DWDP- Gen 8; 21-22 God's Promise

A quiet altar on a cleansed earth lights the way for our own hearts. We open Genesis 8:21–22 and watch Noah step from judgment into grace, offering a sacrifice that Scripture calls a “soothing aroma.” From that single act, we draw a line to the cross and ask what kind of worship makes sense when the King of ages has stepped down to redeem us. Casual praise cannot carry a love like his. Passionate, grateful, all‑of‑life worship can.

We unpack why the Bible says God “smelled” the aroma, exploring anthropomorphism and how human language reaches for divine reality. The answer leads to a weighty word—propitiation. Noah’s altar pointed forward to Christ, the atoning sacrifice whose blood satisfies justice and secures mercy. Our prayers, songs, and obedience rise not because we are impressive, but because they are offered in his name. That frees us from performance and fills us with confidence: the Judge of all the earth sees, hears, and knows, and he delights to show himself strong for those fully devoted to him.

From worship, we turn to promise. God binds the world to a steady rhythm: seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. While the earth remains, these will not cease. That pledge calms modern fears about chaos and catastrophe. Yes, there is a coming day when the present order gives way and a new heaven and new earth arrive, free of the curse. Until then, providence holds the calendar. We rest, work, and pray inside a world kept by God’s word.

Join us as we connect gratitude at the altar to courage in daily life, reflect on human frailty and everlasting mercy, and find anchored hope in promises that do not break. If this encourages you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what promise from Scripture steadies you this week?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr. Robert Jackson.

Reading Genesis 8:21–22

Noah’s Sacrifice And Grace

The Call To Fiery Worship

Anthropomorphism Explained

Why The Aroma Is Soothing

Propitiation And Christ’s Sacrifice

God’s Seeing, Hearing, And Knowing

Divine Revelation Of God’s Promise

Human Depravity And God’s Mercy

Stability Of Seasons Guaranteed

The Day Of The Lord And Renewal

Don’t Fret: God Holds History

Because God Said So

Closing And Listener Invitation

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go get your brother and your sisters, and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr. Papa. Gather round, grab your Bibles, and let us look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we're at the end of Genesis chapter 8, verses 21 and 22. The Lord smelled the soothing aroma, and the Lord said to himself, I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth, and I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done, while the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word. What did God smell? The aroma of Noah's sacrifice that represented his worship, his thanksgiving for deliverance from the flood and gratitude for God's grace. Recall in Genesis chapter six and verse eight, the Bible tells us that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Favor equals grace. God in his divine sovereignty, out of love and mercy, bestowed grace on Noah and his family, just as he does for you and me. The Bible tells us for by grace are you saved, and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And for that reason Noah was eternally grateful, and for that reason he offered up one seventh of the clean animals in a sacrifice to God. Dear listener, for that same reason you and I should be eternally grateful, and should offer up to God our worship, the fruit of lips that give praise to his holy name. Listen to me. Nonchalant worship is no worship at all. Lacadaisical worship is no worship at all. Haphazard intermittent take it or leave it worship is no worship at all. Jesus is the king of all kings. He is the king of all the ages, the king of all the nations, the ruler of the kings of all the earth, and he stepped down from glory to give his life to purchase your and my redemption. That deserves a fiery, passionate love and devotion. That deserves my full hearted worship. Not just a Sunday morning, but every waking moment of my life worship and devotion. We should live to worship Jesus, who is the true King. No sacrifice is too great for him. Now, let's back up a moment. Do you think God really smells the soothing aroma of Noah's sacrifice? Did he see the wickedness of man upon the earth with a physical eye like yours and mine? No, no, of course not. Theologians call this an anthropomorphism that attributing to God the physical attributes of man. The catechism tells us that God is spirit without any physical attributes. Well, of course, until he became a man in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, God does appreciate our sacrifices, our worship, our confession of sin, our surrender of our life to him, which arises like a soothing aroma to him. Next question Why soothing? Why is that aroma soothing to our great God? And that's a good question. Because there is nothing meritorious in me or you, or our acts of worship, or our contributions. It is only when we approach God in the name of Jesus and in the merit of Jesus' blood that our worship has any value or soothes the offended righteousness and violated justice of holy God. The shed blood of Jesus Christ conciliates or appeases or soothes the anger of offended God. Remember first John chapter two and verse two that we discussed last week that He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world? You remember that word propitiation? That means to conciliate or to appease the offended righteousness of God and the violated justice of God? The same was true of Noah's sacrifice, which was a picture of the eventual perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God, which would propitiate or appease the offended righteousness and violated justice of holy God. So our God may not smell or see or hear as man does, nevertheless all things are open and laid bare before Him who is the righteous judge of all the earth, from whose face the heavens and the earth flee away. His eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity. He sees the end from the beginning. His eyes roam about through all the earth, seeking whose heart is fully devoted to him, that he may show himself strong on their behalf. His arm is not so short that he cannot save. His ear is not so dull that he cannot hear. Listen to what the psalmist has to say. In Psalms ninety four, verse eight through eleven. The psalmist says, Pay heed, you senseless among the people. And will when will you understand, O foolish ones? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who chastens the nations will he not rebuke? Even he who teaches man knowledge. The Lord knows the thoughts of man that they are a mere breath. That's our God. Now go to verse twenty one. The Lord said to himself, the Lord said to himself, I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth, and I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done. Now let me ask you a question. How do we know what God said to himself within his own counsel? Well the answer to that is only by divine revelation. If God had not told Noah or Moses, the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, we would not know. You see, only by divine revelation are some things known to you and me. So on account of the sacrifice, Noah's sacrifice, which prefigured Christ's later perfect sacrifice, God promised to never again destroy the earth or curse the ground because of man. God is promising to neither add an additional curse on the ground to that curse levied in Genesis chapter 3, verse 17, after Adam and Eve sinned, nor destroy every living thing as he had done with the flood in Noah's day. And then God gave a reason for this promise, which on its face seems paradoxical. He says, Because the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth. That sounds to me like a justification for an additional judgment, not divine forbearance, except for the everlasting love and grace of God, on which you and I depend every day. Here we see juxtaposed original sin and universal depravity and the everlasting mercy of God. You and I are totally helpless to save ourselves, and you know that, and I know that. We desperately need the grace of God. That's why our salvation is by grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What an amazing God. He knew we couldn't save ourselves. Therefore, despite the fact that the intent of our heart is evil from our youth, he saves us. Then God promised that as long as the earth remains, in verse 22 it says, while the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. There would be uniformity and no further worldwide flood or destruction of any other kind. However, the day of the Lord will arrive one day. You see, the Bible tells us that there will one day be a day of the Lord. And as Peter prophesied in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 10, the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up with a fervent heat. You see, everything that you and I see around us will one day be consumed by fire. Both the earth and the heavens will be burned with a fervent heat. Then everything will be restored in a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no further evidence of the curse on the original earth. All evidence of the curse will have been consumed by fire. The Bible tells us plainly that in the new heaven and the new earth there will be no more curse. Until that day, we can count on uniformity in the physical processes, the seasons, the diurnal cycle of day and night. And listen, you don't have to fret about evil nations destroying the planet with nuclear weapons. And I know there are folks out there that fret about that. God promised that all would stay the same day and night, year after year, season after season, heat and cold, until he brings all of time and history to a close according to his prophetic plan, as outlined in Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation. Until then, you can trust that verse 22 will play itself out while the earth remains. And how do you know? Because God said so. Because God said so. If you're listening to devotions with Dr. Papa, if you like what you hear, follow, like, share, or download, and tell your friends about it. Remember that Jesus loves you and your doctor loves you. And until next week, may the Lord bless you real good.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, Instagram, or webpage at JacksonFamily Ministry dot com. Also, don't forget to check out Dr. Jackson.