Hello everyone,Today, we encounter the story of Noah and the flood.
1) As you'll recall, the problem is that the people God created were performing all sorts of wickedness, and each had turned away from God. Their hearts were set on doing evil. They had corrupted all the earth. Here, we see the prevalence of human sin and its destructive force in our lives and in the world. When we choose live apart from God's ordering of the universe, we upset even the whole cosmos. That's just how pervasive sin and evil are - that's just how bad it can be.
2) Notice that there were apparently no righteous humans on the earth who found favor with God - none except Noah. Noah alone was righteous - Noah alone walked with the Lord, and thus pleased Him. And this obedience continues through the whole process of building the ark. Have you ever seen the movie Evan Almighty? Although we don't know for sure, I can't help but wonder if the kind of ridicule Evan Baxter faces was the same kind ridicule that Noah endured. I mean, it's not every day somebody builds a big boat for some catastrophic flood - not anyone normal, that is. But all the while, Noah does what God asks of Him - He continues to live righteously.
3) Notice also that once the flood happens, God "remembers" Noah. Does that mean God forgot about Noah? No. The Hebrew, as it is used here, means, "calling to mind individuals, with kindness, granting requests, protecting, delivering." In other words, God recognized the righteousness of Noah and delivered him from the waters.
4) There is a great deal of symbolism here as well. For Christians, we see this in light of baptism (based on 1 Peter 3:21). The waters of the flood symbolize God's destruction of our sinfulness in our lives. The ark symbolizes our passing through the waters of judgment to new life. When we are baptized, the waters symbolize our passing through God's judgment to new life, while the old, sinful life is destroyed in us through baptism.
5) Covenant: this is a solemn promise of God to do something for his people. Often, it is a two sided agreement where both parties agree to do something. But here, God just makes the promise and seals it with a rainbow - that He will never judge the earth by water again. Moreover, it is a promise that God will remember His people when the rainbow appears in the sky.
6) The whole Noah getting drunk and naked thing. Talk about a oops moment! But notice that, while Noah doesn't get off the hook, his son Ham seems to get the biggest share of the blame for what happens here. And why is nakedness such an issue here? Some have suggested that the phrase "exposing or uncovering nakedness" is a sexual euphemism (for instance, in Deuteronomy 18:6-19. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, the main commentator on the Torah, and a medieval rabbi) is said have continued this thought to say that the purpose in this sexual act would have been to prevent his father from having relations with Mrs. Noah (Ham's mother) and have a forth child, with whom he would have to share an inheritance. But when Ham does this and violates his father, a curse comes upon him - that since Ham took away Noah's fourth son, Ham's fourth son, Caanan, would be accursed. Others aren't so sure - and some have used this as a justification for the inferiority and enslavement of Ham's descendants (who just happen to be dark-skinned). While this happened a lot in history, I see no reason to think that the Bible is perpetuating something like this. The Lord Jesus came to put an end to these kinds of dividing walls in human existence, and to use this text to perpetuate racism and slavery would be, at least in my thinking, to misuse the Word of God. But whatever the case, this part of the passage is obscure. What can we learn from this? Do what is honoring to your father, for this is what honors God our heavenly Father. And while there is no condemnation of alcohol given here, it seems that moderation and avoiding drunkenness would probably be a good idea.
So, what can we glean from today's readings? Well, we learn that already, God is working to deliver His people from death and destruction, and that God is establishing his covenant with His people, and making promises with them. Further, God continues to keep His promises - Jesus is, in fact, the fulfillment of God's promises. Further, through His life, death and resurrection, God delivers us through judgment into new life that honors him.
I think that's it for today. Hope you have a great evening!
Pastor Nathan
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