And of every living thing, of all flesh, you [Noah] shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you, they shall be male and female. Genesis 6:19
Since childhood I have been fascinated by the story of Noah and the ark. Visitors to my office can readily come to that conclusion as they can see two framed pictures of Noah, the animals and the ark hanging on two walls. In my bookshelves, they can see a Noah’s ark snow globe, a primitive log cabin ark with Noah and several pairs of animals, a Noah’s ark candle, a Noah’s ark figurine, a Noah’s ark box, and a Noah’s ark metal sculpture.
At my home, I have two more large framed pictures of Noah and the ark, a tapestry and a pillow of Noah and the ark, and a Noah’s ark welcome sign. Many of you may recall that I have numerous Noah and the ark Christmas ornaments I have collected from Hallmark over the years. Yes, the story of Noah has fascinated me!
On nature programming I will see birds, animals and sea creatures I have never seen and then I think about Noah collecting all of the animals, two of each kind, male and female, and loading them into the ark. (Between you and me, I am still convinced the mosquitoes were stowaways on the ark!) Being the construction engineer of the ark was an enormous task for Noah, but then serving as the animal curator was an even larger one. Then, in verse 22 we read, “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”
The next time you see a creature you perhaps have never seen or one to which you may not previously have given much attention, please take a moment to watch how it moves, to notice its coloration, to observe its features and shape. In other words, take some time to study what God has made and be filled with awe.
Master Designer, we give You thanks for the great variety of animal life that shares this planet with us. We thank You for Noah who was faithful to the tasks to which You called him. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.