The Grace of Gospel Hope
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
6/27 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 32; Psalm 119:121-144; Isaiah 59; Matthew 7
Genesis 8:5
And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
MOUNT
Just three days over ten weeks after the floodwater began to abate, Noah and his family could look out the window and see the tops of the mountains.
God had saved them from His judgment upon the earth through the ark He had Noah build. While they tossed and turned in the storm and over the tumultuous waves, God worked in them trust in Him while they endured their tribulation. When the rain stopped and the waters began to abate, God further developed in their souls a patient faith for something better awaiting them, though yet unseen. And two months and thirteen days after the ark rested upon Ararat, they could peek out of the one window God commanded Noah to make for the ark and they could see the tops of the mountains, where there had been nothing but water before.
This glimpse of good things to come is like the gospel truth we find in God’s holy Word. We may not always understand what we read. We often cannot see more than a glimpse of God’s glory, or taste but a morsel of Christ’s goodness, but we trust that the best is yet to come.
The tops of the mountains that are seen, הַר (har) in Hebrew, which can either be translated “hill,” “mount,” or “mountain,” represents a token of gospel hope given by God’s grace. It was upon a mountain that Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac (Gen 22), his son, the first mention of “love” in the Bible and a prophetic foreshadow of the heavenly Father offering His one and only Son (John 3:16). It was upon a mountain that Moses encountered YHVH God and received His name (Ex 3:12-14). It was upon a mountain where Elijah had his showdown with the false prophets (1 Ki 18), and on a mountain where he was comforted with YHVH’s still, small voice (1 Ki 19). Moreover, it was upon a mount where the Lord preached heavenly words of an eternal sermon (Matt 5-7); and it was upon a hill, Mount Golgotha, where our Lord Jesus sacrificed His life for our sakes; and it was upon a mount that Jesus ascended into heaven. And when Jesus returns, He will bring us to live forever with Him in the mountain of His holiness (Psa 48:1-2).
Hallelujah! What a Savior!