Fresh Starts

The Lord Is Merciful & Faithful

10.12.25 [Genesis 8:15-22] River of Life (18th Sunday after Pentecost)

Rev. 1:4-6 Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and has made you to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.  

Men love to build things. There is something satisfying about designing a plan, acquiring the necessary materials, and investing sweat equity in a project. Men beam with pride when they step back and declare to the world around them: I built that. We even feel a strange tinge of that pride when all we’ve done is assemble Ikea furniture. 

Some men have built things and established their legacies. At times, this is done consciously, like with the Rockefeller Center or the Chrysler Building. Even if you know almost nothing about J.D. Rockefeller or Walter Chrysler, the names of these buildings remain recognizable. These projects cemented the legacies these men had already built. 

But some building projects are so grand, so striking, so unique that the project eventually eclipses the man. You know the Eiffel Tower. You know the Ferris Wheel. Even if you think you are the world’s worst artist, you could draw each of them from memory well enough that you’d win the point in Pictionary. But do you know anything else about Gustave Eiffel or George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.?

Today, Genesis 8 centers our attention on a man who built something so grand, so striking, so unique that that particular project might eclipse everything else we ought to know about him. Noah’s ark is even more famous than Ferris’ Wheel or Eiffel’s tower. But what Noah built next, and why, is even more important than his famous ark. 

Our text begins at what we might consider the end. Genesis tells us, in a rather straightforward manner, that Gen. 8:15 God said to Noah to come out of the ark and bring your family and all the animals that are on the ark. And then we read that Noah follows orders. He and his wife and his sons and their wives and all the animals disembark. 

Our curious minds are especially captivated by the creatures. We wish we could get a better look. We long for a detailed list of all the animals.

But for this morning, I want you to set to the side all your questions about the ark’s catalog—what was and what was not on the ark, how they all had enough food and why the lions didn’t eat the lambs—and consider that little word at the beginning: Then. This simple marker of time is worth our careful consideration. Gen. 8:15 Then God said to Noah. 

You might know the first time God spoke to Noah in the Bible. It was when he said to Noah, Gen. 6:13-15 I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth…So make yourself an ark for you and your family and two of all living creatures…This is how you are to build it… That was the first time God spoke to Noah. 

But the next time God spoke to Noah, and the last time before Genesis 8:15, was one year and seventeen days earlier. On that day, after Noah had built the ark to God’s exact specifications, God expanded the ark’s manifest. God told Noah that he was to take Gen. 7:2-4 seven pairs of every clean animal and seven pairs of every kind of bird into the ark and that seven days from now God would send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights and would wipe from the face of the earth every living creature he had made. 

So Noah and his family and all the animals, even the extras, entered the ark. And they waited seven days for the rain to start. Then they waited 40 days & nights as the springs of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. Then, they waited another 150 days as the waters covered the face of the whole earth. In all, they waited months for the mountaintops to pee  k through the waters. It wasn’t until a year and 10 days after the rain first began that Gen. 8:14 the earth was completely dry. For a year and seventeen days, Noah and his family and all the animals remained inside the ark without any further word from the Lord. Imagine floating in the ark—for months—with nothing in sight. Imagine living in a big boat for more than a year and not hearing a peep from the Lord who told you to build it?  How would you have dealt with that? 

At times, we feel like we’ve been dumped on by the floodwaters of pain or grief, loss, loneliness, or weakness. There are moments when we feel like we are drowning in difficulties or problems. There are weeks and months when we feel like we are drifting without any hope in sight. 

In those moments, many have longed to hear from the Lord. They have cried out for a sign. They have begged for answers, direction, and comfort. Have you found yourself, in those moments, doing the same?

In those moments, the evil inclinations of our hearts are often exposed. Our hearts and minds quickly default to distrust, resentment, and bitterness. We may become indignant towards those whom we think have it easy. 

We grow disgruntled and cynical. Our minds revert to a hostile posture toward God. We reject the idea that any hardship—especially what we are enduring right now—could ever really just be divine discipline and actually be evidence of God’s love for us. 

We do this despite having 66 books of God’s words and actions. We have thousands of years of evidence that God is merciful and faithful. We know the living legacy of our Lord—how he delivered not just Noah, but also Abraham & Moses, David & Elijah, Daniel & Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego. Even that list is wildly incomplete. We know that he has worked out all things for good in the lives of Jacob & Samson, Naomi & Esther, Peter & Paul. We know that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son into this world of darkness, wickedness, and sin, not to condemn the world, but to save the world, to seek and save sinners. There may be matters in our lives that God does not speak to explicitly, but he is anything but silent. We know the inclination of the Lord’s heart. Even in the midst of his fiercest wrath, there is mercy. Even when God is dealing with foolish sinners, he remains faithful and good. 

As the Lord smelled the aroma of Noah’s sacrifice, he knew that the flood had not purged the earth of evil. The springs of the deep could not powerwash away sin from the face of the earth. Noah and his sons and their descendants were still sinful. Noah could build an ark for himself and his family, but he couldn’t create a pure heart within his frame. 

Noah knew this about himself, too. During that year plus, as God judged the earth for its wickedness, Noah could not escape his own sinful nature. So, when he emerged from the ark, Noah built something specific and purposeful—an altar. Not a shelter for himself or his family, but an altar to the Lord. And on that altar, Noah offered very specific sacrifices—whole burnt offerings. Even though there were but seven pairs of clean animals and birds, Noah took some from all those kinds of animals and offered them as whole burnt offerings.

We learn from Leviticus the significance of this. A whole burnt offering was an offering of a clean male animal to make atonement for sin. The bull or goat or sheep or bird was slaughtered, cut into pieces, and all of it was burned on the altar. When we consider how few of these clean animals were in existence—only seven males of each kind—this is even more striking. Notice also that Noah receives no command to do so. 

Yet, Noah recognized that it was for this reason that the Lord provided extra pairs of these animals as they entered the ark more than a year earlier. The Lord himself provided the sacrifices for sins. 

As the Lord smelled that aroma, he promised he would not unleash his wrath upon the world in the same way again. Instead, the curse for sin would fall upon him. Rom. 3:25 God would present his own Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice of atonement for sins. The Lamb of God would shed his blood to take away the sin of the world. Rom. 3:26 God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, how his justice and his mercy do not contradict each other but rather serve to validate his goodness and faithfulness. God is just in how he deals with wickedness. God is also the one who justifies those who have faith in his Son. 

And that was why Noah built this altar. Because he believed in God’s righteousness, his mercy, and his faithfulness. Heb. 11:7 In holy fear, Noah built the ark exactly as God instructed. In holy trust and deep gratitude, Noah built this altar exactly because he knew God’s heart. 

And so do you. Because you know how God delivered Noah and you know how God delivered on his promise to send his Redeemer. You have assurance even when you feel like you are drifting in a sea of troubles. You may not see the signs you cry out for, but you know the Lord sees and remembers you. You know that he exists. You know that he lived for you in this world of sadness and sin. You know that he endured the curse of dying on a tree for your sins. You know that he rose to life for your justification. You know that he invites you to cast all your cares on him. You know that he richly rewards all those who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. You know that he is not silent, but speaks to you powerfully in his Word. You know that he is not distant; he has drawn you close to him through the waters of your Baptism. You know that he has not left you to fend for yourself; he has blessed you with his body and blood in the Supper he designed for you. Without faith, it is impossible to know or please God. But we have been saved, by grace, through faith, and even this is not from ourselves. Faith, too, is from God—a gift he graciously distributes to each one of us. Faith finds its footing, its foundation, its refuge in the Lord. And Jesus makes this promise to people who like to build things. Mt. 7:24-25 Everyone who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rains came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall. Because it had its foundation on the Rock. Ps 62:1-2 Truly, our souls find rest in God. Our salvation comes from him. Truly, he is our rock and our salvation. He is our fortress. And so, we will never be shaken. Amen.