Notice the first thing Noah did when he came out of the ark. He built an altar and made offerings to the Lord. This is the first time the Bible describes a man building an altar, and the timing is important. Noah did this after God interceded in his life.

We don’t make offerings for sin anymore, because we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all (Hebrews 10:10). Yet, we do respond to what he has done by offering ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). He doesn’t want us to die but live a life that shows his will for us. That is our offering.

We offer him a holy, set apart life. We offer him things we value, like time and money. We offer him worship and praise. As an example of the latter, Psalms 27 speaks of our response to God’s deliverance. It says, “Therefore, will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.”

Psalms 43 asks God to lead us with his light and truth. When he does this, it says, “Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.”

When God leads us with his light and truth, when he delivers us, let’s offer him our joyous praise.