“So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” – Genesis 6:7

Scripture reading: Genesis 6:1-8

Today is Sunday. A day on which we remember that the Lord Jesus Christ successfully dealt with the problem of sin, death and the devil with His death on the cross, and ushered in the new creation which had been the goal of God’s first creation: a creation where we cannot sin, cannot die, where there is no devil, and where we bask directly in the light of the glorious, loving presence of God. Sunday is also a day on which we are encouraged to bear witness to the new creation that we are in Christ, by resting from our evil ways and letting the Lord work in us through His Spirit. In doing so we begin the eternal Sabbath in this life.

Our Scripture reading is also about evil works. Human wickedness was so great during the time of Noah that people thought and imagined evil continually from morning to night. This evil was so bad that God was sorry that He had made the human race and decided He would blot it out from the face of the earth, including the birds in the air and the animals on the ground; with the exception of Noah and his family, for Noah was a righteous man who walked with God and found favour in God’s eyes.

In order to keep Noah and his family alive, as well as at least one pair of every sort of animal, God commands Noah to build an ark to house him and his family and the animals.

Suggestions for prayer

Thank your heavenly Father for this day of rest He gave you. Ask Him to enable you to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life so that you can learn to rest from your evil works and begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.

Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren.