Wednesday, January 4, 2017

January 4

Genesis 8:1-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23

"But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded" (Gen. 8:1).  Our reading today starts with such a beautiful expression of God's faithfulness and attentiveness.  He remembered Noah and those with him on the ark, and then the Lord acted.

All throughout our reading today, we see interaction between God and man.  Not only the example above, but in 8:15, we read that Noah waits (patiently*) for God to speak to him before disembarking the ark.  I know myself and I know I would have cranked down that door and gotten out of the smell of the ark, mud or no mud - but Noah waited for the Lord's voice and then experiences God's blessing (Gen. 9:1).  We - you and I - experience God's divine interaction regularly, too.  Do you notice it?  Do you realize that you, too, experience God's promise in action each time it rains?  The Lord established a covenant with Noah (Gen. 9:11), and we are beneficiaries.  Isn't that kind of amazing?  Direct, tangible, experiential intervention from God to man.

In our New Testament reading, Matthew shows the response of people when they hear the voice of God.  Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, and they come "at once" (Mt. 4:20).  Jesus calls James and John, and they come "immediately" (4:22).  They hear the voice of God, and they obey.  They respond.  God extends and they respond.  The interaction between God and man.

Even our wisdom readings today echo this idea.  The psalmist cries out to God, "Be merciful to me and hear my prayer" (Ps. 4:1b).  He feels confident when he turns to the Lord, for he knows - through past experience - "the Lord will hear with I call to him" (vs. 3).  God hears, God is attentive, and God responds.  Wisdom herself, daughter of God, beseeches her hearers, informing them, "If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you" (Pr. 1:23).

God's heart is to know and be known.  He called then and he calls now.  He responded then and he responds now.  He is attentive to our cry, and he woos us to wise living.  What will our response be?

*40 days of rain, then 110 days of floating, then 80ish days until mountains were visible, then 40 days before Noah sent out a raven, then a week before a dove found green leaves, then nearly sixty days more before the earth was completely dry.  That's a lot of waiting!

- Sarah Marsh

How did God speak to you in Scripture today? Click here to share your reflections on God's word or read past posts. We'd love to hear from you. 

2 comments:

  1. Isn't that such wonderful news? That God hears us and responds. What a wonderful God we serve

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