Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

At last an angel opened the massive door and told the patriarch
and his household to go out on the earth and take with them every
living thing. Noah did not forget the One by whose gracious care
they had been preserved. His first act was to build an altar and offer
sacrifice, expressing his gratitude to God for deliverance and his
faith in Christ, the great sacrifice. This offering was pleasing to the
Lord, and a blessing resulted not only to Noah and his family, but to
all who would live upon the earth. "The Lord said in His heart, 'I
will never again curse the ground for man's sake. ... While the earth
remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer,
and day and night, shall not cease.'" Noah had come out onto a
desolate earth, but before preparing a house for himself he built an
altar to God. His stock of cattle was small, yet he cheerfully gave a
part to the Lord to acknowledge that all was His. Likewise, we
should acknowledge His mercy toward us by devotion and gifts to
His cause.
The Rainbow--Sign of God's Kindness
So that people would not fear another flood, the Lord
encouraged the family of Noah through a promise: "I establish My
covenant with you ... never again shall there be a flood to destroy
the earth. ... I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the
sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ... When I bring a
cloud over the earth, ... the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ... and
I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God
and every living creature."
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