Matins Devotion - February 25, 2026

Genesis 8:13-9:17

In 1 Peter 3, the apostle tells us that the saving waters of baptism correspond to the flood, which is to say that the flood was a type of baptism, a promise of what we would receive in baptism. And understanding this makes the promise that God gives to Noah in Genesis 9 all the more beautiful. In discussing the rainbow that He puts in the sky as a sign of His promise, God tells Noah, “I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” So the waters of the flood will no longer destroy life. But now, through holy baptism, the waters of the flood will destroy death. 

Out of His love for you, God put the death of Jesus Christ into the waters of Holy Baptism. And so, like waters of the flood, the waters of Holy Baptism kill. But they don’t kill men like in the days of Noah. No, the waters of holy baptism kill the evil within men. Those waters, filled with the saving blood of Jesus Christ, kill sin. Everything corrupt within you has been washed away. Out of His love for you, God put the resurrection of Jesus Christ into the waters of Holy Baptism. And so, like the waters of the flood, the waters of Holy Baptism give life, but they give a greater life than what the flood waters gave to Noah. Noah and his family came out of those waters into a new life, but one where the intention of man’s heart was still evil. You have come out of those waters into a new life with a new heart, a heart that has put on Christ and been purified by Him. You have come out of those waters into a new kingdom with the promise that you will never die because Christ is risen, because He lives and because He will live with you forever.