Confessional Lutheran Ministerium

Genesis 13:1-18 NKJV

13 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. ² Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

⁵ Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. ⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

¹⁰ And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. ¹¹ Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. ¹² Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

¹⁴ And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. ¹⁶ And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.

As is nearly all of Holy Scripture, today’s segment is fascinating. Abram and his family leave Egypt and head to the South. Lot, Abram’s nephew, also travels with him with his flocks and herds. Because these two family groups are so large, ultimately strife arises between their respective herdsmen and they have to separate.

Quite generously and kindly, Abram offers Lot the choice of wherever land he chooses; Abram would simply and happily take whatever Lot did not. Lot, quite selfishly, choose the well-watered plain of the Jordan (including the vicinity of Sodom before God has destroyed it), leaving the land of Canaan to Abram. It would seem as if Abram got a raw deal, and Lot won the proverbial lottery with the land he chose.

But God in His wisdom always keeps His promises to His people and provides for them. God blessed Abram with the promise that everywhere he looked – to the north, south, east, or west – everything he could see would be given to him and his descendants. This was in keeping with what God has promised Abram about making his name great, blessing him, and blessing all the families of the earth in him.

God’s promises in His Word are sure and certain, even and especially when circumstances and life events seem to militate against them. In our sinful weakness we are easily drawn away from God’s promises when we allow ourselves to focus on experiences and their accompanying emotions instead of His sure and certain Word. When that happens, dear Christian, repent and seek God’s forgiveness in His Gospel preached and His Sacramental gifts.

And remember Luther’s words in the meaning to the Fourth Petition: “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” God promises to provide for us all. Let us thank and praise His holy Name forever and not doubt Him.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for keeping Your promises and for providing all that I need. Amen.

Genesis 12:1-20 NKJV

12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.

⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. ⁹ So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. ¹² Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”

¹⁴ So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. ¹⁵ The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” ²⁰ So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

When God speaks, His people ought always to listen to and believe what He says. Never should God’s Word be doubted or dismissed, for to do so is only to invite trouble.

In the first part of today’s reading from Genesis 12, God proclaims to Abram that He will make him a great nation, bless him, and make his name great (v.2). God also promised that those who curse Abram will be cursed (v. 3). Little did Abram know at that time exactly what those words from God would mean for his future. How could he know, other than the fact that God Himself spoke those words and that Abram really had no other choice but to trust what God said? It was a simple First Commandment thing.

But later in the reading it seems that Abram had forgotten God’s powerful words and promises. Evidence of that is how Abram feared the Egyptians enough to lie to them about his wife Sarai in order to keep from being killed (v. 12) despite God’s promise to bless and preserve Abram.

It is interesting to note that not only did Abram display lack of faith and trust in God, but his lie also plagued the Egyptians and caused Pharaoh to be upset at Abram for lying about his wife. Abram’s lie almost caused Pharaoh to become an adulterer, taking another man’s wife, something that could indeed have caused Pharaoh much grief.

The message and teaching of this reading is simple, as stated at the outset of this devotion: never doubt God’s Word and promises.  How much simpler can it be?  And yet, in our sinful weakness, we often cannot see past our own earthly circumstances, and we allow the devil to distract us with fears and concerns that draw our attention away from God. Repent of this, dear Christian, and cling by God-given faith to the certainty and strength of God’s Word and promises. He has given His Son Jesus over to death to pay for all your sins; you need no other proof of God’s commitment and love for you than that.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for paying for my sins. Increase my faith and trust in You alone. Amen.

Genesis 9:20-29; 11:1-9 NKJV

²⁰ And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. ²¹ Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. ²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

²⁴ So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. ²⁵ Then he said:

“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.”

²⁶ And he said:

“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
²⁷ May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”

²⁸ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. ²⁹ So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

The first part of today’s reading depicts a Fourth Commandment violation. Noah’s son Ham dishonored his father by not covering up Noah’s nakedness, but instead blabbed about it to his brothers. But Shem and Japheth honored their father, turning their faces away and covering up Noah’s nakedness. For dishonoring his father, Ham was sentenced to a life of serving his brothers.

Here we are remined of Luther’s meaning to the Fourth Commandment: “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” Then in the Large Catechism, Fourth Commandment, Luther writes, “Young people must therefore be taught to revere their parents as God’s representatives, and to remember that however lowly, poor, feeble, and eccentric they may be, they are their own father and mother, given them by God. They are not to be deprived of their honor because of their ways or their failings” (LC 1:108). The authorities God has placed over us – in this case, in the home – must be honored as God’s representatives, given to us for our good. God is glorified, parents are honored, and we are blessed by obeying this commandment

The second part of the reading recounts the arrogance and disgusting human pride which led to the building of the Tower of Babel. Here mankind boasts of his efforts and achievements to build the tower and make a name for himself. This effort to keep from being scattered abroad served only to magnify man’s achievements and ignore the very God who gave them certain abilities. So, God confused their language, scattered them, and in so doing, exalted His name.

We do well to heed the warnings and teaching of Genesis 9. To defy God’s Word and commands brings grief; but to obey God’s Word, by the very faith He gives, brings blessings. Cling to God’s Word and receive His preaching and Sacraments which deliver Christ’s forgiveness and strength.

Let us pray: Lord, keep us humble and always looking to You for strength and peace; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 10:1-18 NKJV

10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
² The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

³ For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;
He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
⁴ The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.

⁵ His ways are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
⁶ He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
I shall never be in adversity.”
⁷ His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

⁸ He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
⁹ He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
¹⁰ So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.
¹¹ He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”

¹² Arise, O Lord!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.
¹³ Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”

¹⁴ But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶ The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
¹⁷ Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
¹⁸ To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

The words of this psalm easily could come from the mouth of every Christian today, for they speak of adversity, doubt, fear, and disdain for the godless, and they lament how the godless seem almost always to get away with their godlessness. Luther says that “this psalm laments over the enemies of the kingdom of Christ who terrify Christendom with force and cunning. These enemies direct the sword of worldly tyranny over the body and the net of false teaching over the soul” (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 32).

Indeed, the wicked persecute the poor (v. 2), and do not seek God (v. 4). The wicked say, “I shall never be in adversity” (v. 6) and “his mouth is full of cursing and deceit” (v. 7). Take just one cursory look around this evil world and you will agree with the psalmist, which points out the amazing relevancy of God’s Word written so very long ago but addressing exactly the events of this age. The problem is that Christians fall easily and quickly into despair when they allow themselves to be consumed by all the evil around them – consumed by worry and fear about things over which they have absolutely no control! What a waste of time and effort! 

Repent, dear Christian, of this waste of your God-given resources and abilities. This “bad news” is nothing new, for our Lord Jesus spoke of all these things in the Gospels over 2,000 years ago. There is nothing new under the sun, for the world, ever since the Fall, is only getting more and more evil, proving Jesus right time and time again.

So, instead of fretting and worrying, thank and praise God for His grace and mercy which He has bestowed on you in Christ who paid for all your sins. Pray with the psalmist, “Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand” (v. 12).  Know that God hears your cries and will deliver you from this evil age. And while you await that deliverance, cling to His gifts of Baptism, Absolution, and Supper where He feeds and strengthens you with Himself.

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, keep us in the true and saving faith, and grant us to walk worthy of Your name. Amen.

Psalm 9:1-20 NKJV

To the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.

9 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
² I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

³ When my enemies turn back,
They shall fall and perish at Your presence.
⁴ For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.
⁵ You have rebuked the nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶ O enemy, destructions are finished forever!
And you have destroyed cities;
Even their memory has perished.
⁷ But the Lord shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.
⁸ He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

⁹ The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
Declare His deeds among the people.
¹² When He avenges blood, He remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the humble.

¹³ Have mercy on me, O Lord!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ That I may tell of all Your praise
In the gates of the daughter of Zion.
I will rejoice in Your salvation.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.
¹⁶ The Lord is known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
Meditation. Selah

¹⁷ The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the nations that forget God.
¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten;
The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

¹⁹ Arise, O Lord,
Do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged in Your sight.
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord,
That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah

How often does it seem that chance, rather than God, rules human affairs? How often does it appear that evil prevails in this world? How often does it look as if the nations of the world run the show? The sinful world and unbelieving men believe that they are in charge of the course of human history. David, himself a king, reminds us that although the nations, the wickedness of men, and blind chance seem to rule all things, this is not the case.

The Lord sits on the throne and rules over all things. His rule is hidden so that we do not see it with our eyes. He does not will the evil things that happen in our world, but foreseeing from eternity what the nations and wicked men would do, He set limits to the evil of the world, how far it should go, how long it should last, and how He would punish it. David calls our attention to how God has rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked in the past. Throughout scripture and human history, we see how God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We see how “the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.”

David calls us to trust in the Lord even though we cannot see the Lord’s reign over the nations of the world. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed. The Lord does not forsake those who seek Him. He does not forget His holy Church—all who place their trust in His promised mercy for Christ’s sake. Even when it seems to our flesh that chance, the devil, and wicked men govern human affairs, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28). God reigns over all things and uses all things for the glory of His holy name and the salvation of His elect. Therefore, we do not fear what the nations and wicked man may do. Rather, we ask God to put them in fear, “that the nations may know themselves to be but men” (20). For He will judge the world in righteousness when He returns on the Last Day. Those who forget Him now shall be turned into hell, but those who remember Him in faith will be lifted up from the gates of death to enjoy the eternal—and visible—reign of Christ.

Let us pray: Increase our faith, O Lord, so that when we see evil in the world, we comfort ourselves with the knowledge that You rule over all things for the good of Your church. Amen.

Genesis 9:1-19 NKJV

9 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. ³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. ⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

⁶ “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
⁷ And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ⁹ “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. ¹¹ Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹⁸ Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

The Lord told Noah before entering the ark, “I will establish My covenant with you.” In chapter 9 the Lord establishes the promised covenant. God promises, “Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (11). Having lived through a worldwide flood that destroyed all humanity, this promise encouraged the hearts of Noah and his family. God also attaches this promise to a visible sign, the rainbow. When God sees the rainbow, he “will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (16). When Noah and his sons saw the rainbow in the clouds, it would also remind them that although God punishes sin, His mercy is on those who fear Him and His salvation is with those who trust His promised mercy.

The sinful world, which seems to always pervert the gifts God gives, has assigned a different meaning to the rainbow. The world has rebranded the rainbow as a placard of pride in one’s defiance of God’s created order for sexuality and marriage. It is a sad irony that the sign of God’s covenant not to destroy all flesh for its sinfulness has been appropriated as a sign to celebrate and encourage mankind’s sinfulness.

But as St. Paul writes in Galatians 6:7, “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” The rainbow reminds us that God truly destroyed all flesh on account of sin, except the believing remnant, and that creation is “reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). Those who celebrate their sin—any sin—and despise God’s promised mercy in Christ will be cut off from God. The rainbow also reminds us that God is merciful to those who repent of their sins, trust the promised redemption earned by Christ, and walk by the Spirit rather than the flesh. Let the rainbow remind you to fear God and trust Him, so that having escaped destruction by water, you may persevere in true faith and escape the coming destruction by fire, and so enter eternal blessedness.

Let us pray: Teach us to fear You, O Lord, that we fight against sin, and to trust You, that we confidently believe Your promised mercy and walk according to Your Spirit. Amen.

Genesis 8:1-22 NKJV

8 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. ² The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. ³ And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. ⁴ Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

⁶ So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. ⁷ Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. ⁸ He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. ⁹ But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. ¹⁰ And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. ¹¹ Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. ¹² So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.

¹³ And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. ¹⁹ Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

²² “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

God remembers Noah in mercy and kindness. He closes the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven. He sends a wind so that the flood waters subside. As the waters subside, the ark comes to rest on the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month of the year. Two and a half months later, on the first day of the tenth month, “the tops of the mountains were seen” (5). Noah waits forty days and sends out a raven, but it had no place to land. Then he sent out a dove, who also returned to him. Noah waits seven days, sends out the dove again, and it returns with “a freshly plucked olive leaf” (11). Noah waits another seven days to send out the dove again. This time it does not return. It had found a new home.

On the first day of the first month, Noah sees for himself that the surface was dry (13). But, as one who walked with God, Noah does not leave the ark without a word from God. He continues to wait patiently on the Lord. Nearly two months from the day he saw the surface of the ground was dry—on the twenty-seventh day of the second month—God speaks to Noah and tells him to leave the ark and bring out every all the animals. Noah obeys God’s word, then offers one of each clean animal and bird as a burnt offering to the Lord. This pleases God, who then promises never to curse the ground again for man’s sake, and promises that as long as the earth lasts, mankind can rely on the stability of seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night.

Noah did a lot of waiting. He typified Jesus’ words to the disciples in Luke 21:19, “By your patience possess your souls.” He patiently awaited the Lord’s mercy during the flood. Even after the waters had subsided, he patiently trusts God to tell him when it is safe for him, his family, and the animals to exit the ark. Like Noah, we live our lives by God’s word—holy scripture—and patiently wait upon the Lord to bring us out of every trial, affliction, and cross that He allows to come upon us. When He delivers us, we, like Noah, offer the sacrifice of praise.

Let us pray: Increase our patience, O Lord, that in hardship and cross we wait upon You, trusting that You will remember us in mercy and deliver us according to Your gracious will. Amen.

Genesis 7:1-24 NKJV

7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. ² You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; ³ also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴ For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” ⁵ And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. ⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

⁷ So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, ⁹ two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. ¹² And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— ¹⁴ they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵ And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. ¹⁶ So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷ Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰ The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. ²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ²² All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. ²³ So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

“All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (11). Water that had been underground burst above ground. Water that had been in the heavens begins to fall. On the very same day Noah, his family, and the animals the Lord had brought to him entered the ark. Then, the Lord shut him in (16). It rained forty days and forty nights. The waters rose until they covered the entire earth. There was so much water that the mountain heights were fifteen cubits—over twenty feet—beneath the water. This is how thoroughly God wanted to punish all who resisted His Holy Spirit’s work of bringing sinners to repentance so they could be righteous by faith. Only Noah and his family believed the Lord, looked for the promised Seed, and walked with God.

The waters of the flood foreshadowed the final judgment to come when Christ returns in glory on the Last Day. St. Peter reminds us that as the world once perished through water, “the heavens and the earth . . . are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). Like the flood, there will no place for the ungodly to take refuge, nor will there be any extra time to repent and be found righteous in God’s sight by faith in Christ, the Seed promised to Adam and Eve.

The waters of the flood water are also a type (a foreshadowing) of baptism. The flood destroyed the ungodly. But “eight souls, were saved through water” (1 Peter 3:20). Noah and his family were saved from God’s wrath. The same waters that destroyed the ungodly saved them. This is why Peter calls baptism “an antitype which now saves us” (1 Peter 3:21). The water of baptism saves from God’s wrath because it washes away sin and gives a good conscience before God. It drowns the old man, our sinful nature, and regenerates us as new men who have the Holy Spirit to live before God in righteousness and purity each day. Only by being saved through the waters of baptism—and remaining the in the gifts God gives in those waters—are we saved from the wrath to come on the Last Day.

Let us pray: Help us to live in our baptism, O Lord, daily repenting of sin and believing the promises of forgiveness, new life, and salvation that You made to us in those waters. Amen.

Genesis 6:1-22 NKJV

6 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, ² that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

³ And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” ⁴ There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

⁹ This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

¹³ And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. ¹⁵ And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. ²¹ And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”

²² Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

It is commonly believed that the sons of God in this story are fallen angels who take human women—daughters of men—as wives, whose progeny are the giants, or Nephilim. Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:30 demolish this fantasy. He says of men and women, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.” Angels cannot mate with humans, nor do they mate at all.

Such a fanciful interpretation dulls the Lord’s condemnation of mankind. It was not for such marriages that the Lord sent the flood, but for man’s striving against the Holy Spirit’s call to repent. Men resisted the Holy Spirit because “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (5). From evil hearts came violence and corrupt living.

Wickedness increased because the children of God—believers—intermarried with the daughters of men—the unbelieving descendants of Cain. They cared only for outward beauty and despised faithfulness to the Lord. Their children were the giants (Hebrew: “Nephilim”), those who fall upon others violently. These mighty men of renown were tyrants on the earth, increasing violence and trampling on the rights of their fellow man, entirely indifferent toward God’s word.

But Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generation. He was righteous by faith, believing the promise that the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head and deliver the faithful. He lived righteously as well. God chose faithful Noah to be His instrument for persevering humanity—and the promise of the Seed—through God’s wrath in the flood.

The story of the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the Nephilim warn us against loving the things of this world more than God’s promise. As more Christians become complacent and indifferent towards God’s word, and live by the evil thoughts of their hearts, the Holy Spirit stirs us up to fervent faith and godly living, trusting that “as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt 24:27).

Let us pray: Keep us in the faith and from indifference, O Lord, that we may not be swept away with the wicked but be righteous and godly, looking forward Your return. Amen.

Genesis 4:16—5:1-4 NKJV

¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all.

²¹ Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— ²⁴ except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir

From the moment Cain left the presence of the Lord, humanity has been divided into believers and unbelievers, the church and the world. Cain’s descendants are outwardly prosperous. They invent musical instruments and implements of bronze and iron, including weapons. The good things of this life are their highest good. But like Cain, they are “of the wicked one” (1 John 3:12). This becomes apparent in Lamech, the seventh from Adam. Lamech takes two wives, contrary to God’s institution of marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman. He also murdered a young man for wounding him. Finally, he mutilates the word God gave to Cain to excuse his own sin: “If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (24). This is the way of the world: outward prosperity which uses God’s word to justify its sin.

A different spirit animates the sons of Adam through Seth. They see their sinfulness, that they bear the image and likeness of their father Adam rather than the image and likeness of God. They dwell in the presence of the Lord and believe God’s promise that the woman’s Seed will crush the serpent’s head. They also begin to gather together for public worship. This is it means when Moses writes, “Then men began to call on the name of the LORD” (26). Jude 14 tells us that Enoch, the seventh from Adam in Seth’s line, preached that the Lord would convict the ungodly for their ungodly deeds and blasphemies. Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). The descendants of Seth looked forward to a life after this one—which was signified by Enoch’s translation into heaven—and lived in this faith.

In every age of the world there are unbelievers and believers. The unbelieving world is animated by the spirit of the wicked one. It glories in worldly prosperity and honor and uses God’s word to excuse sin. The church is animated by the Holy Spirit. It glories in God’s Word, publicly preaches it correctly, and looks for the life of the world to come which God has prepared for those who love Him.

Let us pray: Preserve us, O Lord, in the midst of this wicked world that we may faithfully serve You and look forward to the good You have prepared for us in the next life. Amen.