Matins Devotion: March 10, 2025

Genesis 6:1-7:5

Perhaps more than any story in the Bible, unbelievers in general and atheists specifically really don’t like the story of Noah and the ark. Do you really believe Noah made some big boat and somehow gathered all the animals onto it? How could that even be possible? You seriously believe that this fairy tale for children really happened?

Well, yes, I do. Sure, the flood is a silly story if you presume that there isn’t really a God who can do whatever He wants. But if you believe in a God who exists and interacts with men and actually has authority over every atom of creation, it’s not hard to believe the story of the flood. Noah could gather the animals two by two not because he was Noah, but because God was God.

And that, I think, is really what the scoffer hates about the flood story. The core of the flood story is that God has the power and the right to destroy us for our sins, just as He has the authority and control over everything that exists. You can’t successfully rebel against Him. You can’t cast Him out of the world. You can’t drown Him in the sea of your own pride, but He can always drown you.

And yet, out of His mercy, God has drowned you. In the waters of Holy Baptism, your Lord has swept away your sinful nature just as He swept out the unbelieving world in the waters of the flood. And in those same waters, He has brought you into new life, just as He did for the family of Noah. By tying you to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord has washed you in His mercy and given you His kingdom. Don’t fear the power and the authority of your God that were demonstrated in the flood of Noah. He has used both to make you His precious child. Let the scoffers scoff. But let the family of God rejoice at the truth and the great gospel promise of Noah and the flood.