God initiates a new creation using water. 40 days and 40 nights of rain destroyed everything except for Noah and his family. In this new creation Noah was instructed to be fruitful and multiply. Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights preparing for his mission, which leads to a new creation through baptism of water, where our new creation begins. We spend 40 days and 40 nights preparing for Easter, at which time we celebrate a pivotal aspect of God’s new creation, i.e. Jesus’ resurrection. We are also commanded to be fruitful and multiply through Jesus’ commandment to “make disciples of all nations.”