Genesis 7 describes in great detail the animals, clean and unclean, how many; the birds, clean and unclean, how many; and all creatures that move and all creatures that have the breath of life in them in pairs that God sent to the Ark to be saved. And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. v. 5.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month – on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. v. 11-12. In the commentary below it said that the waters rose 23 feet or about 6.8 meters to cover the mountains; The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. v. 24.

We had rain this morning early after over 40 days without rain and with many days over 100. It was such a blessing to hear the gentle fall of rain, see the filtered cooler light; it lifted my heart and I thanked God for His provision. Reading Chapter 7 with our blessing of rain, I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like for Noah and his family and for the animals. Did you notice how specific the time frame was? No detail was omitted. I would love to have been with those animals! I sat there quietly and tried to imagine what it would have been like. What was it like for God who was there, too, just as He is here with us? The only sounds on earth were the sounds of rain and the sounds within the Ark. It’s good to remember why that was necessary. Evil and corruption filled the earth in the hearts of mankind just like the flood waters covered the earth.

Isaiah 58 records what mens hearts are like and it hits home. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. v. 2. It’s worth reading the whole chapter. The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7 sounds a lot like what God would have our hearts doing that is echoed in Isaiah 58.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path. Psalm 143:10. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. Isaiah 58:9.

In Acts 8 is described how Philip was sent by the Lord to a very specific location to a very specific chariot. Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. The man was reading in Isaiah 53:7,8, about Jesus. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. v. 31. How can we understand unless someone explains it to us?

I have asked God to help me understand as I read His word…I’ve asked Him to lead me to Him. He opened up a world of wonder. He led me to Church so I could be fed by His ministry. He led me to seek out writers inspired by Him to expand my desire to learn. He led me to share what I am learning because it is too wonderful not to share.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7.

Noah knew the blessing of being with God. So can we. Take His hand and let Him lead you. He’s here.