Genesis 8:20–22 (NIV84)
20Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. 22“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Leviticus 1:3–10 (NIV84)
3“ ‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. 4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5He is to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 6He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. 9He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 10“ ‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect.
Noah’s first act upon stepping into a washed and silent world is not to build a shelter, but an altar. This is a critical detail. He offers a “burnt offering,” a specific type of sacrifice detailed in Leviticus, which signifies complete substitutionary atonement. It is a profound, non-verbal sermon acknowledging that he and his family, by all rights, should have perished with the world. This offering was an admission that their survival was not earned but was an act of sheer, undeserved grace. In this costly act of worship, Noah was confessing his own life was forfeit and now belonged entirely to the God who had mercifully saved him.
The divine response is the stunning pivot of the passage. God smells the “pleasing aroma” and makes a covenant promise to never again destroy the world with a flood. But the reason He gives is utterly unexpected. He does not say, “I will not curse the ground again because you have learned your lesson.” On the contrary, He promises this ”even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21). There has been no moral evolution; humanity is not fundamentally reformed. God’s promise, therefore, is not based on our improvement. It must be based on the nature of the sacrifice.
Why would this animal sacrifice be sufficient? It could not, in itself, turn aside the wrath of a holy God. The author of Genesis, and the mind of God Himself, sees something more. In Noah’s offering, God sees a type, a foreshadowing of the one, final, truly acceptable sacrifice. He accepts the token because it points to the ultimate reality of His Son, Jesus Christ, whose death would be the true propitiation for sin. God’s promise of preservation for the world is secured not by a reformed humanity, but by a future, perfect Redeemer.
Reflect, Share & Prayer: Consider a time when you were shown mercy you did not deserve. How did it change your perspective on gratitude and worship? Thank God that His promises are based not on our worthiness, but on the perfect sacrifice of Christ.
Wow! Like Vic, I’m at a loss of where to even start with this one! At this stage of my life, I consider that every moment of every day within the life I now have to be an act of unfathomable mercy from God that is entirely undeserved! But, for the sake of this reflection, I will narrow it to one particularly significant moment to serve as an example🙂 Early in my sobriety, as I’d mentioned before, I was going through family court hearings in order to acquire reunification services with my daughters, who had been taken into custody by CPS. This was actually the second time within a four year period that I had lost custody of my oldest daughter, who had also been taken at birth. I had gone through the necessary steps to reunify with her, stayed clean for a time, had my other two daughters, and then, as I’ve also already mentioned, relapsed on drugs. CPS got involved a second time, and there is actually a law that obligates them to deny reunification if a child is removed twice within a five year time period. The lawyer assigned to my daughters was fighting against me regaining custody, having reviewed my record- and I couldn’t blame her. During this time, I began taking the steps, and by the time it came to finding out their decision, I was on the third step: “we made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God.” So, I put it in His hands. I determined that if they denied reunification, it was for the best, as I had caused enough damage in their young lives. As it happens though, by the time we went to court, the lawyer for my daughters had changed her mind about me, and recommended reunification! The gratitude for the mercy I experienced in this particular moment is indescribable. To this day, it is one of the single most significant moments of my life in which the only appropriate response would seem to be total, completely unhindered devotion and worship of a God whose mercy endures far beyond anything we could ever ask or hope for! And, as significant and incredible as it is, it is only one of a multitude of times in my sobriety and my walk with Him in which He has displayed indescribable grace and mercy. Of course, I have come to recognize that the greatest act of mercy is the gift of eternal salvation, and the abundant life we have because of what Christ has done for us! And, as if this were not enough, He continues to shower His mercy upon us each day, even when we don’t even realize it!
Father, as I recall this and other moments in which You have stepped in to bring life to this dead heart, I am overwhelmed by Your amazing grace! All of it points to the magnitude of Your greatest act of mercy- giving Your only begotten Son that whoever believes will not perish, but have eternal life! Thank You for demonstrating such love for us, and the continual reminders that it is not because of our own worthiness, but because of who You are and what You have done! Amen.
I have been shown mercy throughout my life in my mistakes. However it has always been met with taking advantage of the mercy and not learning from my lessons. However, some of my bigger mistakes, I see niw with hindsight that I have been spared and thank God for it. I think about how some of my decisions could have led me toward a different path but God spared me. I am more grateful for where I am at because I see how God has protected me from some of my decisions.
When broke Jenney’s rule on no relationship in the house. I think was for sure getting kicked out of the house. But she did not and instead she forgive me. This makes me so pitiful for trying to hide my mistake. It definitely made me more faith in Jesus. And I will definitely not do the same thing again because I don’t want to take her mercy for granted. It changed my perspective on gratitude and worship by being more honest and humble. Because Jenney did not forgive me because of me, but because of Jesus. Father God, thank you for the great gift of all time. Your gospel literally saved me and brought my life back on track. I pray that my heart will stay humble and keep you on the throne. Amen
When I read how Noah’s first response after the flood was to build an altar, I think about moments when I’ve seen God’s mercy in my own life. There have been seasons where I’ve fallen short whether in patience, priorities, or faith and yet God still met me with kindness. I can think of times when I didn’t deserve His provision or forgiveness, but He gave it anyway.
One particular moment stands out: I remember feeling completely drained, trying to hold everything together, and realizing how little control I actually had. But even in that place, God was faithful. He provided peace and help right when I needed it. It was humbling.
Like Noah, I’m reminded that true worship begins when I stop striving to earn God’s favor and simply respond in gratitude for what He’s already done. His mercy always comes first and my altar, my act of worship, is just a response to that undeserved grace.
Lord, thank You for Your mercy that never runs out, even when I fail You. Help me to respond to Your grace the way Noah did—with worship and gratitude, not self-reliance. Teach me to see every blessing, every breath, as a gift of Your faithfulness. May my life be an altar that reflects Your goodness and points others to the hope found in Christ alone. Amen.
From Hoa
When I was in college I had a job as a bookkeeper. My boss owned a small business and trusted me to pay his bills and record and log personal and business spendings. He has put a lot of trust in me to handle the finances. One month I made a mistake and miscalculated the amount. I felt really bad and told him to deduct to from my pay, but he refused. He showed me mercy and it was a valuable lesson. I was very grateful for the opportunity to work for him and I appreciated his trust in me for such an important task.
God,
Thank you for your grace and mercy. I am so underserving of it. Thank you for loving us sacrificially through Jesus. It reminds me to share your grace and mercy with others.
Amy
When I read how Noah’s first response after the flood was to build an altar, I think about moments when I’ve seen God’s mercy in my own life. There have been seasons where I’ve fallen short whether in patience, priorities, or faith and yet God still met me with kindness. I can think of times when I didn’t deserve His provision or forgiveness, but He gave it anyway.
One particular moment stands out: I remember feeling completely drained, trying to hold everything together, and realizing how little control I actually had. But even in that place, God was faithful. He provided peace and help right when I needed it. It was humbling.
Like Noah, I’m reminded that true worship begins when I stop striving to earn God’s favor and simply respond in gratitude for what He’s already done. His mercy always comes first and my altar, my act of worship, is just a response to that undeserved grace.
Lord, thank You for Your mercy that never runs out, even when I fail You. Help me to respond to Your grace the way Noah did—with worship and gratitude, not self-reliance. Teach me to see every blessing, every breath, as a gift of Your faithfulness. May my life be an altar that reflects Your goodness and points others to the hope found in Christ alone. Amen.
I’ve received a lot of mercy I didn’t deserve from my mom. I remember one time I was so upset because she cleaned my room and moved my stuff around, and I couldn’t find anything. Another time she packed me a plain salad with no protein LOL. Even though everything she did was to make things easier for me, I would react in unkind and spoiled ways. Yet she still continued to pack a lunch in my car every day, stay up until I got home, clean my room, and always check in on me. Many may think it’s just because she’s my mother, but I’ve seen her extend that same grace to my dad, my sisters, and even her coworkers. She never talks badly about anyone and always chooses to see the good. I always tell her she needs to say or do something, but she just laughs. She loves sharing about God’s love for her, and I can see that it’s His love overflowing through her life. Experiencing her mercy has helped me better understand God’s heart how He loves and forgives even when we don’t deserve it. Kimbo
My first recollection of the concept of grace (favor to those who deserve the opposite) was when my twin brother and I accidentally spilled a gallon of milk that our mom gave us money to purchase.
We were so sure that we were gonna get a severe spanking that we quickly proceeded to stuff our underwear with tissue paper. We were only 10 years old.
My mom came home and asked us sternly if we bought the milk as she had tasked us to do. Sheepishly, we explained how we dropped it on the sidewalk on our way home.
To our great surprise, she shrugged it off and invited us to have some apple pie that she had brought home. Instead of a spanking, we got apple pie. Favor,/mercy to those who deserve judgement. My first memory of grace.
“Heavenly Father I how glad I am that the mercy that you extend to me isn’t based on my feeble performance but upon the all-sufficient perfect sacrifice of your son on the cross for my redemption. May my worship reflect total reliance upon your mercy upon me, a sinner saved by scandalous grace.”
I still remember the time I missed a test because my family was on vacation. It was an unexcused absence, so I thought I would get a 0, and I knew it was my fault. However, my teacher showed me mercy and still gave me the chance to redo it.
I feel like he was showing me mercy even when I didn’t deserve it. That experience changed my perspective on gratitude. That mercy from my teacher, which I didn’t earn, was so small compared to the mercy that God showed when He sacrificed Himself for us, saving us from the death penalty. I feel grateful for this. It makes me want to change my attitude when I worship God, remembering that His mercy is not based on what I deserve.
God, thank you for saving me, even though I don’t deserve it.