Here is another neat thought that I’ve had to cut from tomorrow’s message. It’s based on the promise the rainbow reminds us of. Here is the point in a ” mid- stream” sort of state.
Here’s the scripture….
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. 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. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:20-22 ESV)
And here’s the point…
The basis for God’s promise to Noah is not the goodness of man, for man’s depravity is specifically stated. The basis for God’s covenant promise is the result of the burnt offering offered up by Noah. Thus, the Israelites saw that the burnt offering was a means of avoiding God’s wrath and of obtaining God’s favor. God’s blessing was the result of a burnt offering, not of man’s good deeds.
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