And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. Genesis 7:24 NKJV
150 days... That is how long the waters lasted after it quit raining. I sometimes try to imagine what it must have been like for Noah and his family. After suffering the mockery of the building of the ark, they moved out of their dwelling places to reside in a floating zoo. They have said goodbye to their neighbors families and left them for dead, after hearing them claw at the doors of the ark.
The first storm they ever experienced lasted 40 days. When it was over, they had not lost simply their homes and families, they lost the world. There was nothing but water all around. What level of despair must have entered their hearts?
150 days. That is how long it took for the waters to subside on the earth. After weathering a storm that lasted more than a month, Noah and his family lived on that ark while the waters took 150 days to go away. I can imagine the anticipation that was in the hold of that ark as the door opened at the end of 150 days. To finally be freed of this prison - to escape from the zoo - for life to get back to normal - to taste an apple or an orange or a pomegranate - to feel the grass on my bare feet and experience the warmth of the sun hasn't shines on a grassy knoll - if I were on the ark, these are the things I would be expecting to experience.
Then the door opened. Never experiencing the damage of raging floodwaters, Noah got his first glimpse of what happens to an earth that has been flooded - buried in a watery grave for 150 days.
Much of the ground is still saturated and muddy. Much of the vegetation is gone. Only the the heartiest of plants, such as the olive tree have found a quick recovery in the warmth of the sun's rays.
The carcasses of animals that have drowned are strewn about. The remnants of death are everywhere. 150 days of swirling waters have turned every edifice of man into architectural ruin.
There is no one left on the earth. Noah, his wife and children have been invited to spend the rest of their days in a perpetual family reunion. And, the family is dysfunctional. Maybe it is one reason why Noah got drunk.
Only Noah's faith in God and His promise was left. God offered a rainbow signifying that he would never again destroy the world by flood. But that did not eliminate the reality of a world currently destroyed. Noah had to hold to the promise that God would use him to recover the earth.
150 is significant. In our calendar, it represents five months. Five is the number of grace. When the floodwaters refuse to subside for 150 days, I can promise you a great measure of grace is needed to survive. When the storm is over and the waters subside, the door opens. You feel the warmth and you smell the air and you say the journey is over. And then you look out and realize the journey is just about to begin. Now you must deal with the wreckage of the storm and again begin to build. In that moment, you realize that your 150 days was the introductory course for a different plan of life.
In looking at 150, I was reminded of the last recorded Psalm. This passage in its entirety is a direct instruction about praise offered to God. The final instruction: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord". That was a purpose to be found in the flood. Mankind had ceased to honor God. They ceased to praise Him. God hit the reset button.
If you understand anything about David, you will know that most of his life was torn between joy and sadness. He had great victories but they came at the price of terrible storms. He suffered acute depression. I believe he had a sense of what it was like to open the door at the end of 150 days. I find it ironic that his final psalm, The one that would later be assigned the number 150, would be one that and its entirety instructs us to put our complete focus on God. Perhaps that is how we survive the storm and it's aftermath.
150 days. As you look out, the ground is marshy. There's destruction all around. But hey, The door IS finally open.
150 days... That is how long the waters lasted after it quit raining. I sometimes try to imagine what it must have been like for Noah and his family. After suffering the mockery of the building of the ark, they moved out of their dwelling places to reside in a floating zoo. They have said goodbye to their neighbors families and left them for dead, after hearing them claw at the doors of the ark.
The first storm they ever experienced lasted 40 days. When it was over, they had not lost simply their homes and families, they lost the world. There was nothing but water all around. What level of despair must have entered their hearts?
150 days. That is how long it took for the waters to subside on the earth. After weathering a storm that lasted more than a month, Noah and his family lived on that ark while the waters took 150 days to go away. I can imagine the anticipation that was in the hold of that ark as the door opened at the end of 150 days. To finally be freed of this prison - to escape from the zoo - for life to get back to normal - to taste an apple or an orange or a pomegranate - to feel the grass on my bare feet and experience the warmth of the sun hasn't shines on a grassy knoll - if I were on the ark, these are the things I would be expecting to experience.
Then the door opened. Never experiencing the damage of raging floodwaters, Noah got his first glimpse of what happens to an earth that has been flooded - buried in a watery grave for 150 days.
Much of the ground is still saturated and muddy. Much of the vegetation is gone. Only the the heartiest of plants, such as the olive tree have found a quick recovery in the warmth of the sun's rays.
The carcasses of animals that have drowned are strewn about. The remnants of death are everywhere. 150 days of swirling waters have turned every edifice of man into architectural ruin.
There is no one left on the earth. Noah, his wife and children have been invited to spend the rest of their days in a perpetual family reunion. And, the family is dysfunctional. Maybe it is one reason why Noah got drunk.
Only Noah's faith in God and His promise was left. God offered a rainbow signifying that he would never again destroy the world by flood. But that did not eliminate the reality of a world currently destroyed. Noah had to hold to the promise that God would use him to recover the earth.
150 is significant. In our calendar, it represents five months. Five is the number of grace. When the floodwaters refuse to subside for 150 days, I can promise you a great measure of grace is needed to survive. When the storm is over and the waters subside, the door opens. You feel the warmth and you smell the air and you say the journey is over. And then you look out and realize the journey is just about to begin. Now you must deal with the wreckage of the storm and again begin to build. In that moment, you realize that your 150 days was the introductory course for a different plan of life.
In looking at 150, I was reminded of the last recorded Psalm. This passage in its entirety is a direct instruction about praise offered to God. The final instruction: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord". That was a purpose to be found in the flood. Mankind had ceased to honor God. They ceased to praise Him. God hit the reset button.
If you understand anything about David, you will know that most of his life was torn between joy and sadness. He had great victories but they came at the price of terrible storms. He suffered acute depression. I believe he had a sense of what it was like to open the door at the end of 150 days. I find it ironic that his final psalm, The one that would later be assigned the number 150, would be one that and its entirety instructs us to put our complete focus on God. Perhaps that is how we survive the storm and it's aftermath.
150 days. As you look out, the ground is marshy. There's destruction all around. But hey, The door IS finally open.
