Tag: ark

Posted in Advent devotions

Safe and sound in the ark of God’s grace

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’m tempted to believe that the world is much worse than it has ever been. Just look around. War, communities in ruin from hurricanes and tornadoes, pandemics, contaminated food, and sex trafficking. I could list more, but it’s depressing.

If you think it’s bad now, the bible tells us about a much worse time in history. Just a few generations after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden, “Every intention of the thoughts of [people’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In just a few pages, sin ran amok in God’s “very good” creation.

That reality doesn’t sit well with the Creator, who tells Noah to get to work on an ark because, “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die” (Genesis 6:17).

Advent is a sobering reminder that when God shows up, he’s not happy. He’s holy. We’re not. This is gonna be ugly.

Unless you’re on the ark.

On the ark, you’re safe from the flood.

On the ark, you float on the water. On the ark, you’ll survive. You’ll be tossed by the waves, heaving over the side of the boat, and have to take care of all those animals, but you’ll survive. You’ll live to tell about it.

Divine judgment is real. “We will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:10). “Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12). And if you’re honest, it’s gonna be ugly.

Unless you’re on the ark.

Unless you find refuge in the arms of the one who comes to rescue you. “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24,25)

Jesus is your ark, a refuge from the judgment to come. Wrapped in his righteousness, you’re safe from the deluge of wrath. You’ll survive, forgiven and alive. (And he gives you animals to take care of, too!)

That’s why we put an ark on a Jesse Tree:

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

He’s got you covered

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Damir Kopezhanov on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Exodus 25.

When he got to his cubicle and logged into the computer, the first email that caught his eye was from the boss.

Come by and see me when you get in.

Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good. Now what? What did I do? What did I forget to do? Should I just clean out my desk?

But it was a different kind of meeting. It was all about a a great annual review, a promotion, and a raise.

In a flurry of instructions about building a tabernacle and an ark, God gives Moses this instruction:

 “You shall make an atoning cover of pure gold…Then you shall put the atoning cover on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you (Exodus 25:17,22).

Another expression for “atoning cover” is “mercy seat.” God would come and meet with his people from a place of mercy.

This is huge. As David will later sing, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). The gold-covered lid for the ark, topped by two angels, was a visual statement of this truth. The condemning law of God, tablets inside the ark, was covered or “atoned” for by the mercies of God. Ultimately, that mercy would be seen at the cross, where the death of Jesus covers sin.

Now that I think about it, once the ark was placed in the holiest place of the tabernacle, no one but the high priest ever got to see it. When it was time to travel, the ark was covered in blue cloth. But everyone knew about it. The craftsmen made everything according to specifications. And then the cloud of God’s presence filled the tabernacle, it was an awesome and reassuring sign of his presence and mercy.

Posted in Grace, Life

Looking forward to annihilation?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

duck-and-cover-drillI’m not quite old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. By the time I began school there were no more civil defense drills when you had to find the closest fallout shelter or hide under your desk.

But with the recent addition of North Korea to the list of countries with nuclear weapons, the potential of war, catastrophic loss of life and even global annihilation are once on the table. But the specter of worldwide destruction and death are nothing new, at least for those who have spent a little time in the Bible.

When creation is quite young, the consequences of Adam and Eve’s disobedience were felt throughout the world. It’s amazing and chilling to read that early on the Lord regretted he had made people. It didn’t take long till “every intention of the thoughts of [peoples] hearts were only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Ponder that for a moment. Every good and decent thought and intent had been replaced by that which was evil and destructive.

The treatment plan is severs. God resolves to wipe out life from the face of the earth with a flood, and begin again. By grace, he saved eight people — Noah, his three sons and their wives — in an ark filled with animals.

It doesn’t really solve the problem, though, and Jesus spoke of a future time one heaven and earth would pass away (Mark 13:31). Complete annihilation. Once again, God would begin again with a new heaven and a new earth, populated by those whose lives were saved, this time by a Savior’s death and resurrection.

Now here’s the fascinating part. Jesus said, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). While the world runs for the hills, the church knows that the new can only arrive when the old is gone. Our ears perk up when we hear predictions of disaster, death and destruction. Like coastal communities gathering for hurricane parties before the storm approaches, we gather for worship to anticipate the old giving way to the new in our baptism, in the church and finally in the whole of creation.

It’s going to happen one day. But it hasn’t happened yet. So we’ve got today, an opportunity to live, to be grateful, and to share the hope we have in Christ, our Savior through whatever happens next.