Gen 8:21 | MHM | STEP | v. 21 : God is pleased with Noah’s offering and accepts it as a “sweet savour” ( v. 21 ). This means God was happy with Noah’s sincere worship, just as people enjoy pleasant smells. Even though the sacrifice was small, God valued it because it was done with a willing heart. God then decides in His heart never to curse the ground again or destroy every living thing as He did in the flood. This promise points beyond Noah’s offering to the greater sacrifice of Christ, which is called a “sweet-smelling savour” in the New Testament (Eph. v. 2 ). God’s decision not to send another flood is not because people will be better, but because God chooses to show mercy, even though “the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth” ( ch. vi. 5 ). This means sin is part of human nature from childhood. God decides not to destroy humanity in this way again, even though people will still sin. This shows that God’s mercy is based on His own goodness, not on anything people do (Deut. 32.36; Ps. lxxviii. 39 ; Isa. xlviii. 8 ).

‏ Genesis 8:21

v. 21: God is pleased with Noah’s offering and accepts it as a “sweet savour” (v. 21 ^a). This means God was happy with Noah’s sincere worship, just as people enjoy pleasant smells. Even though the sacrifice was small, God valued it because it was done with a willing heart. God then decides in His heart never to curse the ground again or destroy every living thing as He did in the flood. This promise points beyond Noah’s offering to the greater sacrifice of Christ, which is called a “sweet-smelling savour” in the New Testament (Eph. v. 2 ^b). God’s decision not to send another flood is not because people will be better, but because God chooses to show mercy, even though “the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth” (ch. vi. 5 ^c). This means sin is part of human nature from childhood. God decides not to destroy humanity in this way again, even though people will still sin. This shows that God’s mercy is based on His own goodness, not on anything people do (Deut. 32.36; Ps. lxxviii. 39 ^d; Isa. xlviii. 8 ^e).