AFTER coming out of the ark, Noah first erected an altar and worshiped the Lord. Conscious of his great deliverance, he faithfully responded and offered sacrifices to the One in whom his faith had safely rested. This is the first mention in Scripture of an altar. Connected with a purged and cleansed earth, it is primarily a type of the millennial day when God’s earthly people will bring their worship to Him. The lovely character of the burnt offerings brought by Noah, speak in type of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, as seen by God. A sweet savor goes up to Him. What a contrast to the offensive odor of the wicked world and the results of judgment on it!
“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.” vv. 1,2. When God first created man, he said: “Be fruitful, and multiply,... and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:2828And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28). Was it not gracious of God to renew man’s place above all other earthly living creation, in spite of the failure in the meantime? Yet we see a difference in the divine utterances, too. In Genesis 1 man was to “have dominion over” all these creatures. In Chapter 9 it is, “the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast,” etc. In the beginning, before man had fallen, there was full harmony in all creation, man having “dominion” over other creatures, but all lived in innocent peace and quietness. But sin marred that picture. God still placed man over all other living things, but “fear and dread” rep, resented the establishment of that place.
Then God tells Noah and his company of further provisions for their need and the need of all who would follow them. Again we see a change from the position of man in the Gar den of Eden. There his food was “herbs” (or vegetables); seeds and the fruit of many trees. Flesh was not included in his diet, for without sin there could be no death. Noah, however, is told “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you even as the green herb have I given you all things.”
It was not until man was banished from the Garden of Eden that the slaying of animals for food added to his fare. Perhaps, as this provision was extended to them, they thought on the amazing fact that whenever they ate the flesh of any creature they were literally receiving life through death. We, at least, can see this plainly and know that it is figurative of the life that, through faith, comes to those who accept the atoning death of God’s Lamb on the cross.
Nonetheless, solemn warnings accompany these provisions. “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” (v. 4). God was ever looking on to the perfect sacrifice of His Son, whose precious blood would be shed. There was therefore to be no meddling with blood, or carelessness about it, for Noah’s generation, or any to follow.
ML-12/06/1964