20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
First things first
If you had been on the Ark for a year, what’s the first thing you would have done? Go for a run? Plant crops? Build a fence and herd the animals? Noah offers a sacrifice. What does this represent? Probably first thankfulness and praise for saving them and preserving them while all other life was wiped out. It was also an acknowledgement that He is the Lord and there is no other, apart from Him there is no God (Isaiah 45:5). God didn’t have to tell him to do this. Most assuredly Noah had practiced this for 600 years. It was done out of a willing and obedient heart.
Pleasing aroma
Why was this a pleasing aroma to the Lord? “And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22 ESV) God was pleased with the obedience of Noah represented by the sacrifice. For Noah had great faith and obeyed when God said “Build the Ark”, “Get on the Ark”, “Get off the Ark”.
And it was truly a sacrifice since the animals could have been precious food for Noah and his family. King David echoed this conviction when he said, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” in 2 Samuel 24:24.
Moved to mercy
This sacrifice through obedience moved God to mercy. He was pleased by the obedience that was represented in the aroma of the sacrifice. He committed to never again destroy even though He knew mankind, even Noah, still had the seed of evil. The sinful nature was inside of them, us. This would lead to the ultimate sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, in full obedient submission to the Father’s will.
Ecological note
“God promised that after the flood, the earth would have established seasons. This speaks of the profound climatic and ecological changes in the earth since the covering of water vapors covering the earth was emptied. Now, there would be seasonal and temperature variations.” (enduringword.com) This promise will remain as long as the earth does – indicating it won’t remain forever.
RЯeflection
- What is your priority in life? Do you, “present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
