Genesis 9:24-25  ESV

Noah is remembered for building the ark but the pronouncement of his curse over Ham’s descendants is made to be a footnote. The curse was not made against Ham though he was the one who had reveled in his father’s nakedness.  The curse was made against Ham’s youngest son who, it is believed, already exhibited some of the same sinful bents as his father.  The sins of the fathers were being visited on the next generation.    Consequences were seen in the moral decay of this young son and all sons to follow.

Noah was God’s mouthpiece to predict the future of Canaan’s descendants.  They would be vile people, the ones the Israelites would have to conquer to enter the Promised Land.  Their morality would be resemblant to Ham’s sinful bent but even more wicked. 

Sometimes, when all I see is depravity, I feel overwhelmed.  To cope, I tell myself that I’m overreacting Perhaps I am not!  Seeds of depravity in one generation will bear fruit in the next.  It may take several hundred years to see the full effects so if I am wise, I won’t be fooled by something that is hardly noticeable.  Even what is subtle should send me to my knees because God instituted a ‘sowing and reaping world.’  Seeds mature and the mature fruit is staggering in size compared to its origins. 

A toddler struggles with lying and lives in a home with no training.  He will grow up to be crafty and manipulative in business.  Years later, as an old man, he will be in full moral decay and bear the shame of disrespect.  A lifetime of deceit will have borne its fruit.  It will be said, “I can’t trust a word he says.”

A young girl who suffers injustice is eaten alive by the need for others to pay for their sins.  She grows up to become a woman who points out the flaws of almost everyone around her.  Years later, as an old woman, she is alone, mostly friendless, and wonders why she fails to have the admiration she feels she deserves.  It will be said of her, “Avoid her!  She doesn’t like anyone!”

“Be hard on sin,” Noah would tell us today.  We should weed the garden of iniquity when weeds are small. 

Lord, you want me to learn from history.  Were it not for your grace, our future inheritances might resemble the likes of the Canaanites! May it not be. Amen

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.   Genesis 9:22-23  ESV

Noah was drunk.  In his compromised condition, he stripped and lay naked in his tent, fully exposed.  Ham went in and looked upon his father, took in the scene in a way that was immoral, and went to report it to his brothers.  It wasn’t that Ham just glanced and left.  Several translations present a Hebraic picture of looking upon someone with lust and desire and then relishing the exposure.  Noah’s two other sons were honorable.  After hearing the news, they approached their father with their backs turned toward him and covered up his nakedness.

There can be something evil bent in the heart of a child to glory in a parent’s weakness.  If the parent has been a poor one and there is unresolved hurt, a child, no matter the age, might rejoice when the power and grandeur of a parent crumbles.  The need for revenge takes over.  Though I am surprised that Ham (after being saved from worldwide destruction by the faith of his father), is not humble.  Neither is he reverent!

I have no idea what Ham’s issue with his father was but at that moment, his own heart was revealed.  Noah had not been a perfect father, but he was a man of unparalleled faith.  Like David, he had a heart bent toward God and had proven it over the course of a century.

Honoring parents is one of the conditional foundational requirements for God’s blessing.  He created the family and anything that pollutes the beauty of family relationships hurts the heart of the Creator.  Nothing is more tragic than parents who won’t forgive children and children who refuse to forgive their parents.

I remember a line from a movie that struck me.  A son in his forties is having a heated discussion with his mother.  He raises his voice to make a point.  The mother says, “Son, who taught you to be this cruel?”  His answer, “You did, mother.  You did!”  In this hotbed of anger, each is looking for the vulnerability of the other to rise and strike.

Parents aren’t perfect.  Some try their best and fail.  Others don’t pretend to try and obviously fail.  Should all parents be forgiven?  Yes.  To fail to forgive is to hurt, not only the parent but the ones who carry the anger.  I teach my children how to treat me by how they hear me talk about my own parents.  Respect and honor are godly legacies I can pass on.  Unfortunately, disrespect and dishonor can just as easily become hallmarks of family trees.

Your forgiveness covered my sins.  Can I not, in remembrance of Your mercy, cover my parent’s shortcomings?  Drive the point home.  Amen

Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.  He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.  Genesis 9:20-21  ESV

Wine is spoken of favorably in scripture.  God asked for wine to be used as an offering in the book of Numbers.   But like anything, when consumed in excess, clear and sound thinking is compromised.

Noah coasted for just a moment.  While he was recounted as a righteous man in the hallmark chapter of the Bible, he was not perfect.  (Nor is anyone else mentioned in Hebrews 11.)  Noah had passed God’s great test of obedience by faithfully building the ark for 120 years.  He withstood the emotional and spiritual challenges of leading his family while knowing the earth would be destroyed.  The flood is now behind him.  The storm has passed, and earth is once again a beautiful place to live. 

For a moment, Noah lost his vigilance, laid his judgment aside, and drank too much.  He stripped himself bare, exposed what he never would have thought of exposing while sober, and succumbed to shame. 

Some years ago, Jaime (my daughter) and I were at a major airport about to board a plane.   At the gate, we stood in line behind our pilot who was checking in with the gate agent.  The smell of alcohol was overwhelming.  Being a peace-loving person to a fault, I was not anxious to have to do something about the situation, but it became apparent that over 300 people were boarding an aircraft, in bad weather, and about to fly cross-country with a severely compromised captain. 

I spoke with the gate agent who attempted to pacify me. I then asked for a supervisor and then had to request his superior.  Now, Jaime and I are the only ones who have not boarded, and the plane is delayed.  Finally, the most senior employee there went on the aircraft and walked off with the pilot in tow.  They approached us, and we were taken back by the strong smell of cologne.  The pilot lamented to me that we would think he might have been drinking while on duty.  Uncomfortable, I was put in a position to have to speak up.  I stood my ground and told him that I had indeed smelled alcohol.  I assured him that we would be boarding the plane but praying for him throughout the flight – that God would override his impaired judgment.

All this is a reminder that any addiction is an impairment.  Nakedness and exposure can be the results.  Under the influence, how many secrets are revealed!  Never am I more vulnerable than after weathering a storm, or after a spiritual victory.

Coasting is for heaven, Lord, not here.  Make me ever vigilant.  Amen

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.  Genesis 9:12-13  ESV

When a believer speaks of asking God for a sign, there can be misgivings because it is generally believed that asking for signs is unpleasing to God.  This occurrence in Noah’s story is another confirmation that God is a sign-giving God.  Almost every Biblical covenant has been confirmed by some visual symbol.  The Abrahamic covenant included circumcision.  The Mosaic covenant had the Sabbath.  And, the new covenant had the Lord’s Supper.  God made a covenant with Noah and set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign.

 “But wait!” you might say.  “What about Jesus words in Matthew where he says that only evil and adulterous generations seek for a sign.  He called them wicked and perverse.”  Jesus was referring to a people characterized by rebellion and unbelief.  Jesus was the sign, yet they rejected Him.  In their denial of Him, they asked for another sign.  This was an insult to God, the One who generously shared His Son with humanity.

If I love Christ and walk obediently in His ways, I will encounter times when I’ve prayed about a critical decision but am simply unsure which way to go.  In that instance, I might ask for a sign, or a series of signposts, where God shows me that I’m on the right or wrong path.  Many times, He is very eager to give markers.  He wants me to get it right.  He applauds my obedience and celebrates that I care about making a righteous decision.  We are sheep who need a shepherd. 

Signs are wonderful things, bringing exhilaration and relief.  Sometimes though, they are absent, and God is silent.  This is an opportunity for me to use the wisdom I’ve learned, to process it, seek counsel, and then make the best decision that sits well in my spirit.  Even in this situation, God is sovereign.  The decisions I make where the light is obscured are still in plain sight of a Father who promises guidance.  The indwelling Spirit of God shapes thoughts and conversations.  He is a God of subtlety as well as a God who gives rainbows.

You took Moses by the hand and gave him, and Your children, signs along their journey.  Thank you for eagerly leading me as You led our spiritual fathers.  Amen

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.  Genesis 8:20. ESV

Noah’s reaction to mercy was recorded.  The first moment his feet stepped off the ark, he built an altar and made a sacrifice.  His stock was limited.  He had pairs of each species, that’s all.  Yet, he didn’t think twice about offering half of his food supply to the Lord in response to God’s salvation of him and his family.  Mercy understood ~ equals generosity expressed. 

The offerings I make to God are a barometer of how much I believe God has been merciful to me.  If I really understand that I’ve been snatched from the fire, won’t I give everything?  Expressions like, “I can’t afford to give that much while times are hard!” will be obsolete.  When I give, God promises us an increased blessing!  When Noah offered his sacrifice, God responded with the promise to never again destroy the earth. 

The greatest thing I can lay on the altar is not a sacrifice for sin.  While Noah had to do it, Jesus came and laid on the altar for us.  In response to such love and sacrifice, my offering is not the blood of an unblemished animal but my very life. 

I lay my life on the altar.  Take it all.  Your mercy and your grace came kicking down the door to rescue me.  I’m grateful. Amen

The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.   Genesis 8:4  ESV

As I sit and listen to the morning birds sing outside my office window, I’m aware of all that lives outside in the open air.  Noah and his family witnessed the killing of every living thing outside the ark and were given no instructions from God about what would happen on the other side of the flood.  Their lives were taken up with building the ark and surviving catastrophe.  As the ark came to rest and the floodwaters receded, they had no blueprint.  The rest and the quiet were gracious surprises.

God provides rest and blessing after the storm.  While I am being tossed about, I am so taken with surviving that the thought of rest and reflection on some future day seems out of reach.  I’ve learned that I cannot know what blessing will look like.  God fashions a ‘new thing’ and no amount of curiosity will be able to paint a scenario that resembles what God will create.

For the storm, there was a warning and detailed instructions for survival.  For the new world, there would be daily grace and spiritual intuition.  Once the mountain peaks were visible, Noah would know to send out a raven, one who could gather food from the carnage that rested on exposed land.  On another day, he would decide to send out a dove, one who would search for new foliage.  None of this was spelled out by God but all of this was put into the heart of Noah because he walked with God.

The nature of a storm is such that it takes all mental and emotional faculties to stay afloat.  There are no resting periods to reflect on the past or dream about the future.  It’s inconceivable and doubtful that there will be a future.  But God is not bound by time.  While the winds of heaven howl, future blessing is a sure thing.  During the uncertainty between Egypt and Canaan, God spoke to Moses.  “My presence will go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest.”  Exodus 33:14

Prepare me for ruling and spiritual rest.  Amen

The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated…  Genesis 8:2-3  ESV

Waters didn’t cover the earth in a day nor did God cause them to recede in a day.  God sent a wind, the wind of His Spirit, to blow over the earth.  The same breath that had been active in creation was now active in re-creation. As anxious as Noah and his family were to place their feet on dry ground, the emergence of a new life came gradually and at a pace much slower than they would have chosen.

I once recall meeting the husband of a woman who had been ritually abused throughout her childhood.  Her emotional and psychological damage was profound.  He loved her, ached for her healing, and believed that God would completely rid her of all her painful memories and the scars that accompanied them.  He envisioned it happening while she knelt at a church altar and lived for the day when she would go forward, kneel, and arise strong and free.  I voiced my concern to him over, what I believed, were false hopes.  I urged him to remember that God does indeed heal psychological and emotional wounds but He does so gradually.

Times of captivity never unfold overnight. A series of choices precede the wilderness.   If God just healed the past in one fell swoop, we would not have the opportunity to learn wisdom.  Dismantling the cage, one bar at a time, has great benefits.  In the disassembly, God gives wisdom about each piece.  He delights to see each of us discover the truths He knows will bring freedom.  In the pain, there is one stepping stone after another of hope and faith.

Are you straining under the hand of God’s sovereignty?  Are you longing for a new morning, one where yesterday’s agony just disappears?  He will give you the grace to adjust your expectations and to know that God heals incrementally.  He sends the wind of His Spirit and it blows across the soul to bring divine insight.  Over time, re-creation occurs, and a solid mental, emotional, and spiritual framework is built to stand the test of time.  The new spiritual landscape will appear as Noah’s new earth; a fruitful place to live on the memories of the treasures God gave in the dark. 

Captivity would be worthless if I never learned anything.  Thank you for leading me out of my wilderness one revelation at a time.  Amen

The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. Genesis 7:20  ESV

 If God decides to cover the entire earth with water, thousands and thousands of feet of water, enough to cover the likes of Mt. Everest, what does a few inches matter?  Apparently, a lot.  God knew exactly how much water He would allow and no more.

Once the water reached the mountaintops, twenty-two and a half feet more were allowed, just enough to make sure the ark didn’t collide with something underwater.  It was just enough to keep the boat from grounding.  If Mt. Everest (not yet named) was the tallest peak in the world, the water would have been 29,051.5 feet deep. This is not a meaningless detail.  I serve a God of precision, a God who orders all things well in my life, down to increments of inches.  He controls the floods down to the last water drop.  He controls disease on a cellular level.  He holds the king’s heart in his hands and can bend his will without effort.

 Life is one series of temptations.  I will face periods where it feels like I’m going to drown in the floodwaters.  Temptations to fear, to distrust God, to chuck my faith, to quit waiting on God and embrace some counterfeit comfort instead.  One of these might appeal to me.  But God knows how much pressure to allow in order to grow my faith.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  1 Corinthians 10:13

Floodwaters make a man’s heart faint but God created me and knows the exact breaking point of my faith.    The One who covered the mountains with twenty-two feet of water is also micro-managing my life with a power to save, preserve, and cause me to triumph in the love of God.

Don’t let me forget that though I hear the sound of floodwaters, I’m in You, Jesus, my Ark of safety.  Amen

And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him.  And the LORD shut him in.  Genesis 7:16  ESV

Many children today flee their parents’ arguments by running to their room to shut the door.  The door separates turmoil from refuge.

Doors have had similar significance in scripture.  A door has been used by God to separate the righteous from the unrighteous, good from evil, and peril from safety. God shut the door to the ark, separating Noah and his family from the unbelieving world that would face judgment.  Noah didn’t have to sort it out and decide who would be on which side. God could see the hearts of men and made righteous judgments.

A door provided safety for Lot, his family, and the two angels who visited him.  A gang of men pounded on the door to his home, demanding that he release his two visitors for their sexual pleasure.  The righteous took refuge behind the closed door of Lot’s home.

In the days of Moses, the doorpost of Hebrew homes became the dividing point between death and life.  While the angel of the Lord came to slay the first male child of every Egyptian household, the Hebrew children were saved when they applied the blood to the doorposts of their homes.

Jesus said, “I am the door…”  John 10:7 He is the only way a man or woman passes from death to life, from eternal judgment to eternal rest in God’s presence.  Most of mankind rises up to pass judgment on whom Jesus claims to be.  They swear that there are many ways to God but in the end, God is the One who will decide who enters and who is denied access.  Jesus is the door to the ark of safety and all who enter by Him will be saved.

Noah and his family, most likely, heard the heart-wrenching drama outside the ark.  For seven days it began to rain.  Those who had ridiculed the building of a strange wooden structure realized too late the dire consequences of their decision.  The price for rejecting Jesus, the ark of safety, is still as dire.  Those who scoff now experience a false sense of security as nothing happens when they dismiss God’s warning.  But the judgment of God has not yet been released.  But with the world stage on fire, nothing is ‘life as usual.’ The torrential rains are upon us and it will soon be too late.  If only we would learn from history. 

Jesus, You are still saying, ‘Come!’  Let my words to the lost resound with urgency.  Time is short.  Amen

…On that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.  And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.  Genesis 7:11-12  ESV

On whatever day God chooses, He can leave us speechless.  On this day in the Genesis account, God returned the waters of the earth to their original places.  They had been relegated to a subterranean place at creation.  But on this day, they were released from their deep place to cover the face of the earth once again.  Whether a volcano did it or God just ripped the earth to release them, I do not know.  But the point is that all of this was possible because God did it.  God also caused the water canopy above the earth to descend, causing torrential rains.

Isaiah wrote of this as well.  He said that ‘God is the one who can easily open the windows of heaven and make the foundations of the earth tremble.’  (Isaiah 24:18)

During our lifetime, we have enjoyed the stability God grants the earth.  We breathe its oxygen.  We rely on the sun and the rains as if they cycle on their own.  We assume the arrival of spring and the gentle warming of the earth to grow our food supply.  We anticipate the normal length of winter and are confident that snow and ice won’t cover the earth.  Temperatures won’t go much below zero.  But why does our planet sustain life while all others are hostile?  By design.  He created, He sustains.    

The same power it took for God to re-arrange the earth for the flood was on display again when He sent His Son to die for the sins of mankind.  In the process, He defeated the evil one ~ the very one who was at work in the times of Noah.  I am overcome as I think that One so great would choose to stoop low to love sinners so tenderly. 

One day, we will see God destroy the earth again, then rebuild it.  We will see with our own eyes that He is wild and glorious.  Today though, we can experience Him as a gentle Savior.  The most fragile life can exist in the palm of His hand.

How come it took me so long to trust You completely?