Genesis 8:22, commentary and pictures

Coming off the ark onto a desolate earth, Noah's first act before preparing a house for himself was to build an altar and sacrifice from every kind of clean beast and fowl to show gratitude for deliverance and faith in Christ the great sacrifice. The offering was pleasing to the Lord, who then made this decision in His heart. He cheerfully gave from a small stock of cattle preserved at great expense in acknowledgment that all belonged to the Lord.

The verse belongs to the inspired Genesis account affirmed as divine. It connects Noah and the Flood to a real historical person and event. It presents Noah's generation as a pattern for the age before Christ's return.

The verse declares God's covenant assurance, given with the rainbow, that while the earth remains seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. With it came the resolve not to curse the ground again for man's sake and never again to destroy the earth by a flood. It was a blessing not only to Noah and his family but to all who should live upon the earth.

The Flood connected with this chapter was a judgment brought upon the earth because of human sin. The sins that brought that judgment are increasing again. The regular succession of seasons, weather, harvests, and day and night continues by God's active power guiding and sustaining the natural world, not through power inherent in nature. They are gifts of His love and care supplying people with abundance and gladness. The promise of seedtime and harvest is a sign of His care.

Seedtime and harvest continue as God's established order in which God works and man must cooperate with Him. God sends rain and sunshine and clouds to cause vegetation to flourish and causes herbs to grow out of the ground for the use of man, but He does not give food without human effort. Man must break the sod, till the soil, and cultivate the produce in order to gather a harvest. To neglect what is within reach and ask God to relieve or provide is presumption, with prayer to the Great Physician for healing coming after using the natural remedies God has provided.

All food, drink, clothing, and every possession come from Him and leave people indebted to Him for everything, so gathering the first fruits recalls His faithfulness. These temporal blessings point to the blessing above them all, the gift of God's only begotten Son as substitute to take human sins and give His righteousness, and those who receive are to impart to others. The rain that sustains the earth illustrates the grace Christ has supplied to His people through every age.

This dependable cycle gives confidence for spiritual sowing. People are to labor without knowing which effort will prosper and keep sharing God's word, leaving the results with God. His word will accomplish its purpose and bring a harvest even when its growth is hidden or delayed.

Since God continually gives, people should continually give in return. It should be first care to render free-will offerings to God, faithfully bringing tithes and offerings of gratitude and giving Him the best. Every manifestation of His mercy and love is to be gratefully acknowledged by acts of devotion and by gifts to His cause.