What is the meaning of Genesis 8:20? Then - The word “Then” anchors the verse in time—immediately after Noah, his family, and the animals stepped off the ark (Genesis 8:15-19). - It highlights Noah’s first priority after deliverance: worship, not settlement or survival tactics. - Scripture often records worship as the believer’s first response to God’s salvation (Exodus 15:1; Luke 17:15-16). Noah built an altar - An altar is a place set apart for meeting with God. By building it, Noah publicly acknowledged that the rescue was God’s work, not his own (Hebrews 11:7). - Earlier altars appear with Abel’s sacrifice (Genesis 4:4) and will reappear with Abram (Genesis 12:7). The pattern shows that righteous people express gratitude through tangible acts of worship. to the LORD - The focus is personal: “the LORD” (YHWH), the covenant-keeping God who spoke with Noah (Genesis 6:13; 8:1). - Noah directs worship to the only true God, rejecting any notion that survival came from fate or human ingenuity (Deuteronomy 6:13). - This sets a precedent for exclusive devotion, later codified in the first commandment (Exodus 20:2-3). And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird - God had told Noah to bring seven pairs of each clean species onto the ark (Genesis 7:2-3), ensuring both post-flood reproduction and sacrifice. - “Clean” distinguishes animals acceptable for worship long before Mosaic law (Leviticus 11 codifies it later). - Noah offers from all the clean kinds, not just a token. His gift is generous, mirroring David’s attitude: “I will not offer… that which costs me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). he offered burnt offerings on the altar - A burnt offering is wholly consumed by fire, symbolizing total consecration and atonement (Leviticus 1:3-9). - By burning the entire animal, Noah acknowledges sin’s seriousness and God’s holiness—an echo of Abel’s earlier accepted offering (Genesis 4:4). - The fragrance “pleased the LORD” (Genesis 8:21), foreshadowing Christ, “who loved us and gave Himself up… a fragrant offering” (Ephesians 5:2). - For believers today, the burnt offering points to presenting our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). Summary Genesis 8:20 pictures Noah’s immediate, wholehearted response to God’s salvation: he worships the LORD with costly, comprehensive sacrifices from every clean creature, acknowledging sin’s price and God’s grace. The altar proclaims gratitude, atonement, and dedication—foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Christ and modeling how redeemed people respond with total devotion. |
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