Lessons From Noah's Thanksgiving

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Genesis 8:20 (NKJV) - "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar."

After God saved Noah, his family, and the other living things that entered the Ark from the flood, the first thing Noah did, in appreciation to God, was to build an altar unto the Lord. Afterwards, he offered burnt offerings on the altar (Gen 8:20-22, please read for context). There are several lessons we can draw from this story;

First, every manifestation of God's goodness should turn you towards your altar. Giving your altar the attention it needs is one powerful expression of gratitude to God. If God blesses and promotes you, and you then allow that blessing or promotion to draw you away from God or make you too busy to service your altar, that's ingratitude.

Secondly, altars are designed as a platform for offering sacrifices. Approach and service your altar with a consciousness of sacrifice. Sacrifices serve two purposes; for thanksgiving and for atonement. The sacrifices of atonement are no longer required in the new covenant because Jesus has offered it once and for all on the altar of the Cross. However, the sacrifices of thanksgiving/praise are eternal and need to be made consistently by everyone who is a benefactor of the sacrifice of atonement.

Third, "the offering" is a vital component of thanksgiving. As beautiful as your verbal expressions of gratitude, as beautiful as your singing and dancing is, remember that an offering is actually material. You actually have to bring something to God. However, you must do this willfully, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Fourth, your purity and consecration is a non-negotiable part of your sacrifice. Noah gave clean animals and clean birds to God for sacrifice. As new covenant Christians, we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Cain's sacrifice was rejected not because it was bad but because Cain was evil. Hebrews 11:4 tells us Abel offered a "more excellent" sacrifice than Cain, meaning Cain's sacrifice was also excellent. However, the human-component of the sacrifice which was himself, was not acceptable. So, everything was rejected.

Lastly, God didn't ask Noah for a sacrifice. Noah walked with God, and naturally, He knew God enough to understand he needed to offer thanksgiving after the flood. Walking with God positions you in a place of alignment, where you know what God wants, and do it.

God bless you

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