“Dear LORD, Remember Us!”

“Dear LORD, Remember Us!”(Gen.8:1-20).
“But God remembered Noah… Then God said to Noah, ‘Cime out of the ark…’ So Noah came out… Then Noah built an alter to the LORD and, taking some of the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”
William Robertson Smith, a great scholar of Old Testament religion states that no religion begins like a tabula-rasa. Religions borrow from existing sources to complement itself. Smith uses “flesh sacrifice” as an example of such borrowings from an existing practice.
Before sacrifice became a divine prescription for the Hebrews, Abel had made a flesh sacrifice which pleased the LORD.
The next flesh sacrifice was the one Noah made after he had come out of the ark. Judging by the various clean animal and clean bird species, Noah’s sacrifice was quite a huge affair.
That’s by the way. Suffice it to say that so far before now it was not God who ordered these sacrifices. After Abel offered his gift, “The LORD looked with favour on Abel and his offering…(Gen.4:4).
In the case of Noah, “The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done…”(Gen.8:21f).
The story of the Titanic has come alive again with the death of the five people who recently dived in a submersible to explore the sunken Titanic. Before sinking the Titanic had onboard about 2,224 passengers and crew. Of this number more than 1,500 died.
The Titanic was built with modern technology and by some of the finest engineers, I suppose. Even so, the ship sank! The number of passengers and crew, the content of the ship and it’s weight all put together could not measure up to the weight in Noah’s ark! Even the now trending Icon of the Seas which is said to be capable of carrying 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew members and which is to sail in January 2024 would still not weigh as heavy as Noah’s ark! Imagine the thousands of animal and bird species in the world that entered the ark – a locally crudely constructed ship with no modern technology! Yet it survived the flood!
Why did it survive? It survived because as the psalmist reminds us “Unless the LORD builds the house, it’s builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain”(Ps.127:1).
Yes, Noah’s ark survived the flood because when he entered the ark, “the LORD shut him in”(Gen.7:16b). And when the time came, “God remembered Noah…” And when the flood had subsided, “God said to Noah, ‘Come out of the ark.'”
My friend, whatever is your present predicament, it is a baptism of fire. If you are in Christ Jesus know that you are in Noah’s ark. God will remember you. The storms may rage, the water may be all around you, but instead of drowning, the rising water is only lifting the ark to Mount Ararat where on dry land God will tell you, “My daughter/son, come out of the ark and stand on dry ground again!”
Prayer: Thank you LORD for remembering those who trust in you. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Prayer point: Pray for English speaking Cameroonians in positions of power and authority to embrace the fear of God and address this present war.
Rev Babila Fochang.